What is the Magnificent connection between this week's Folk Show and The Magnificent AK47?

Anyone get the right answer?  

Perhaps not any easy one but next time you will know as we build up to another big trip to the Big Smoke in May for a couple of very Big Nights out singing with some top choirs.

It is Sam Lee and Voices Now!

Check out for Sam's performance along with real birds at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05mqdyb (and also http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02mslvs - interesting stuff preserving culture...)

The Full English

Another tasty nugget from that nice young man on the radio, Mark Radcliffe and his, that there, Folk Show regaling us with The Full English, a majorly significant project, about which you can learn more at http://www.efdss.org/efdss-the-full-english.

Listening to the show they played a piece call "Man In The Moon" which was based on words salvaged from oblivion by Alfred Williams, the "Hammerman Poet", known to several members of our group and a regular local hero.  A snippet of the show appears to be available here.

Full information about our growing connection with Alfred's legacy will escape over time as certain plots are hatched and progress beyond mere "pubtalk".

Reading through the blurb on the Full English website it really is a remarkable resource and voluminous archive, one of which our members will be encouraged to plunder in the quest for material relevant to our burgeoning repetoire and needs of BlokeFest (more on the 2014 version soonish).

Everyone should cherish this resource and also consider patronising the gigs that are scheduled including one nearby(ish) in that there Bristol Town at the Colston Hall - see http://www.colstonhall.org/?s=full+english.

Do drop us a line at themagnificentak47@gmail.com if you are interested in attending as we may well be semi-organizing a "Class Outing" for the gang to go along in an Elliison's charabanc - more on a more local possible "Class Outing" and top Ukranian singing soon.

Yet more excitement on the Radio

And in another exciting moment, this week's wonderful BBC Radio 2 Folk show also featured another group to which The Magnificent AK47 have a link, namely The Ballina Whalers.

Our major link is that the dearly departed and much lamented Ken Brookes is the dear old dad of one of their number, the exceptionally talented and hard working songster Sam Brookes.

The second link that only those of us in the know know (!) is that they were very close to being lured along to BlokeFest 2013 to run a workshop but calendars did not quite coincide, more's the pity.  

So, shuffle your browser along to their website and enjoy their music and catch them on the BBC iPlayer recording of the show whilst you can.

Exciting Spooky News

Exciting news on the Spooky Men's Chorale front with the announcement on tonight's Mark Radcliffe Folk Show that our big mates would be performing on next week's show, then he actually played their weird and wonderful "Baron of Beef" off the quite superlative "Spook Men of History" album.

What with a couple of other tracks he played from people with a Magnificent AK47 connection (more very soon) it has been quite a night.

If you haven't seen the Spookys in action this year, then more fool you!  Get on with it or you will regret it.

"The Voice" - no, not THAT "The Voice"

Whilst listening to the wonderful BBC2 Folk Show run by that most deceptively erudite of broadcasters, Mark Radliffe, a trailer was played for what sounds like a very intriguing series of radio programs celebrating the immenseness that is the human voice.

And this was following a few news reports this week of gelada monkeys, a species that is apparently closely related to the baboon, that make gurgling noise that shares features with human language.

All food for thought, so point your radio player towards Voice Week on Radio 2 and learn more.