John Tams and Barry Coope

RICHARD PARR

Guildhall of St George, King's Lynn (King's Lynn Festival)

A festival audience were treated to an evening of folk and fun in this thoroughly enjoyable show.

John Tams and Barry Coope teamed up for this programme which featured some wonderful songs in the folk tradition - performed by Barry with his own guitar accompaniment or together with John on keyboard. John was the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Singer of the Year and his skills as singer/ songwriter are legendary.

The musical items were interspersed with humorous anecdotes, mostly told by Barry by way of introduction to the songs.

The presentation was very much in a laid back, informal style with Barry taking regular swigs from his bottle of water.

The first item, Lay Me Low - with the audience invited to join in the chorus - set the tone for the evening.

The evening's content reflected the fact that the festival programme offers something for all tastes and many in the audience were clearly folk fans who would perhaps not be seen at the classical music concerts.

The songs were varied, both in style and content, and included the delightful Who Will Blow The Candle Out Tonight?, Banks of Red Roses and the beautiful and plaintive Will I See Thee More?

In his Skittish anecdotes Barry seemed to cover numerous subjects including his idea for “Cuddle Cameras” on the A17 and the 75th anniversary of the Mountain Kinderscout.

During the interval John and Barry were made aware of local concerns over the future of the historic Guildhall and they offered any support they could give to secure its future and said they would sign a petition.

John and Barry had established a warm rapport from the outset and this was strongly conveyed to the appreciative audience who clearly enjoyed the evening.