At the Dog and Partridge (Manor St, Bolton) every Sunday 9 pm see map 

Click on the song titles for some recent (and vintage) live audio from the "legendary"* open-mic nights at the D & P and if you want more recent videos there are a host of links to our Youtube channel on this page. The page is generally organised by adding newcomers to the top as we go along but the links in this paragraph should help you excavate. Every Sunday night Dan  Dave and Eric  play host and fill in any gaps. There are regular performers like Kev ,Star ,Emily ,Pete ,Don ,Danny and Rob plus old favourites like Lisa , John  and Danny D but new faces are always welcome - to listen, to join in, or do a solo spot. Performances are usually recorded live on the night (cock-ups and all) and we keep adding to and replacing the selection and if you want a free CD of your own performance, just mention it. There are hundreds songs from over 60 different singers ... but there's always room for more with weekly updates often on-line by mid-week. New stuff from Don, Chris, Crommie, Josh, the Bigsby Bros and Dave. If you've got any queries, corrections or (polite) suggestions you can get me on Sunday night or at vandiddley@yahoo.co.uk

If you want to see what things really look like then go to youtube.com . I try to add something new every week and in the last year it's building up to quite an archive. It's getting well over 2000 plays a week - current total round 90,000.The Dog has gone global and we get friendly comments from every continent - just wish they could swell the crowd in the Dog some Sunday nights !

The Bigsby Brothers "Colonel Bogey" "In the hall of the mountain king" "Less kebabs" "Minor swing" "Ren n' stinky" "Zarbie"

On a chilly Summer evening dressed for a Polar expedition this is like Desert Blues meets Gypsy Jazz done by the Bonzo Dog Band. The Brothers came from Rochdale and made a refreshing change. You can find out more at their myspace

Josh  "British rom com" "Looking glass"

Talented local making a first visit: Josh kindly lent everyone else his guitar and we'd be happy to see him again anytime.

Matt    "Message in a bottle" "Man in the mirror" (not Michael Jackson)

A new face - an obviously talented singer/guitarist/songwriter  who has his own Youtube channel as MattJAcoustic (thanks to Craig for the info).

Ste H  "Brew in the pot"  "Dark end of the street"  "Red-brick road" "Truth be told" "Stale mate"

Ste sings with Minions of Jeffrey and The Managers. Of the songs here "Dark end of the street" was an original hit for James Carr and has been covered by lots. "Brew.." is a Minions song the rest are Ste's

Nick  "Slowly falling" "The Harley Davidson song" "Underlying truth" "Respond"

Nick is one of Bolton's most popular and accomplished acoustic performers - all his own songs here. It was good to see him and you can find out more at his band website .

Michelle (with Mav) "Ride on"  "No woman no cry"  "Dickhead"

A new voice accompanied by Mav on bass and guitar. Michelle and Mav have moved into myspace

Jon  "Valerie" "Friend of the devil"

Jon's popular all over Lancashire but this was his first Dog visit - Pauline lured him from Wigan. Great old and new mix done with loads of style. Get all the info on Jon at his website - he's involved in a couple of open-mics round Wigan if anyone fancies a trip.

Adam  "Bodysnatchers" "Under the stairs"  "Rolling fast"

Adam getting to grips with the mic on a recent Radiohead track plus earlier outing of his own excellent songs

Scarecrow   "Keep me on it"

Confident and uncompromising performance from a rare visitor - I'm not sure of the song title though.

Gab & Heather   "A smaller divide" "Ironic" "Misty morning"   "Rush of scarlet"  "Siempre" (duo)

Heather (see below) returned with Gab. They make up half of Second-hand Wings and, aside from Alanis Morissette's "Ironic" these are their own songs. For links see Heather W four doors down.

Gaz  "Tutankhamun"  "The one that got away" "People's minds" "Am I being followed?"

A recent debutant - Gaz wrote these himself - remind me of the Incredible String Band... but then nobody remembers them !

Paul  O  "In the dark"  "Missing" (?)

Another newcomer with his own songs who's promised to return.....and bring a friend with a cello ! !

Islands lost at sea "Luna" "Yon swimming bloke" "Platypus fink"

Bodge, Adam and Dan did a long overdue Dog debut with rather jolly acoustic versions of familiar favourites (to ILAS followers that is). Myspace has some electronic originals. Their Acoustic Anarky album will be released shortly.

Heather W  "Siempre"    "Butterflies"   "Golden touch"

Now out of Out of the Gray and into new band 2nd-hand wings, Heather gave us a Boxing Day surprise with a spirited solo spot featuring some OOTG originals and the odd cover. The new band has a myspace

Tabitha  "Ibiza mix" "Good and bad"

An occasional (but very welcome) visitor; Tabitha has very distinctive vocal and songwriting styles and boldly goes where no-one else does in her use of a radio-mic (see small object partially concealed by hair in picture).

Amy and Liam  "Are friends electric?" "Stalker's lullaby part 2" "Another one" (?) "Glenlivet take 4"   "There and back again"

(Arguably) Bolton's best harp and "electric thing" players were back. Amy and Liam now do comedy as can be heard (and seen on Youtube) with impressions of Dick Van Dyke (doing cockney) and Fred Dibnah (doing Bolton) on a Gary Numan cover. Part 1 of the excellent Stalker's Lullaby is on Youtube due to a complex video/audio cock-up... whatever.

Si   "Lonely river"    "Sonnet"

Si's own Lonely River sounds just like Paul Simon to me. Before anybody sues can I correct the earlier statement that the second song (by Verve I'm now told) was written by Si.

Danny  L "Hurtin' so long" "Danny's blues" "Paint the sky" "Be good or be gone" "I wonder how to breathe" "Say goodbye"  "They're all in love"  "Lullaby for the one" "Red dress"(?)  "My baby knows right from wrong but she doesn't always get it right"  "Chelsea Hotel" "Song for Jesus"   "A life of distraction"

A regular visitor  who's developing a distinctive songwriting and performance style that can be heard anew on my space

Sam  "All your goodbyes"  "Make up your mind" "Shoebox"  "You're with me"

Sam writes her own in a consistent and convincing Country style.

James  "Feel good inc" "Hounds of love" "Last request" "Nine crimes" "I'm no superman" "Face for the radio" "Half a world away" "Gather round" "Inspired by Moo"  "Look to the sky"  "Still the same" 

A singer/writer with stand-out songs and performance. Does some nice covers too.

Johnny T  "Middle-men in history" "Sick society"  "The world's comin to an end and that" "Black and white" "Suicide" "Nowt left"   "Glory's tribute"  "House of the rising sun"  "All along the watchtower"

aka Johnny Turpentine (or could be Turpentyne to go with audible Geordie-ness). Good to have some punk in the Sunday night mix and JT does his own songs as well as some surprising covers. If you're looking on Youtube there's some nice footage of Johnny busking in his North-eastern homeland.

Pauline  "Hope I never" "Honestly"  "My angel"  "Ride on"  "Here with you" "Wouldn't it be nice"

Pauline's getting to be a regular and brought friend Jon (see above) on her latest visit. The Wigan "invasion" is very welcome. For anyone who prefers their acoustic music unamplified Pauline can sometimes be found at the Wigan Folk Club (run by her mum, Joan) at the Fox and Goose on Wigan Lane.

The kiss off   "Enough"  "I wanna be your dog"  "Rip off my head + Godzilla stomp"

Kiss off are one of Bolton's best established noisy bands so the acoustic set was a surprise - though still comfortably noisy !

The minions of Jeffrey   "Brew in the pot"  "Brucie knows best"  "Moochin'''

After the mini-minions of a few weeks before this was the full-minion, finishing off the evening (at 2 am) in boisterous fashion. All their own work "Brew in the pot" chronicles the little known meeting between B. Dylan of Hibbing, Minnesota and local legend Fred Dibnah - complete with impressions ! Jay and Ben (here on trumpets) did great work throughout the day as part of the "houseband".

TVOD  "I fought the law"    "Three little birds" "Transmission"

Roy and Kev are elsewhere on this site but here augmented with Ian and Nick (in the shadows) - getting nearer the full TVOD line-up. Check out www.myspace.com/televisionoverdose

Inbred quarter  "Volcano" "Defence"  "Hold your breath"  "The beard"

Taking time out from dashing around the country with at least 2 other bands Ste (on guitar) and Ste (on bongos) were acoustically representing Inbred quarter. The fuller story is at  http://www.myspace.com/inbredste or http://www.inbredquarter.co.uk/ or even http://www.ibqcovers.co.uk/

Matt   "Autumn mist" "Sea of tranquility"  "The last lark"

Matt was a revelation with the "houseband" - demonstrating the versatility of the electric violin on song after song "Hurricane" , "Young Americans" and "Pearl's a singer" are just a small sample. He took time here to solo on some of his own tunes.

Tony   "I'll always be your friend"

Tony has often beat the bodhran in support of others (see John Mac here and on Youtube) This was very effective: solo and a capella (apart from the bodhran that is)

Cleetus and the Moonshine  "Don't pin this one on me"  "That don't make no sense"  "I know"

Cleetus and co. only seem to come out for the Acoustic Showcase (see 2006) but everyone's glad they do.

Chris K   "Hats off to the zebras"

A Bill Bailey song with some really good lines, handled by Chris in deadpan comic fashion

Dai  "Careless love" "Hey hey" "Everybody's blues"  "Judge Harsh blues" "Hey good lookin'"

A rare visitor with a passion for the blues and skills to match.

Johnny  "Hey girl"

Another skilful newcomer (from a band called Suitcase (?)) with his own song - a compulsive pop tune - Dog-diversity strikes again !

The mini-Minions  "Revolution"  "Song for the agitated and anarchic"  "Sick/Six chords" (?)

Matt, Si and James were acoustically representing the Minions of Jeffrey, famous locally for being a sort of blend of the Beach Boys and Bernard Manning (only not at all right-wing). See above and last year's Acoustic Showcase for the full splendour of the maxi-Minions

Alabaster DePlume   "Last on at the Night and Day"  "I don't wanna grow up"

Also known as Gus. An agreeably  mysterious figure: angry poet and angry singer - free-flowing abuse.  First time (in recent years anyway) we've had poetry on a Dog night. Hope it's not the last and that he drops in again. Meanwhile you can visit him on myspace

Roy   "Creep"  "Beat on the brats"

Roy is a TVOD man who specialises in unusual covers like these. Kevin, also in TVOD is with him on guitar here. For more of TVOD look at  www.myspace.com/televisionoverdose

Ian  "Alison"  "Part of the queue"  "The importance of being idle"  "Stuck in the middle with you"

An occasional visitor who hung on 'til well after midnight but still had enough energy left for for some spirited covers of these classics. See his filmography on IMDB (!)

Yozzer  "Porch" "Glycerin" "Gasoline" "Monday morning blues" "Flawed" "She" "Long road" "Folsom prison blues" "Comfort and complacency" "Misery" "The one I love" "About Lisa"  "The gift"  "Crazy Mary"   "Another lonely day"   "Deliverance"  "Driven under"  "Mr writer"   "Jayne"

Distinctive covers of Pearl Jam, Seether, Stereophonics  et al plus his own songs which you can hear more of at  my space

Crommie  "From the beginning" "A day in the life" "I'd like to be with you"     "Seems like a dream"  "Off with his head"

The return of an old regular with a very distinctive style of singing, playing and whistling (see pic) his own equally distinctive tunes. He also brings his bass along to help out in the jam. He does my space and now has his own Youtube channel

David S "So sad so long" "Lorna" "Into your eyes" "If you say" "Sing a song for you" "Clown time is over" "Torn and frayed" "Lonely" "Confetti" "Enough hope"  "The last laugh" "Catch a dream" "She drives my train"  "You"  "The right and the wrong"  "A false start"  "Song to the siren"

David typically uses his sets to try out his own songs with occasional covers. More from David on myspace .

Mav (aka Paul)   "Mav #1"   "Mav #2"

Mav doesn't sing (yet) - he writes and plays short but quietly effective guitar pieces - the police siren on #1 is not part of the performance though it does give it a kind of Living for the City vibe !

Lovely Lads  "Taiwan to break free"   "You're the one in Taiwan"   "Taiwan'll be elated"

Luke and Mark are in a band called Panacea as are Spiderman etc. Their band-mate Richard (aka Rollie, see below) was shortly leaving for Taiwan so the self-styled Lovely Lads put together a set in which classic pop songs were ever-so-subtly altered to include references to their friend's destination.

Spiderman and the Captain of the Ship   "For lovers"   "The drugs don't work"

Continuing the story.... James and Richard (aka Rollie, in the hat, about to go to Taiwan) also of Panacea, did a couple of good "covers" that included no references to Taiwan

Joanne "Ride on"  "Big yellow taxi"  "What's up" "Mr rock n roll" "Walk this world" "Can I stay" "Standing still"  "Polly-anne"  "Luca"    "Forever young"

Joanne is a key member of the Saggy Bottom Girls and a regular Dog visitor belting out some great covers from an eclectic list of performers. Another plus is she brings her family ...and a cheery disposition.

Leaf   "Cherub rock"  "Shanty"    "Eat the meek"   ".what's the difference"  "Roustabout"

Twins Ben and Jay not only work as two-thirds of a rock band (see website) about one quarter of the Minions of Jeffrey and one eleventh of new (very)big-band sensation the Managers ...but also form an effective acoustic duo as Dog sessions testify.

John Mac  "Ramona" "Viva la quinte brigada"  "Hurricane" "Clare Island" "The lonesome death of Hattie Carroll" "Who killed Davey Moore?"  "Burn"  "Tomorrow is a long time"   "The leaving (of Liverpool)"

John conjures up Bob Dylan with eerie (but pleasing) accuracy and features Bob a lot, including a cunning "duet" from Dylan and the Clancy bros on "Leaving..." - Irish songs being his other musical passion. 

David  "9.45 a.m." "Mama don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" (in Czech) "Pohoda" "Czech tongue-twister" "Macejko (drinking song)" "Sweet home Alabama" "Nebude to take lahke"  "Amerika"  "Rock n roll"  "Cukrarska bossa nova"    "Harley"  "Tvych par minut"  "Kdyz kocky rvou"  "Cakam ta pred domom"     "Take me home country roads"

David's back in the Czech Republic running a hotel called "Chata Lovrana" - with an Acoustic Night we hope as he's invited everyone to pop in. I'll keep posting some tracks recorded when he he played us a flying visit recently

Dave - "Loving the alien" "How do you sleep" "No rain" "The Cuckoo" "Ballad of a thin man" "Make it easy/America" "Gagging order" "Death take your fiddle" "Well-known has-been" "Baby don't you do it" "Playground love" "That's not my name" "The strange ones" "Waltz #2" "Bewley brothers" "Time" "Michelle" "Running dry" "All the tigers" "Lady grinning soul" "Banana Co" "Faithless the wonder boy" "Just a state of mind" "Running up that hill" "Supertheory of everything" "Your possible pasts" "Alloway grove" "Search and destroy" "Start wearing purple" "Five years" "The man who sold the world" "A pair of brown eyes" "Rose"  "Young Americans"  "Space freaks" "Wasn't born to follow" "Master of the Universe" "Old man" "The port of Amsterdam"  "Abbey Road"  "Run for your life" "Quicksand" "Dogs" "Sorrow"  "Wild is the wind"  "Mother"  "All over me"  "Rude song"    "Baby let me follow you down"     "Southern man"    "Cygnet committee"   "Where did you sleep last night"

Co-host and "one of the most widely recognised faces on Bolton's acoustic scene" (Bolton News 16/2/07). A former member with Dan of the band Mannekin John, he sings, plays and writes songs with equal talent and conviction.

Mike is only an occasional visitor but guaranteed to cheerfully contribute 2 or 3 usually blues-based numbers. So this cover of Springsteen's   "Down to the river" is a bit unusual, not least as Mike seems to give it an Irish folky lilt that's rather appealing.

Paul - "Gingerbread man"   "The greatest bank-job in the world... gone wrong"   "Monkey in a tree"   "Make me smile"

A slightly hesitant style belies Paul's confidence with a song..... and it's all his own stuff. Especially clever lyrics and a delivery that's plaintive and powerful at the same time.

Harry - "You can't always get what you want"   "The spider and the fly"

A familiar figure on the local music scene, here he's accompanied by Dave and sounds like a young Mick Jagger

Lisa - "Beautiful world" "Go with the flow" "Sheela na gig (plus)" "Over the hill" "Teardrops"  "Come on Billy" "Original sin"  "The way young lovers do" "Hope there's someone"  "Rain & snow"  "Star bright"   "Henry Lee"   "Karma police"   "Sheela-na-gig"          

It took her some time to get up the "nerve" to perform at these evenings - but Lisa's performances are  remarkably accomplished and her repertoire is expanding rapidly. Wide-ranging inspiration here from Antony and the Johnsons, Joni Mitchell, Nick Cave etc. Duets with Emily go down especially well with D&P regulars and since we started featuring on YouTube they seem to be getting an international following !

Lyn - "Look what they've done to my song ma" "Fairytales of New York" "Mattie Groves" "Songbird" "Pearl's a singer" "Me and a gun"  "Diamonds and rust"  "Ruby Tuesday"  "Strong enough",  "Mandolin wind",  "1952 Vincent Black Lightning",  "Cry"

Lyn was a well-known face (and voice) at local acoustic nights till she moved to Spain. She's "home" a lot though and can be relied on for some surprising sets.....Tori Amos, Rod Stewart, James Blunt.

Graham  "Time of sorrow"    "Nazi boy"

Graham blasts out covers as readily as his own songs (of which there are 100 plus). Nazi Boy seems to be his personal favourite but Time of sorrow benefits from some lovely improvised lead guitar from John (see below). Graham tells us this song was written about 30 years ago by a local lad called Marco (Mark-o ?)

John  "Psychedelic warlords" "Find her finer" "I'm lost" "Flying doctor"  "Honey don't you want a man like me" "Hangman"  "Do nothing til you hear from me" "Rebel rebel" "I can't give you anything but love"  "Just gimme some of your love"  "Reefer madness"   "Love is a drug"  

John is a stunning guitarist and sings like an emotional Bryan Ferry (see Love etc) His own compositions  "Not wishing on a star" and  "Local legend" add on considerable lyrical skill . He's adventurous enough to throw in the strange vocal conclusion to Reefer madness and he's one of very few acoustic performers who 'd make a regular space for Frank Zappa -  "Cosmik debris" shows what a good idea that is.... if you can play and sing like John....and somehow remember all the words !

Katie - "Ain't no sunshine"  "Misery"  "I put a spell on you"

Katie initially stepped out from behind the bar to deliver a powerful version of the Screaming Jay Hawkins song and  featured in the 2007 Acoustic Showcase.

Ged - "Jesus don't want me for a sunbeam"

Ged gives fiercely quirky takes on a whole range of popular standards - like this Nirvana classic

Chris - "Fog on the Tyne" "It'll all work out" "Between the wars" "Thousand-dollar car" "Cap in hand" "Beeswing""Cooksferry queen" "American girl"   "Black star" "My my hey hey" "Freedom comes with the pain"  "New England" "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"  "Rain"  "Big mouth strikes again"  "To have and to have not"

The selection shows Chris's eclectic inspiration as well as his songwriting skill (on "Freedom...")

Emily - "Coyote" "Love is strange""Little green" "When the deal goes down" "Videotape" "You said something" "Woman like a man" (with Dan) "Hotel room" "Paths of victory" "Sunday girl" "The night they drove old Dixie down" "Blue valentines" "Smokestack lightning"  "Maps"  "Clouds" "Jolene" "Black" "Georgia on my mind"  "Ode to a jester"  "Woman like a man" "A place called home" "Pink elephants' parade" "Crown of thorns"   "Working-class whore"(aka "Hang on") "Young bone"  "I'll fly away"  "Clam, crab, cockle, cowrie" "You whoever you are" "One more cup of coffee" "Fade into you"  "O sister" "Faded from winter"  "Going overboard"  "The professor and la fille danse" "Welcome"  Emily mixes covers with her own songs and the selection shows off her voice nicely. When she's not solo here she's helped out by Lisa, Dan, Kev (on flute) and Eric (harmonica). Emily is also doing my space

Chris (aka Elvis)- "Go with the flow" "So Lonely" "Pistol of Fire" "My gerbil is a retard" "Better living through chemistry"  "Double team"  "Groove"  "The bucket" "Lovely Pie Night" "That's the way"  "Brian Warner was not in the Wonder Years"

Chris has an impressive guitar style and a powerful voice. His material ranges from Beatles covers to his own songs (often performed with his group the Vordermans).

Dan  "Sweet Virginia" "My baby just cares for me" "20th century boy" "All apologies" "Sight to behold" "Psycho killer" "Unfinished sympathy" "Take this hammer" "Billie Jean""Testify" "Seasons" "Pressure drop" "Closer" "Please do not go" "Straight time" "Been smoking too long" "This must be the place" "Porch" "Little red Corvette" "Wish you were here" "Everybody knows.." "I see a darkness""Promised land" "Know"  "If I were going" "If I only had a heart"  "The hook" "So what" (with Matt) "Delicate" "Sign of the times"   "Ma delire"  "This monkey"  "It takes a lot to laugh.." "Numb"  "Walking down the line" "In the ghetto"  "Add it up"  "Tonight's the night"    "Gin and juice"  "Everybody knows this is nowhere"  

Dan organises these acoustic nights and plays along with other performers as well as making a solo contribution. He even brings his dad along. He has wide-ranging taste and covers anything from Miles Davis to Snoop Doggy Dog and occasionally includes some of his own songs. Dan's songwriting and singing are strongly featured in his band Islands Lost at Sea - "(potentially) the biggest thing to come out of Bolton since Warburtons" (Bolton News 5/6/8) whose Wychwood Fest 08 performance struck the Independent as "bringing to mind The Police with overtones of John Martyn" - album due on the Akoustic Anarky label  (have I mis-spelled that correctly ?).

Rachel  "When we were drunk" and "No Plans"

Rachel does do covers if pushed but mainly features her own songs (as here). Her lyrics repay careful listening - deftly phrased, telling a story or making an emotional point. Her finger-picking guitar style is ideal support for the songs.

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Star  - "Don't you dare let me go" "I'm not your salvia" "Parabol" "You break my heart.." "The cat-lady and the chef" "Reformed offenders appreciation society" "Space freaks" "I don't know" "No-one cares for me" "Lunacy booth"  "Julia dream"   "Ride on"   "Cause I am" "Heart-shaped box"  "Minah chords"  "My Johnny"  "Willow's song"   "Come on Billy" "Jenna"

Star gives the same intensity to performing her own songs as to covers of Pink Floyd or Christy Moore. "Jenna" is a song that Dan (on guitar here) wrote with Dave in their Mannekin John days. and she sings with Dave on Nirvana's "Heart-shaped box" and there's more collaboration as a third voice on "Sheela na gig". As a kind of contrast the duet on "My Johnny" is with her mum, Heather (see below) - we're definitely still working on the family atmosphere !

Heather - "Twa corbies" "She moved through the fair"  "My Johnny"

On the page she is sandwiched (comfortably) between her daughter Star and son Russ. All unaccompanied except for Star's harmonious voice

Russ  - "Voyeur" "I will be yours" " Who do you love / Break on through (to the other side)"  "No-one cares for me"   "I want your love"

Star's brother is also a visitor at the D n P  acoustic sessions. He sings his own songs in a gritty style and sometimes joins in with his sister (and mum).

Rob - "Jitterbug swing""Love in vain" "High sheriff blues" "Looking for my woman" "Big boss man" "Death don't have no mercy" "Night time (is the right time)" "34 blues" "Screamin n hollerin blues" "From 4 'til late" "Hey hey" "Kind-hearted woman"  "Apple" "Cocaine" "Daytime" "Goin' home"  "Ella" "Mistreatin' woman" (with Star) "St Louis Blues"  "Pick a bale o' cotton" (with John) "Make me a pallet on your floor" "Phonograph blues"  "Sweet home Chicago"  "Ramblin' on my mind"   "Corrina Corrina"