Saturday, February 3, 2018

Geoff Smedley - Coventry folk singer

Geoff Smedley 

"Geoff Smedley, whose clear, gentle voice and warm humourous personality has brought pleasure to uncounted numbers of people. I hope this LP will help him achieve some acclaim, Geoff is not - does not pretend to be - a superstar - but he IS worth listening to." Rosemary Hardman from the back cover of his LP Love is Mine 1972


I don't know a lot about Geoff Smedley but he was a member of The Idiot Grunt Band (Coventry) in 1967. Becoming The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band (Dando Shaft, Rob Armstrong, Rod Felton) and breaking in 1972 (Armstrong forming "The Music Box").
Geoff was a contemporary of Rod Felton and Rob Armstrong on the Coventry Folk Scene in 1965, and when the Coventry Mummers visited Germany to perform, Rod Rob and Geoff went over too, playing solo or together as The Gentle Idea and it seems Geoff played sometimes with The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band.

In 1972 Geoff Smedley made a limit edition (200 pressings) folk album Love is Mine on the Westwood label.



Tracklist

A1 Baby you've been on my Mind
A2 Susan's Song
A3 Andrew
A4 The Water is Wide
A5 Have Faith in Me
B1 Alberta
B2 Willie Moore
B3 Bushes and Briars
B4 Lady for Today
B5 Hedgehog's Song


Rosemary Hardman plays guitar on "Lady for Today"


Love is Mine - Geoff Smedley





GEOFF SMEDLEY
From the back cover of his album

It has become increasingly obvious in the last two years that the whole music world - including the folk scene - has declared the 70's the age of the superstar. Names like - Steeleye Span, Ralph McTell and America's James Taylor, receive the acclaim that up to this time was only accorded to pop artists. There seems little doubt that the possibility of achieving that sort of acclaim - and the resultant ego-trip has affected the overall standard of folk music in this country. But whilst artists like Steeleye Span pack the concert halls and what the public's appetite for bigger and better things - it is still in the local folkclub that the average folk fans seek their music. These clubs rely to a great extent on the talents of semi-professional singers and it seems that many of these never receive an acclaim in proportion to the great contribution they make to the scene. Such an artist is Geoff Smedley, whose clear gentle voice and warm, humourous personality have brought pleasure to uncounted numbers of people. I hope this LP will help him achieve some of that acclaim. Geoff is not and does not pretend to be a Superstar - but he is worth listening to.


Rosemary Hardiman.