Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 2026)

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

From This Moment On

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Monday, November 15, 2021

BSH FIVE MILLION NOT OUT!

Once upon a time, in the pre-pandemic era, photographs of jazz musicians in action were posted to the internet. One of the men responsible for this innocuous act could never have imagined what it would lead to. Sharing his enthusiasm for jazz, not least bebop, generated much interest out there in cyberspace.  

It all began in 2008 and in no time our man found himself inundated with comments, contributions by way of album and concert reviews, and an ever-expanding gig list which became an indispensable feature of what we now know as Bebop Spoken Here. A little over a decade later (October 2018), our man found himself in the Holborn Pizza Express rubbing shoulders with some of the British jazz scene's most famous names. He was there to attend the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group's annual awards ceremony. An APPJAG award is a coveted prize and as the winners across various categories went up onto the stage to accept their awards it came to the Jazz Media award. And the winner is...Lance Liddle for Bebop Spoken Here! 

Lance wound his way to the stage to utter a few words. Being all but speechless wasn't ideal, but the warm applause spoke volumes. Returning to his seat, Steve Crocker kindly took a commemorative photo of Lance with his certificate, which, we understand, was subsequently framed and takes pride of place on a wall at BSH HQ. 

Not one to rest on his laurels, Lance has continued to post all manner of things covering the Tyneside jazz scene and, increasingly, from further afield...London, Hong Kong, Europe and the USA. The FIVE MILLIONTH hit is anticipated to be reached in the early hours of today, Monday Nov. 15* and there is little indication Lance will be slowing down any time soon. Here's to the ten million!  Russell  

*(Lance) Look out for the fireworks and the sound of champagne corks popping all over the world - well maybe not all over the world - China has yet to log on to BSH.

7 comments :

Anonymous said...


Congratulations, Lance.
More hits than the Beatles, Madonna, Sinatra, Ed Sheeran, Adele and all the other pop stars combined.

An amazing number of hits and even more amazing achievement!

JC

Roly said...

Congratulations Lance. I see the 5 mill is now reached. I remember you starting this off, handing out fliers etc. and now look where it is. Amazing. Best wishes and thank you to you and your team for all you do.

Ken_D said...

Congratulations Lance - what an amazing achievement !!! 5 Million .... and still counting !!

Elaine Harrison said...

Wow Congratulations 🎉 Lance!
X

Ann Alex said...

I feel good to be a tiny part of this 5 million. Congratulations to Lance, Must go now, I have 2 reviews to do, so it goes joyfully on .....

Rob Adams said...

Well done, Lance, and thank you for all the posts you've accepted from north of the border.

Tommy Smith said...

Again, as all the folks above have written, many congratulations, and here's to the next 5 million. Best wishes, Tommy Smith

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