Bingham Hall, Cirencester Fund Raiser Gig

The lads are back in action again this very Saturday night (you can watch Strictly later...) as part of a fund raiser for local good causes.

The event sees us  teaming up again with some of the ridiculously talented MJ-UK crowd who we worked with in the summer for the World War 1 Commemorative event, and also some of our singing chums in the Cirencester Community Choir.

Also appearing are another Ashton Keynes Music Festival success story, the Ukeydukes, the ukelele group from AK.

All in all a great little show for the bargain rate of £5 (Under 14 free) so we look forward to seeing some familiar faces there.


Tickets available from Local Info Point at
Bingham House, 1 Dyer St, Cirencester  – Tel: 01285 655646 or on the door or from Cirencester Visitor Information Centre (www.cotswold.gov.uk) at Corinium Museum, Park St, Cirencester 01285 654180

A Magnificent Farewell

Just a quickie to report that the village of Ashton Keynes bade fond farewell to Anthony, landlord of The White Hart these past three years, and his family with much merriment and song and above all drinking (it is what he would have wanted us to do).  The pub was packed, which is an indication of the high esteem in which he is held.

We even gave him a token of our appreciation of all the hard work we have made him and his staff do to help keep us refreshed during our workshops and Yuletide Carol events.  

Here you can see former Big Chief Instigator Neil B pulling a face of suitable pointless grandeur with Anthony, in his recently presented "Magnificent Polo Shirt" from our extensive range of leisure wear, looking suitably chuffed with the gift.

He has promised to invite us up to his new premises at some point so watch out for news of a visit once he has had a chance to settle in and explain about the special place of Ashton Keynes and the extra special Magnificent AK47 who have emerged from there.

We wish him all the best and look forward to striking up a relationship with the new landlords

Going, going, nearly gone

Goodbye from all of us!

Who ate all the pies?  Well, not the chap in the middle, flanked by two giants of our Magnificent world, Big Mike and DR Sweeney.  

But who is the little chap handing over the carefully pre-warmed pies before the start of our Wold Tour 2013?  It is none other than one Mr Anthony Klee, who along with some inspired local owners has breathed a HUGE new lease of life into our belovéd local watering hole, The White Hart.

Sadly he has been lured away to bigger and better things round Glawster way and we will miss his genuineness, keen eye for a good beer and propensity to open up specially for us on a Sunday Workshop to make sure the blokes could whet their whistles.

If anyone is around and fancies popping along there will be what will no doubt be a massive hooly of a send off for him and his good lady wife and son this coming Friday 24th October.

We wish him goodbye and good luck and have a Magnificent time.

Sounds of the City

And just to round off our record of a lovely evening of song, in the City of Song, as part of the Festival of Song, here is a snap of the Stepford Singers with their charismatic Choir leader Fran about to address the audience as their set draws to a close.

And below you can here their final contribution for the night with a stirring rendition of a piece "Voro Ivanivicki" that was rehearsed separately by the two choirs and together just the once, moments before the show.

The ladies appeared a little nervous coming back onto the stage after the blokes had put in a sterling performance, but they need not have worried.  The combined sound was impressive given the lack of joint rehearsal and is a validation of the knowledge of the respective choir leaders knowing that  it would work, and the talent of the singers making it work.

The power of song - a fitting metaphor for the whole festival - well done, another triumph and we look forward to next year already.

Twitter me Timbers!

Just a quickie posting as a down payment for more stuff to follow about last night's gig as part of the Bristol Festival of Song show with the Stepford Singers.

This is partly because we are still collectively reeling from what turned from a less than awesome soundcheck into really quite special "Magical Man Moment" for us.  

This was the first outing for some of the blokes, so there was a higher level of anxiety than normal, but the delightful ladies of the Stepford Singers sang so enchantingly and actually dedicated a piece to us that quite turned our little heads.

And when we finally made it on to the stage (waiting for lumbering John W who got stuck, yet again, getting into his donkey outfit...) we found an absolutely fabulous audience totally up for it and loving every minute.

As you can see from the "Tweets" we seemed to be a hit on that there social medium thingy.

And we would like to make a special mention of the delightful Hannah who has organized the event.  We hope to have evidence of the Magnificent AK47 mug we presented to her in action very soon - bet you can't wait!

Would you trust this lot with your parrot?

Would you trust this lot with your parrot?

Well, it is a reasonable question to ask given the reputation THE Magnificent AK47 have been building for several years now, what with their carefully manicured public persona (!) and having graced the stages of Chippenham Folk Festival, Colston Hall and alike. . .  

They may have the best array of hats and other props and other prosthetic aids in all the land, but can they actually sing to back it all up?  Again, a question that is often asked (mostly by the blokes themselves) and one you should judge for yourself by listening to the couple of clips recorded at their recent performance in the M-Shed.  In particular, marvel at the cunning and witty way in which they adapt one of their best loved pieces, the homage to male sanctuary, to better suit their location.

Returning to Bristol on Friday night and paired up on an inspired bit of programming to present a great double bill with The Stepford Singers, they will be performing as part of the wonderful Bristol's Festival of Song at St Francis' Church, North St, Bristol, BS3 2AN - see http://www.festivalofsong.org.uk/ticketed-events/ Friday 17th October at 19:30.

Expect the usual mixture of dead pan humour and dead good singing and possibly a stuffed animal or two for good measure.

Still, wouldn't trust them with your parrot, but find out for yourself how good they are by getting along on Friday

Go West!

Hot off the presses is this snap and the early "rushes" from the recordings of our trip to Bristol to play our part in their Festival of Song and in particular the "Song Raids" down in the docks.

A lovely Autumnal afternoon was had by all as the blokes plied their trade singing on The Matthew, on a Steam Train carriage and also generally posing about the place as can be witnessed here with a motley crew haranguing Bristol legend John Cabot.

Some rough and ready recordings of the afternoon can be heard below - watch out for more photos and other stuff, most likely mostly on facebook.

And we return to Bristol's fair city this coming Friday 17th October to perform in St Francis Church with The Stepford Singers.  More in the next posting or two.