Author, presenter and radio host, Simon Williams, was just making a name for himself as a performing poet when the lockdown came and he was forced back to his garret.
His last gig was going to be reciting words at the 40th anniversary of St Antony's Heritage Centre in Trafford Park at the invitation of musicians and songwriters Paul Frost and Vincent Sheedy. While that too was cancelled, it led to a virtual collaboration with the pair which has resulted in a CD, The Winds of Salford even though Simon has never actually met the couple face-to-face.
"During lockdown like everyone else I diversified to writing lyrics, Paul and Vincent added the magic and the CD, The Winds of Salford, was born" says Simon "It has been a pleasure working with them, and strangely enough we still have never set eyes on each other..."
Paul adds: "Simon and I collaborated in writing a song about Homeless soldiers which was picked up for a television documentary, and then Simon started sending me his words and the process of sharing ideas with Vincent and myself began..."
On the ten track CD, from which all profits go to Salford City Radio, six of the songs have words by Simon, as his poems are set to acoustic driven, almost singalong music.
The first track, Buile Hill '75, is a recollection about young love in school and local park...'Forty years on, I dream of those days, our paths no longer cross, we drifted different ways...'
Indeed, running through nearly all the tracks is heavy Salford from Another Teenage Superstar, about a Salford Red Devils star moving on, to the anthem-like Up and Under 2020, an update of Paul's original verses by Simon... 'Players may come and players may go, some stay in your heart, the Salford Reds will always be the place where our dreams start...'
That first collaboration, Homeless, appears on the CD as the first person story of an ex-soldier on hard times...'You don't know what I've been through, don't look down you haven't got a clue, try living your life in my shoes, it isn't something I chose to do'...
It's all pretty simple words, set to uncomplicated music in which the stories and subject matter take centre stage, while the choruses stick. The track Forty Foot Wide is about the building of the Manchester Ship Canal, while 1649 is based on the Wigan Diggers attempts to 'make the country equal for you and for me'.
The title track, The Winds of Salford, by Paul and Vincent, tells the tale of a man who 'left his home in Lower Seedley, sailed away to foreign lands...but the winds of Salford called him home...he yearned for Salford's smoky face...'
Meanwhile, Oh Did It Rain, written for the Urmston Walkers, says it all in the title, while Waiting For An Encore shatters aspirations...
Altogether the compilation, with its mix and match of Simon's words, and Paul and Vincent's words, tunes and voices, kind of flows into one melodious whole. If this was deep down USA we'd call it country music. But we're not, so call it the sounds of Salfordians. And not a gasworks in site...just plenty of characters and lots of love...
The Winds of Salford is available for £5 direct from Simon Williams email siwilliams123@outlook.com or from Jill Bowyer at Salford City Radio info@salfordcityradio.org
It will also soon be available on Amazon as a download.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
(3).jpeg)
.png)
(1).JPG)
