Saturday, June 30, 2012

Ronnie Lane's sax player: "Goodbye cruel circus"

We Harborough bloggers often hang out together. Last Sunday I had coffee with Wartime Housewife and Unmitigated England, and the day before Backwatersman got on the bus when I was coming back from Long Buckby.

That pilgrimage to Long Buckby to see the grave of Stanley Unwin led me on to Ronnie Lane and Slim Chance and to The Passing Show.

But Backwatersman had already written about them back in May 2010, when he posted a video of the song "More Debris":
This is a solo rendition by Lane and his band Slim Chance, from the period when he had left the Faces and was touring the country in a caravan accompanied by a circus (and, on occasion, Viv Stanshall). Apparently (as I’ve learnt this very day from Uncut magazine) he used to limber up before going on stage by sinking a few cans of barley wine (that potent brew), and perhaps that it is a little visible here. 
The saxophone player (who I’m not sure really adds all that much) apparently left the tour, tiring of the whole circus concept, leaving a note saying “Goodbye cruel circus, I’m off to join the world”. Very droll.
I didn't know about Viv Stanshall, but you see how it all fits together.

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