Keith Christmas - Singer, Songwriter, Acoustic Folk and Blues Musician, Live Gigs and CDs for sale online
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Sign / Read Guestbooks > Guestbook 1 (May 1999 - Sept 2001)
Newest entries at the top, oldest at the bottom

name: Trevor Lynn

location: UK

time: 02-09-01 at 13:17:45

comments: I have been trying to track down an Album early seventies Danse Macabre. I understand you were in the bamd esperanto. I had two albums , however lost over the years. Are they available and from where. Its been years since i listened to it, and would dearly love to get some copies


name: bill stephens

location: suffolk

time: Tuesday, July 10, 2001 at 14:52:58

comments: Hi Keith, it's a long time since Purdy's (Colchester High st.)and C.R.G.S. If you don't remember me at least you should remember my name, it was read out every friday morning at assembly on the detention list.

Glad to hear you're still going, interesting site 'tis bookmarked and will be back from time to time, if you get the time you might like to visit "Mudcat cafe", the forum can be very amusing at times and is an amazing resource for folk and blues songs etc. cheers bill


name: john

location: UK

time: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 at 22:26:42

comments: an idle search of the net - who remembers 'Dead Dog Blues' and 'Examination Blues' that a much-younger KC sang at the Troubador Club, Bristol, around 1966/7?


name: Tasos Dimitriadis

location: Thessaloniki - Greece

time: 14:02 3/26/101

comments: The sound of your blues seems to be more mature now. The tone of your voice sounds better by that style. So I'll never forget the folk period of you of 70's. Nice passage into the blues paths, those have traps. I'll be waiting more news of your new work.


name: Mike Wonham

location: Bristol

time: 09:40 28/03/01

URL: www.wonham.com

comments: Hey, that's a turn up. I wondered what had happened to Keith since I guested keyboards on weatherman, and now I've moved to Bristol I was wondering about getting in touch. Sorry to hear about the fiasco with the album release, hope things are going well now.


name: Harry Strong

location: Portishead

time: 03:36 27/2/01

comments: Rock on, Mr. C. I wish you well in your new job. I've got quite used to hearing your husky voice floating through the workshops. Take care


name:: robby lewry

location: england

time: 10:24 28/02/01

comments: now this is interesting,a link from woronzow records. Does this mean that an interview in the terrascope might be forthcoming? Or even better, a new lp? 


name: Keith Christmas

time: 09:51 08/02/01

comments: searching for name-sakes and landed here. I also play (badly) guitar and love accoustic blues 
 
kc


reply to Martin Ward

time: 16:26 26/01/01

comments: Hi Martin - you are right - the old site is due an update!! - I have in fact built a new one from scratch and this is it- regarding Pigmy, contact Pete Moody at http://www.trojan.co.uk - he owns the rights 
 
Cheers 
 
Keith


name: Martin Ward

location: Derbyshire

time: 15:34 23/01/01

comments: The site doesn't seem to have been updated in ages. 
The gigs listed are last years - any more planned? 
Any more news about the possible re release of Pygmy?


name: Richie

time: 11:49 09/01/01

comments: Just passin thru:) 
Hope all is well for you and yours..... 
Luv 
Richie


name: Magnus

URL: More Than Music

location: Sweden

time: 07:29 20/11/00

comments: I just entered this url from the Weatherman CD. I got it from Voiceprint for review at More Than Musis, so be sure to check it out later on. Sounds great so far! If you have time, please add a link to our site at your links page. I'll add you right away!


name: Paul Richards

time: 16:28 30/01/00

comments: I'd like to buy the weatherman CD, Online doesn't seem to work so I'd be grateful for advice ThanX.


name:kor newhouse
where: scotland
message:
I hope you don't mind me writing to you like this. I've been a big fan for over 20 years and to my utter amazement, I've just discovered your web site and find you still making music. Anyway here's my story. In 1980 I went to college in Dundee to study architecture. I soon fell in with a bunch as sad hippy types listening to Nick Drake, John Martyn etc - any mellow acoustic stuff. The local second-hand record shop was a major part of our lives and around the autumn of that year I came across your Pigmy album (sorry to say, in the 50p section). Well, the bloke on the cover looked like me at that time and I recognised the name Roger Kirby for his arrangement work on Nick Drakes stuff, plus some other weird stuff I had at the time - 'Shalom' to name but one.
I also thought Adrian Shaw might have been associated with Hawkwind at some point. Still, the name was a bit off putting and it was several weeks before I decided to buy it. Buy it I did and I've still got it. It's an album I love, especially side one, the arrangements of travelling Down and the lovely Poem, and the fantastic choral Forest & the Shore ending side two.
Me and 'Keith Christmas' soon became a bit of a local joke. At every opportunity I would mention your name to the bafflement of other music nuts. Soon I had your '68 album Tales form the Woods or something like that, featuring an early version of travelling Down. Then followed several albums from the '70's, always featuring really good musicians from the likes of King Crimson etc. We (I and those who were prepared to put up with my rantings) could never work out how you managed to get all these people to play, yet never seemed to be well known yourself.
Anyway, in the early 80's, through the summer holidays I'd spend much of my time around Glastonbury at the festival, at Worthy Farm at early Ecology Party conferences (any excuse to smoke and get naked) and tagging onto the Peace Convoy at that time. By 1983 the Glastonbury festival had really got too big (more that 15,000 - what the hell must it be like now), and that year an old flatmate of mine went and to my disbelief saw you play in one of the fringe tents. I couldn't believe it when he told me, mind you he was fairly amazed to see that you actually existed and was not purely a figment of my imagination. By '85 we had qualified and off we went to work.
On going our separate ways, I gave each of my closest friends, one of your albums to remind them of younger sillier days, but keeping Pigmy to myself. I went off to the Lake District to work as an architect for 10 years before getting fed up with politics involved and returning to Scotland to run an environmental consulting/clean-up business keeping the environment clean - which is rather nice. I've even got my best friend in college working with me now and it was he who last week suggested we try and find you on the internet. Your still very much talked about within my circle of friends. It's been one of the longest running jokes I hate to say it - this mythical Keith Christmas figure, only we seemed to have heard of.
My wife Julie, the oldest teenager in the world, heavily into boy bands and still grieving over the split up of Take That, takes delight in telling her friends that her husband is the worlds only (her words) Keith Christmas fan. Well, obviously I am not alone. I could not believe it when your web page came up and I am delighted to see that you are both alive and well and, still doing something you very much enjoy. My friends are not going to believe it when I tell them about this - expect a large number of hits on your web page from Scotland in the near future, it's great. So, I'd just like to say thank you for the many years of pleasure I have derived from listening to your music. I wish you and your wife good health and happiness, and from now on I'll be keeping a close eye on your web site for information. Regards from a big fan.
date created:
Mon Jul 10 22:17:35 2000

name: Garnet Newton-Wade
 
where:Neston, Wiltshire
 
 
 

message:

Hi, It's been some time since I last wrote here and I have been bombarding trojan with emails and requests to release some of the old material without much luck. This may be a dumb idea but is it possible to buy the tapes back. My idea is that if everyone who visits this site and wants to see the release of the old stuff made a contribution it might be possible to get the tapes back for you. We could then beg steal or borrow the equipment to cut them down to MP3s or even CD. I guess trojan would wa (message truncated)

date created:
Tue Jun 6 16:52:06 2000

name:Nigel Holt

where: Sharjah, The United Arab Emirates

message:
Hi keith, The rumours of your demise are obviously overstated! I first heard Human Zoo and Brighter Day when a student in the early eighties and was told that there may have been another album but that you had died!! I'm delighted to see that not only did you do several more albums but that you're alive and kicking! I can now give my ill-informed Bristolian friend a kicking and your site address! I'm teaching out here in the UAE and so use the internet to track down records that are impossible to g (message truncated)
date created:
Tue Jun 6 15:32:49 2000

reply toTerry Martin:
Hi Terry! you reminded me that Sandy Roberton did in fact get Robin Head down on vinyl that night and it wound up on the '49 Greek Street' sample.
The place I was living in was Mells in Somerset, and just down the road there was a fantastically deep quarry that the foolish used to swim in. It used to claim about two lives a year but is now fenced off with a very high chain link fence and is owned by a company (Racal I think) who have pretty pictures of dolphins on the main gate.
It is a high security establishment doing secret work - now what does deep, icy water with many changes in depth, and sonar have in common? Well if you don't read up on submarine warfare you won't know about inversion layers which hide the Soviet hunter killers and ICBM platforms when they run the gap between the Shetlands and Greenland........
cheers, Keith

name: Terry Martin

where: Fortunately still on the planet , in Felsted, Essex.

message:
Hi Keith! I understand you've been having some dialogue with Tony (Kingsbury).It seems an age ago since I last saw you, which if my memory serves me well, was when you were "doing the macrobiotic thing" in Mells, Somerset? and I dropped in on you on the way down to stay with Al Jones in Padstow.
Re: Tony's email. I seem to remember recording Roy Harper's "Another Day" the same night that you vinylised "Robin Head" at Leyton High Was it done by some guy called Peter Jenner? I also think it may have been "Wells" not "Mells" when I "Dropped In" Regards. TMM
Hope you and the family are well. Hear from you maybe? Regards Terry. (Much the same but older and wiser!)
date created:
Mon Nov 8 14:59:46 1999

reply to Tony Kingsbury:
How very nice to remake your aquaintance after so long Tony. I remember the gigs (2 I think?) quite clearly (a feat in itself!) at Leyton Scool for 2 reasons:
1) I had the only out-of-body experience of my life there - no seriously I am definitely not nuts and only realised what had happened years later when reading a description of the phenomenon in a book. I suddenly found myself about 3 ft up and slightly back from my own head, can remember looking down at myself, and then looking out over what was a packed house and thinking "why aren't they looking at me?". I was playing something very fast and demanding and suddenly a faint worry thought come to me as to who was in charge of the fingers. As I looked at them I was suddenly back inside myself blasting away at the guitar. No-one noticed and I have only ever mentioned this to Julia!
2) Leyton School epitomised the early 70's to me - it was free-spirited, kids had the power to put on events like that, there was such a beautiful atmosphere of liberation and fun in the air - maybe it was just too good to survive?
Best wishes
Keith

name: Tony Kingsbury

where: Epping

message:
Remember me? I'm puzzled by all this discussion about new songs like 'Robin Head',what about really old ones like 'The Supermarket in Haverstock Hill' and @The Little temporary postman' - I always thought that could have kept Cliff Richard off the top of the festive charts I'm also pleased to see the cost of the early albums as the proud owner of all three.Remember Pete Stowe,he's even got 'Robin Head' on 49 Greek Street I chanced upon the new one too via a mail order company called Blackmail - very good.
I discovered your website via an Al Stewart site,that we are still in touch with Hratch (remember him) - indeed my daughter and his are penfriends. Finally the most spooky thing of all is that only a few days ago my 81 year old father out of the blue was remarking on how much he had enjoyed your playing of Cat's Squirrel when you did my school in Leyton
date created:
Thu Nov 4 14:58:04 1999

name: anita armeni

where: flamingo pool / arillas / corfu / greece,remember?

message:
hi guys, do you still remember me? i sure do remember you hope you are all right just wanted to check your site and hope you write me back have a great time all the best anita
date created:
Tue Oct 19 11:47:28 1999

reply to Phil Jones:
Hi Phil, thanks for the message. I wrote this further down the page, but in case you missed it, the man who holds the rights to re release the first three albums is Peter Moody at trojan records. You can reach him on 0181 509 2099 or drop into his site http://www.trojan-records.com and give him an email.
He says he is "getting round to it" so any pressure that might make him see pounds signs is bound to help!
To answer your other questions, I teach Technology and ICT at a secondary school in Bristol, and we have played in Cardiff at the Chapter Arts Centre, (but can't get another gig there), and a great club the Rhibina (spelling?) sports centre which we always packed out, was one of our 'banker' gigs in the year and shut down about a year ago! it seems crazy that we can fill a gig in Cardiff on a regular basis and now can't find anywhere to play there - it's like having an audience and no gig to go to! We are, however, playing at a little folk club in Pontardawe on Feb 25 and this has always been packed, and Jonkers up in Llangollen on May 31 - a great club that and was sold-out the last time.
Best wishes, Keith

name: phil jones

where: wales

message:
Hi keith, good to see you're up with the new technology. Like the web site. I understand you're a teacher in Bristol now. What do you teach? I too would like to be able to hear Pygmy and Fable of the Wings again. Love beyond Deals, a fine album, and the first I'd heard of you in a very long time. You're website mentions you both being happy to hear about venues where fans can catch you live. So, where if anywhere have you played in Wales? Cheerio, Phil
date created:
Fri Oct 15 22:26:06 1999

reply to Peter Sinfield:
Peter, where would we be without pains in the lower regions like you to goad us to higher endeavours - sitting there in a puddle of mediocrity kidding ourselves we're rowing the Atlantic is where.
Many thanks for the good words regarding the early Crimson gigs. I was straight out of Uni when I met you, Fripp, Boz, Mel and Ian, and I can honestly say they were the best times I ever had until now. As for Brighter Day I think you did a great job of producing that record (considering my haphazard and unpredictable approach to recording!!) and I wish you could see the number of emails I've had from people who say how much they like it to this day. The only thing seriously wrong with it was the cover, which I can honestly say makes me cringe to this day , but that was nothing to do with you old buddy!
As for the patchwork leather suit, I loved it, lived in it and can't remember at which point it gave up the ghost, but I suspect certain parts of it simply rotted away - you can't dry clean a leather suit if you know what I mean.........luckily they were pretty smelly years the 60s and 70s, but it's a funny thing, I don't remember it that way! Must have been masked by other things......
luv and best, Keith, and for you Peter I will play Robin Head, but only for you.....

name: Peter Sinfield
 
 
 
 

where: Aldeburgh Suffolk UK

message:
Hi Keithmas, Ah what it is to be a pain in the lower quarters catalyst type person. I am flattered to see the makeover of your site has been a tad influenced by my prentious remarks about erm, how it was and what you might consider to do to improve it. I didn't know you had supported Beefheart ...BUT I do remember how many times you made King Crimson work so much harder as a result of having not only opened but near as dammit "stolen" the show!!
I also fondly remember your leather patchwork suit, a dab of GFP here and there, and doing my egocentric, but not always successful, best while producing "Brighter Day", to capture your extraordinary MAGIC ability to "HOLD" a room . . .ah well... :-) I look forward to you visiting Chez Sinfield and bribing you one last time to play "Robin Head". "Its been along way down...." Love and a hug, Peter.
date created:
Mon Sep 20 16:56:13 1999

name: Garnet D Newton-Wade

where: Neston Wiltshire

message:
Thanks for the reply. I shall bombard Peter Moody with emails and telephone calls as I am very keen to get copies of 'Pygmy' and 'Fable of the Wings' again. I remember many years ago you appeared at the Old Cardiff Union with Jonathan Kelly around the time of his 'Once Around the Houses' Album and your 'Pygmy' Album.
I was working at the VIP Garage on Newport Road on and living in a Caravan outside Cardiff at the time. I was supposed to work that night and I recall you coming into the garage in a Mini driven by someone else, for petrol early that evening. Having served the fuel and seen you drive off I suddenly decided 'B****CKS' and left the job and travelled into town on the next bus.
I got to the Old Union, met up with my friends and we enjoyed what for us was the best show we had seen at that time. The next day I was fired from my job and it was as a direct result of being sacked that I went on to get myself an education and have now held down several good jobs.
I had copies of 'Fable of the Wings' and 'Pygmy' and later found a copy of 'Stimulus' in a second hand record store. Unfortunately, as happens to students, these were all stolen. Since CDs became popular I have been trying to get some of the old stuff in this new format. Things such as Donovan 'HMS Donovan', Jefferson Starship 'Blows Against the Empire' Arlo Guthrie 'Jefferson County' and many others most of which I have found. However, 'Fable of the Wings' and 'Pygmy' still elude me but I live in hope. Loved the music and have started to get into 'Love Beyond Deals'.
Regards, Garnet
date created:
Mon Sep 13 15:20:54 1999

reply to Garnet Newton-Wade:
Garnet, thanks for the message, you are one of many who keep asking me about the old albums. Peter Moody at trojan records has the back catalogue of the first three (Stimulus 1969, Fable of the Wings 1970 and Pigmy, my personal favourite 1971). You can reach him on 0181 509 2099 or drop into his site http://www.trojan-records.com and give him an email.
He has released Shelagh McDonald's 2nd album and no-one even knows where she is!! so every bit of pressure will surely help. As for Manticore, I'm still looking for them......
Best wishes, Keith

name: Garnet D Newton-Wade

where: Neston Wiltshire

message:
When will we see Fable Of The Wings (B & C 1970) and Pygmy (B & C 1971) released again. I have been trying for years to buy them in any format. Copies go in the states for £50-00 up
date created:
Thu Sep 9 13:58:43 1999

reply to Jon Garvey:
Jon, thanks for the support! I remember doing a gig at Cambridge supporting Capt Beefheart but the gigs have all rather blurred together I'm afraid - there goes the memoires......
As for Cat's Squirrel, the manic days are long gone, and also I have ceased consuming the vast quantities of ***** and ******* I did in those days
It is a wise man who knows when to quit certain things!
Best wishes, Keith

name: Jon Garvey

where: Danbury, Essex

message:
Keith - VERY glad you're playing again - booked you twice at Cambridge Uni Folk Club around 1971-2. What became of "Cat's Squirrel"? Nice site, too.
date created:
Sat Aug 14 21:55:00 1999

name: Pinkmoon

where:Italy

message:
well trojan has just reissued Shelagh McDonald second Lp so....
date created:
Tue Aug 10 21:50:30 1999

name: Don
 
 
 
 

where:Washington

message:
I liked your song "Words".
date created:
Thu Jul 1 03:48:14 1999

name: Pat Coombs
 
 

where:Bristol, England

message:
Nice Page! See you in D1 next week
date created:
Tue Jun 15 16:29:42 1999

name: Mike

where:Virgin Net

message:
I was invited so I came in to have a look round.
date created:
Tue Jun 15 11:50:07 1999

reply to Jon Green:
Jon, a lot of people have asked me this year about re-releasing the old albums. trojan records hold the first three back catalogues and they are at http://www.trojan-records.com/
Manticore Records had 'Brighter Day' and 'Stories from the Human Zoo' Stuart Young was the MD but where they all are now I don't know.
cheers, Keith

name: Jon Green

where: California Bay Area

message:
Hello Keith, It's great to see a full-fledged Keith Christmas site up and running - and beautifully designed, too! Is there any chance your back catalog will be released on CD? The recordings in question include: Stimulus (RCA 1969) Fable Of The Wings (B & C 1970) and Pygmy (B & C 1971)
date created:
Mon May 17 19:06:19 1999

name: Spencer

where: Bristol

message:
Nice page Keith, like it alot
date created:
Thurs May 13 08:43:50 1999

name: Jeff Elkins

where:Colorful Colorado

message:
I pride myself in being your biggest fan! I own all of your recordings (except your self titled)--which I continue to search for. The Magic samples offer simple elegance and I hope you enjoy some US airplay.
date created:
Mon May 10 21:51:00 1999

name: Mike Kachalin

where: Mosow

message
Your music is very pretty, thanks for samples ! And I was very pleased you noticed our Fantasy Music project
date created:
Mon May 10 12:57:41 1999

 
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