A Century of Song with Claire Martin and Ian Shaw at Petworth Festival

SussexWorld

There will be complete musical understanding as Claire Martin and Ian Shaw share the stage to celebrate one hundred years of popular song for the Petworth Festival.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, group arts editor at Sussex Newspapers.

00:06Always lovely to speak to Claire Martin.

00:08And Claire, you've got a fantastic gig coming up as part of the Petworth Festival.

00:12It's going to be in St Mary's Church in Petworth, fabulous place anyway,

00:16on Tuesday, July the 29th, 7.30pm.

00:20It's Claire with Ian Shaw.

00:22Now, that's a big part of the attraction to the gig for you,

00:25that you and Ian go back a long way and have a real genuine musical understanding,

00:29don't you?

00:30What's he like to work with?

00:31Why does it work so well?

00:33Well, hello again, Phil.

00:35Thanks for interviewing me about this.

00:36I'm looking forward to coming back to Petworth.

00:38It is such a lovely church.

00:40And it's really nice to know that that's the end result when you're driving there,

00:43because sometimes churches can be, you know, a bit hit or miss,

00:46but the acoustic in there is lovely.

00:49And I don't think Ian's done it, so it'd be quite a thrill to show him.

00:51And the audience, very, very receptive.

00:54So the fun of working with Ian Shaw is cheesy as it sounds,

00:58but he's one of my best mates.

00:59You know, we have such a laugh off stage and we know each other.

01:02We have worked together since the early 90s, on and off.

01:05We've both had our own projects, but we've guested on each other's albums

01:08and we've toured the country doing various shows.

01:12So this particular show, A Century of Song,

01:15gives us a real sort of carte blanche to pick all the songs we've loved.

01:20Not that we've been alive 100 years, but 1920s to the current day,

01:25we can just cherry pick some of the great songs and Ian will play it in his special way.

01:30You're incredibly relaxed about that set list.

01:33You're talking about lots of possibilities, but you don't finalise it until the day before.

01:37Is that just the way it works then?

01:39That's just the way it works.

01:40I think when you're a giga musician, you know, you can't get too ahead of yourself.

01:46You're doing it.

01:47The day before is fine with Ian.

01:48And we'll just, we'll to and fro a few things on email or over the phone.

01:53Yeah, but there'll be some classics in it.

01:56Like we'll probably do some Gershwin, a bit of Irving Berlin.

01:58Then we'll move through the 50s and 60s, Burt Bacharach.

02:0270s, you might do a Stevie Wonder tune.

02:04Ian, as I was saying earlier, loves David Bowie.

02:06I love Joni Mitchell.

02:07So we just, I mean, it's just a great big excuse to sing all the songs we love with a title to it.

02:13And you dropped the name The Carpenters.

02:15Who doesn't love The Carpenters?

02:16I'm going to do The Carpenters.

02:16I do Close to You by The Carpenters, yeah.

02:19And Ian joined in the middle.

02:20So it's really, actually, it's really nice as well, singing with another singer.

02:24Because you, not only does he understand the phrasing.

02:27So when he's accompanying me on the piano, he's very generous and also doesn't get in the way too much.

02:32But also he can sing harmonies.

02:34So it's really nice when you're singing, you've got another voice.

02:37And Joni Mitchell, as you say.

02:39Yeah, we'll do.

02:40It's fantastic music, isn't it?

02:42Yeah, we'll probably do Night Ride Home, Big Yellow Taxi.

02:45There's a few things we do.

02:46That's the thing.

02:47We do know a lot of songs each.

02:49So it's, that set list is really all about, you know, getting in there first.

02:54It sounds like there's a lot of freedom too, isn't there?

02:57Yeah, there is.

02:57There is.

02:58And we might change it on the night.

02:59Ian suddenly starts playing an introduction to something.

03:01And I'm stuck then.

03:02I've got to carry on.

03:03And I haven't even, we haven't even discussed it, but he knows that I'll do it.

03:06I might do The Man with a Child in His Eyes with Kate Bush.

03:10He does a bit of Elton John.

03:11That's a beautiful first line of any song, isn't it?

03:13The Man with a Child in His Eyes.

03:14It's just that solo voice that comes in.

03:16It's just fabulous.

03:17I love Kate Bush.

03:18We love that.

03:19And he might do Rocket Man, Elton John.

03:21I mean, it's fun.

03:22It's fun.

03:23It's not, I mean, we hope everybody will have a favourite in amongst our set list.

03:29Fantastic.

03:29Well, great that you're back at the Petworth Festival.

03:32It's Mary's Charge, Tuesday, July the 29th.

03:34Claire, really lovely to speak to you again.

03:37Thank you very much.

03:38Thank you very much.

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