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Bob Davenport Sings at The Grove: September 3rd 2004

The candles were lit, the room darkened, but there was no standing under the spotlight for Bob. There he stayed put with Martin just where they at their table, right among us all with a whisky to hand and many a tale to tell.

“I began singing in a Camden Town pub. Whiskies were set up at my table. These Irishmen sitting nearby believed me to be a famous Irish tenor. Having already downed the whiskies, I thought it wise to sing - and I've continued ever since!”

A couple of whisky drinking songs: ‘It was wild, wild whisky that caused me to roam’ , where whisky has the last laugh for those who rue their lot in life 'Down where the drunkards roll'; straight into a set of tunes on Martin's melodeon, and back again to another of Bob's songs of an Irishmen in the 1850s Working on the Railway.

A nod to Davey Stewart and Bogey's Belle, with advice for the ancient mariner to take viagra!

Bob and Martin teased their way through the evening, Bob commenting wryly on life through anecdote and song, and driven on by Martin's stylish melodeon, full of warmth and rhythmic tones.

Rap 'er t'Bank followed by a tale of a miner who wasn't in a rush to rescue his mate simply because he was stuck in a bog up to his waist - taking his time he arrived to find him there ... stuck in head first!

No wonder Bob searched for the blarney stone ... beneath the nose - certainly the case in The Grove Inn, Leeds, last night.

... and so to The Dark-eyed Sailor, the love of Barbara Allen, and many more.

Bob shared the songs he loves with friends gathered around. We knew we had experienced something special.

For each one of us Bob's singing will linger on in our memories, moments that resonate, and a relevant only to ourselves.

"This is just how clubs were in the sixties", was Jim's comment at the end of the night.

Elated and only slowly did the audience ebb away into the night.

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