Ben Church
A Manchester lad now based in the North East, Ben’s debut solo performance was at the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award semi-final, aged 17 and he went on to study music at Newcastle University. His debut EP, My Lot earned him radio play, extensive performances around the UK. Ben has been awarded a Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections for his solo performance. The children’s CD he released with his wife, Rachel, has also been well received among folk-loving parents around the country.
Dreams of Love
By Bert Jansch
“This is a Bert Jansch song. I’ve written a number of pieces influenced by his playing over the years but feel I’d rather play one of his own for this. I hadn’t played this song for years, then it just popped into my head one day and I’ve not been able to stop playing it since. The chord sequence’s sudden transition to and heavy focus on the second chord gives it a very distinctive, melancholic edge that works wonderfully with the haunting lyrics.”
Bert’s playing introduced me to the idea of using your thumb to play a baseline on the guitar. I listened to the first album constantly and like so many before me, I daydreamed about being able to play ‘Angie’. I spent a great deal of time painstakingly figuring out each note and gradually taught myself how to put them together. That foundation in Bert’s guitar style, will always underpin a lot of my playing, if not all of it.
