Ian & Michelle Wright
We are Ian and Michelle Wright, originally from East Anglia, where we performed in two Suffolk-based folk bands - 'Mardi Pas' and 'The Homity Band' - until about 12 years ago. We then lived abroad for a while before 'landing' in Lincolnshire in 2012, when we began playing and singing as a duo at local sessions, sing-arounds and folk clubs.
Ian sings lead vocals and plays acoustic guitar; Michelle sings harmony vocals and plays a range of whistles and occasional concertina. We perform a mix of traditional and contemporary folk songs and tunes, and we're gradually adding more self-penned songs to our repertoire. We won the BBC Song for Lincolnshire Competition in 2015 and were runners-up in 2016.
We really love being 'out and about', meeting other musicians who enjoy sharing music and keeping music live at clubs, sessions and sing-arounds, so we're very happy to be playing a more active role at the Grimsby Folk Club.
Website: Homity's web site
Facebook : Homity's facebook page
The Spiders Web
The home of our club.
Website: thespiderswebgy
Louth Folk Club
Monthly music events.
Website:Louth Folk Club
Grimsby Morris Men
Folk dancing at its best.
Website: Grimsby Morris Men
Arthur Knevett
Arthur is a long time supporter of our club and has been MC and a regular resident. He still attends on occasions and when he does he always makes a great contribution to the occasion by singing wonderful songs and spreading his extensive knowledge about them. Website:Arthur Knevett
FizGig
Lincolnshire Gig Guide, a guide to live music in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands.
Website: FizGig
Association of Festival Organisers
The Association of Festival Organisers (AFO) is a membership group of like-minded festival and event managers who believe in learning and teaching, sharing and networking to continuously improve the festival scene.
Website:
Folk Festival lists
Bob Heaton
Bob had been a member of the club for many years and when he retired from running his shop Dobsons Hardware in Freeman Street he surprised us all by taking to the floor and singing, and what a wealth of songs he had. He joined the Wootton Fiddle Club and it's possible we may one day hear it played, as someone in the club bought it. We all had a fantastic night at his 90th Birthday party - see photo's on the galleries page.
Derek Rushmer
Derek sadly died in June 2003. He was a well respected singer at this club who entertained audiences for many years. Dave Woods has completed the album Derek put together before he died and any proceeds will go to the Macmillan Cancer Relief fund. CD costs £10.00 - It's a great album and is available at the club.
Pete Addison
It's a some time now since Pete Addison passed away & his sisters let me have a bag full of his jottings. It's taken me awhile to sort through "Pete's stuff" and although you couldn't say he was a prolific writer I think there's enough to put together a commemorative booklet / CD.
Geoff Turner
Geoff sadly died in 2015. He was another well respected singer at this club who entertained audiences for many years and is missed by many.
Bill Meek
"HERE'S TO THE GRIMSBY LADS" - "SAILORTOWN" - "TIME ASHORE IS OVER" - "MEN OF THE SEA". . .
Just a few of the many songs written by Bill Meek, either solo or in collaboration with John Conolly, which have brought so much pleasure to lovers of sea-songs the world over. Followers of their music will be saddened to hear of Bill's death at the age of 86, after a period of illness following a stroke. A celebration of Bill's life was held at Grimsby Crematorium on 11th July 2023, and he is survived by his loving wife Pat, his two sons Will and Steve, and his much-loved grandson Charlie.
Bill and John were brought up in the 1940s, just a few streets from each other, not far from the Grimsby Fish Docks, but didn't actually meet until 1963, when Bill spotted an advert in the Grimsby Telegraph (inserted by John Conolly and Bob Blair) asking if anyone was interested in starting a Folk Music Club in Grimsby. Bill was the first to respond, proudly waving the only Ewan MacColl record known to exist at that time in North Lincolnshire as his passport to membership. . .
It was by no means his only qualification for running a Folk Club however - as John and Bill continued to sing together in Grimsby Folk Song Club's first resident group "THE MEGGIES" (later to become "BROADSIDE"), it's fair to say that Bill became the driving force behind the success of the Club, and its later offspring, the Cleethorpes Folk Festival. He was an excellent organiser, had a great singing voice, and was a fabulously witty M.C., whose ability to demolish an unwary heckler with one shot was legendary. . .
And then there came the songs - the many songs Bill and John wrote together over the years, usually sparked off by Bill's poetic and evocative lyrics. The first of these to be published were two of Bill's trawling ballads - "HERE'S TO THE GRIMSBY LADS" and "A LUMPER'S LIFE", which their Folk heroes Ewan and Peggy helped to get printed in one of the leading Folk magazines of the day. Countless collaborations later, John is still delighted to hear their songs being sung and celebrated in far-flung corners of the world. As Dr. Fred Woods said in his book "FOLK REVIVAL" - "The Folk Grapevine has scattered their songs far and wide, and the quality is equally widely-recognised".
Bill was a man of many talents - while studying Geology at Birmingham University, he became top-scorer for the Combined British Universities football team, and was offered terms by Birmingham City. . . sadly, however, a knee injury scuppered his chances of being a professional footballer. He became instead an excellent schoolteacher, who is still remembered with respect and affection by ex-pupils in many walks of life. The songs Bill wrote will certainly live on - it is possible, however, that the passion for learning which he passed on to his students will be his most lasting legacy.
JOHN CONOLLY ( with thanks to STEVE MEEK ).