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

Click on the song titles for  live recordings from more than three years of the "legendary"* open-mic nights at the D & P and if you want  videos there are links to our Youtube channel on this page. The page is generally organised chronogically: newcomers to the top as we go along but the links in this paragraph should help you excavate. Every Sunday night Dan , Emily and Eric  (or some permutation of these) play host and fill in any gaps. There are regular performers like Kev , Star , Chris , Don , Danny and Rob but new faces are always welcome - to listen, to join in, or do a solo spot. There are hundreds of songs from over 100 different singers ... but there's always room for more. Latest stuff from  The Planets  Second Hand Wings  Pauline and James .If you've got any queries, corrections or (polite) suggestions you can get me on Sunday night or at vandiddley@yahoo.co.uk

For technical reasons our previous Youtube channel (/ericrlever) has been discontinued but we're busy restoring old favourites along with new stuff at a new channel www.youtube.com/boltonacoustics2010 .  The Youtube logos are slowly re-appearing below.

Rowena  "Leeds Festival 2006" "Problem page" "912"

Uniquely funny woman (for the D&P at least). All her own songs - typically dwelling on life's difficult moments.

The Planets  "Evil dead"  "Falling"  "Hillbillies" "Jules and Vincent"  "Neil"

Dropping in from a gig elsewhere - the (partial) Planets. Characterful Manchester- based rock band with, at the last count, 12 EPs in two years of their own songs ....one of which was featured on the Playstation 3 game Motorstorm 2 Pacific Rift.

Andrea  "Blue"  "Is your love in vain?"   "Hard times" (with Amy) "Have you ever seen the rain"

Lovely to see Andrea again, taking a break from appearances on the BBC , with a varied selection of covers. For lots more info and links to performances try www.andreaglass.co.uk

The Pied Pirates  "Lost at sea"   "Paper Moon"

A self-styled sea-shanty band, heirs to a rather neglected Bolton tradition, with their own non-traditional repertoire and the odd rousing chorus. The self-styled Gyspy Kris is among their number.

Anthony J  "Street Spirit"   "Summer of 69"

A talented, 2010 debutant  with songs, in this case, by Radiohead and Bryan Adams

Bandersnatch  "Feel so near" "Serenade"  "Love is the cross we bear"  "Ain't no grave"

The extra-wide pic is the needed to accommodate (l-r) Ian, Becky, Norman, Alan, Ed and Dennis.  Their website has full coverage of history, CDs and imminent gigs and it was a treat to see them down the Dog and a relief to find that our PA had enough inputs to cope (just). All the songs are on  with extra details.

"Luciano" "Nessun dorma"

Up from the audience to give a heartfelt, unaccompanied rendition of Pavarotti's greatest hit. A first for Puccini at the Dog - it went down well.  He left after he'd finished and we'd didn't get his name (hence the obvious pseudonym) but hope he doesn't mind his song being posted.

Ian K  "Motel Blues" "Copperline" "You're a big girl now" "Johnny B Goode" (with Kev)

Fine performances of a typically eclectic bunch of classic songs from Ian who's been banded about with great effect since the Sixties and is most often seen these days in folk mode as part of Bandersnatch

Martyn and Duncan "Threads" "Candles""Sunburn"  "Kite" "Said and done" "Still reeling" "Weary steps"

Not a group (yet) but friends who've been writing songs for years and lately had the idea of sharing them with an audience - fortunately that's where the Dog comes in. Their own distinctive songs stand the comparison with Muse's "Sunburn"  very well. More from them at www.myspace.com/novembersheron

Ste B and Rob S  "Bring a little water Sylvie"  "My funny valentine"  "The nearness of you" "Born to run"

An Acoustic Jazz  Duo with lots of class. Learn more at www.stevenbradyandrobshaw.com .

Mark  M  "Crown of Thorns"  "Fast-spin blues"  "Emily's suitcase"  "Look at me"

A veteran of the Liverpool group scene in the seventies  and eighties Mark  now operates in singer-songwiter mode - high quality songs and performance.

Gemma and Danny  "Chasing after deer"   "All you can give" "Paint the sky" "Gemma's song"

Familiar face (and sound) comes under the influence of a new partner Gemma. Not sure yet of all the song titles yet.

Jeff  "Five long years" "Before accuse me" "Hey hey"

Previously seen on Dog nights backing up Ian, Jeff showed what he still does best a blues-based set.

Dan W  "Beeswing"  "Gypsy"  "Vincent Black Lightning"

Dan came on in from the West coast (...round Blackpool!)  got in touch via the Dog's Youtube and came down to do an excellent set. Find out more at his myspace

Paul A  "Richard Cory"  "The ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane"

Paul's got a good ear for a colourful ballad (Van Morrison and Nick Cave in this case)....and if anyone has contact details for him I could send him his tracks and get retrospective permission to post them here !

Will  "Fade away"  "It's better people"

Another debutant, modest about his undoubted abilities but doing good Oasis.

Fisky  "Call me Al"  "Me and Julio"  "The seeker" "Take your mama out"  "Cocaine Lil"

First time on-stage for Fisky but you'd never know it from these super-confident covers of some challenging classics.

Dave A  "Canals"  "Daytime friends" "Song for a Winter's night"

Songs by Kenny Rogers, Gordon Lightfoot and Dave himself - embellished by some super finger-picking ....If you're wondering when the Dog went beige, the picture was taken at the British Legion "Buskers' Night" where Dave pops up most Wednesday nights.

Andy R, Matt and Adam S  "Pink Panther"  "Sunny"  "All Blues"

A new combination of talents from some familiar faces: Andy (guitar), Matt (violin) and Adam (percussion).  An impressive  jazz-styled set  and Matt and Adam stayed around to add some great touches to almost everyone else's performances.

Ian and Jeff  "The masterplan" "Lady madonna" "Revolution" "Babylon"  "Falling down" "Mad world"  "Part of the queue"  "The importance of being idle"

Ian's solo work can be found elsewhere on the page but here he's expertly accompanied by Jeff (local guitar star). Not all these songs are by Oasis - see elsewhere for more of those. Ian and Jeff are hosting a charity open mic at Lounge 10 (Pack Horse) from 1-5 this Bank Holiday Sunday.

Martin  "Simple twist of fate"

Martin's rather quiet vocal delivery meant that most of the recordings of his set couldn't be used but here he strums his banjolele to good effect in a fresh interpretation of a Dylan favourite from Blood on the Tracks.

Second-hand Wings "One day like this" "Mountain City" "White winter hymnal" "Plodding along"  "A smaller divide"

Heather and Gab are elsewhere on the page but this was trying out a novel line-up for the band with Gabby on cello and Gab on keyboard. Songs by them, as before, plus covers of Elbow and Fleet Foxes. Their myspace has more.

The Saggy-bottom girls  "From the north" "Going to Carolina" "Mad Tom" "Ride on" "Solo benefits"

Joanne, Joyce and Sue do traditional and modern folk like it was really good fun and keep very busy with local gigs (but they managed to squeeze us in). A range of ancient and modern; a cappella and accompanied. If the recordings sound a bit strange it's because I cocked up the separate audio track (again) so you've got video sound...but well worth a listen. Website gives more info.

Jenny (aka Girl Peculiar) "If I was a sailor"   "When I think"   "Angel groupie girl" "The faraway tree"

First time I've managed to catch Jenny on audio. She writes all her own songs and brings her own supporters (which is good news for bar takings). To learn more of Jenny's multi-talents and world travels go to www.girlpeculiar.co.uk  or www.myspace.com/girlpeculiar .

Craig  "Monster ballads" "Spoils of the spoiled" (with Neil) "War zone" (with Neil)"I miss you Will Patterson" "Just to see my Holly home" "Left and leaving" "The window is the door"

Craig came along with bandmate Neil G and also impressed with a solo set that had an equal mix of his own songs and careful covers

Paul 3 "Share the darkness"

Paul's making a return to playing and singing and shows a nice touch on the Saw-doctors' song

Brad   "Take me"  "Listen up"

Brad writes the songs with his band Merchandise whilst hanging on to a day- (and night-) job at Bolton-based Cityscape Records

Lesley  "The green man"  "Reason for waiting" "Urge for going"   "Crazy man Michael"  "Will you"  "Diamonds and rust"

Lovely picking and singing on an interesting range of classics from Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull et al.

Benny  "Evil is alive and well"  "In my time o dyin"  "Dink's song"  "It takes a lot to laugh it takes a train to cry"

All these songs are by Dylan (even if the first one is Jakob's). Not surprising as Benny is a leading light in Salford Salutes Dylan an organisation that does what it says on the tin but you can visit the web site and find out about it. Suffice to say that Benny's take on Dylan is most invigorating.

Adam W2  "American dreams" "Bad blood" "Shakespeare's monster" "Cassandra complex"  "Fragile things"  "Nowadays" "Closet optimist" "Why do eyes die" "Giving up the ghost"  "Easy easy easy"

Sorry for the cryptic name, simply that Adam's the third of that ilk....but with a distinctive voice and a way of delivering his own songs that silences (almost) the Dog crowd. He's doing lots more gigs in Wigan, Stockport and at somewhere called the Dog and Partridge in Bolton. Learn more at www.myspace.com/adamwilmington .

Reidy   "Evil twin"  "Every time it rains"  "The galaxy song"  "Anarchy in the UK" "Keep your poop in a jar" "Will you still love me tomorrow" "Poisoning pigeons in the park"  "Short people"

Splendidly tasteless songs are Reidy's specialism - plus the odd power ballad.

Vinny  "Behind my smile"  "Little way to go"

In spite of the hat Vinny was in romantic mood, reflected in his songs: one written by him, the other by the partner who sparks the sentiments.

Steve TK  "The cape"   "A pirate looks at 40"  "Ice-cream man"

A welcome new face with a practised style on songs by respectively Guy Clark, Jimmy Buffet and Tom Waits

Peteloaf  "St James Infirmary"  "Rat-trap"

An occasional visitor with a wry take on some old favourites

John and Arron   "#2 "    "#3"

John's a familiar visitor but this, with Arron on bass, is different entirely. Best  listened to on headphones (unless your speakers are better than mine).

Neil G  "Hang Dog" "A cautionary tale"  "Tomorrow's another day"  "Turn out the light"  "Amputations" "Coma girl" "Lorelei" "Invitation to understanding" "Life during wartime" "Vivian" "International you day" "Manthem" "Every double-life" "Giving up on love" "Spoils of the spoiled" "The princess's daughter" "Over and out " "Vital signs"

Neil's sessions always serve as a reminder of how articulate and tuneful (even) the punk movement could be. Recent additions are by (he tells me) MXPX , Pinhead Gunpowder (arguably the best band in the world), Nerf Herder  and Tony Sly - I learn something new every Sunday !

Ross  "Got your money"  "Pounding" Ross Rap #1  Ross Rap #2

Ross is former bass player with Mannekin John (with Dan and Dave) and got the Dog crowd unusually excited with his version of a rap by (I think) Kelis. Further raps have followed and I'm waiting for Ross to tell me what they're called.

Andy  "I woke up this mornin'"

A natural comedian who can't disguise serious musical talent. There's evidence of his skills with his long-time band the Winchesters (where he operates under the cunning stage name of Arthur Sturgeon) and more background on this multi-talented chap at his own website.

Dean  "It's Friday I'm in love"  "Know yourself" "Please talk slow" "Purple car blues" "The fastest was back home" "Ballad of me and my friends" "Waiting for the great leap forward" "All fall down"  "Beggars belief"  "Calls for battledress"  "Protest song" "Seven" "The outdoor type"

Another impressive local singer/songwriter many of these songs are Dean's own....plus The Cure, Lemonheads, Billy Bragg and big favourite Frank Turner ...and he also demonstrates that Stagg guitars can sound good.

Chris M  "Cupid"  "Like you"

Aka Gypsy Kris - who's promised to came back soon and sing some sea-shanties. The recordings aren't perfect but you can hear the talent. A Jack Johnson song and "Like you" which is one of his own.

Adam W  "Carry you home"  "Shakermaker"  "So low"  "Such a long time" 

A 50/50 mix of his own songs and covers (Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene). Adam has visited before but never been caught on the record.

Brian and Andy  "How I feel" "Love was here"  "Sing out your hearts"

Brian (on guitar) writes the songs and Andy (mainly) sings 'em

Luke  "I.M." "The time goes by"  "Sometimes"

Luke was last seen as part of the temporarily titled Lovely Lads. His songwriting skills here follow a more quietly reflective path.

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  "Fighting shadows"  "Superstition"  "With a smile" "British rom com" "Looking glass"

Talented local and a recent Dog debutant. Good mix of his own songs and crafty covers.

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

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   "All that she wants" "Meet me halfway" "You've got the love" "Soldiers" "I want you back" "Too scared to move" "White winter hymnal" "One day like this" "The beach" "Plodding along" "Kiss me quick" "A smaller divide"  "Ironic"  "Misty morning"   "Rush of scarlet"  "Siempre" (duo)

Heather (see below) and Gab make up half of Second-hand Wings - recently adding covers of Ace of Base and Black-eyed Peas to 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  "Cupid" "Dreams"  "Siempre"    "Butterflies"   "Golden touch"

Now out of Out of the Gray and into new band 2nd-hand wings, Heather still performs some impressive covers for us as well as duetting with Gab. 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  "Mercedes Benz"(minus Liam and harp) "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 "My my hey hey" "Birds" "Old man" "Tiger Mountain peasant song" (with Gemma)   "Looking forward" "Flume" "All you can give"  "I'm too sexy" "Five years time"  "2 bodies 1 heart" "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 developed 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  "Never" (?) "She will be loved" "Windmill" "You give me something" "Golden touch" "Crazy" "Hide and Seek" (?) "Wonderwall" "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  "I don't know" "Stay" "Hope I never" "Honestly"  "My angel"  "Ride on"  "Here with you"  "Wouldn't it be nice"

A welcome visitor from Wigan mixing her own songs with dist 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   "Nature boy"  "A man comes around"  "The killing moon" "Hats off to the zebras"

A varied repertoire of characterful songs....need to update the picture to reflect prodigious hair growth.

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"  "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   "All sparks" "An end has a start" "Smokers outside the hospital doors" "War games" "Creep"  "Beat on the brats"

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

Ian  "American" "Mad world" "That's entertainment" "There a light" "Hello" "Paroles" "You do something to me" "Alison"  "Part of the queue"  "The importance of being idle"  "Stuck in the middle with you"

An occasional visitor (often with Jeff) with late-night energy  to spare for some spirited covers of some classics (and not just Oasis). See his filmography on IMDB (!)

Yozzer  "Society" "Give way" "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 "Pretty amazing grace" "Fields of gold" "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 livened up our evenings and added some international class for a time. Now he'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.

Dave - "Breathe"  "Be quiet and drive"  "Plush" "Who do you love?" "Nice dream" "Broken arrow" "Can't stand me now" "LA woman""Man on the moon" "London calling""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" (with Star) "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"

Sometime 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.

Tony 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 Tony seems to give it an Irish folky lilt that's rather appealing.

Paul - "Missing You" "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. Only a rare visitor these days but I did manage to catch him on video recently,

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 - "The way young lovers do""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 - her "Hope there's someone" now has nearing 30,000 plays !

Lyn - "Hallelujah" "Bring it on home to me" "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 - "The night they drove old Dixie down" "Across the great divide"  "I wish" "A design for life" "Easy" "Sit down" "Yellow" "The seeker" "Ask" (with Dan)  "Lady Elinor" "Ooh la la" "Let's all go to California""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 - "Oh my sweet Carolina" "Atoms for peace" "You said something" (version 2)  "Truthman told" "Your ghost" "Once again""Black star""Fall down gracefully" "Bootleg crawl" "Ain't no sunshine" "Terrible angels" "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 took over Dave's hosting slot late in 2008. She 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)- "Everybody knows.." "He's got some new shoes on" "Paint it black" "Half-hour of power""Inside" "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  "Stagger Lee" "Say something" "Red wine" "A minor place"  "Keep the car running" "African skies"(with Em) "Way down in the hole"(with Em) "Riders on the storm" "Be thankful for what you've got" "Heart attack and Vine" "My drug buddy" "The shape I'm in" "Way down in the hole" "Murderer"  "Survival" "Hard-time killing floor blues""Black-eyed dog" "Take 5"  "Money don't matter tonight" "Dirty love"  "20th century boy"  "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  -  "Dance it off" (with Drew) "Pride" (with Drew) "Just a cigar"  "My beautiful boy"  "Treat me like you used to" "Absolution" "White Rabbit"  "Golgotha lullaby" "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 is a strong solo performer and songwriter who's also a great collaborator - whether with her family (see below) or with sometime band-mate Rachel (see above) or most recently with Drew

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 - "Down the the oaks" "New National medley" "Devil got my woman" "Death letter blues" "Green green rocky road"  "'bout a spoonful" "Bank St blues" "Terraplane blues""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"   "M & O blues"  "City Girl"

Rob's affinity with the blues shows in his guitar style and in covers of songs by Sun House, Big Bill Broonzy and, especially, Robert Johnson. Several of these were written by long-dead Charlie Patton who, by amazing coincidence, was born in Bolton, Mississippi !! The blues sometimes influences his song-writing style but his own songs can also be gentle and reflective like City Girl. His new Myspace features his own songs. He's also started up his own Youtube

Don - "The Elephant song" "I see a darkness" "Need a fix" "Fade into you" "Hallelujah, I got someone to blame again"  "Cue the montage" "Rose" "No profit" "Devil on a leash" "Here's your answer" "Death to everyone" "Handlebars""Oceanographer's choice""Your body is a wonderland""Hope you never have to know""Love games""Andy's chest"  "Perfect day"  "Don't make a sound" "This year's love"  "Creep"  "Cry baby cry"  "Get myself arrested"  "Weak"   "Wonderwall"  "Overkill"  "Sweet Jane 2"  "Hey Ya"  "Trouble" "Pale blue eyes"  "Seaside" "Sweet Jane"   "Again"   "What's up"

Don's a key fixture in Bolton's music scene as long-time part-owner of DOA a local rehearsal studio and equipment hire business. But, after years of sorting the gear for other people,  musically he's been going from strength to strength - unusual covers and many more of  his own songs.

John N - "Heading Home"

John (now emigrated to Canada...land of Neil Young) has been a keen contributor, sometimes with covers,particularly of Neil Young, but also with his own songs like this one - perhaps showing a bit of  Young influence. There's lots of insight in his storytelling style

Kev - "Don't think twice it's all right" "Walk on the wild side" "I'm feelin' good" "Spencer the rover" "Spanish noodles #1" "Spanish noodles #2" "The fact" "Going back" "Agadoo" "Float on""Delilah""No-no at the disco" "Bright lights big city" "Tracks of my tears" "Chorus song" "Stand tall" "She's a model" (with Roy)  "Quit botherin' me" "To the centre of the city" "The man with the dog-head""Land of the free" "Hard-boiled?" "Storm"  "Northern soul"  "Ghost in my soul" "A whiter shade of pale" "I can see clearly now" "Circles"  "One more cup of coffee"    "Ain't no sunshine.."  "Tomorrow is a long time" "Love will tear us apart"  "King Caractacus" "Roads"  "I don't want to know"  "Guitar doodles"  "Wishing well"  "Hard rain"  "Hurricane"  "Two of us"  "May you never"  "Your feet's too big" "Move with me" "Riders on the storm"  "Break free"   "Astral weeks"  "We never learn"  "Festival Blues"  "Fred the Fly" 

Whether being satirical or straight, Kev's versatility is a watchword - he plays flute, penny-whistle and bongos as well as guitar (though not at the same time). His covers range over the decades from Van Morrison to Joy Division via John Martyn plus several Bob Dylan songs (usually about the weather .) His own songs go from the downright whimsical (Festival Blues) to the deadly serious (We never learn)..... and anyone who doubts that the Dog and Partridge is a totally wholesome environment only needs listen to Fred the Fly. Also part of TVOD  

Danny D -  "Fix you"  "God's gonna cut you down"   "High and dry" "Where is my mind"  "Come together"  "I know"  "Easy"  "Cortez the killer"  Country feedback" " The shadowlands"   "Eleanor Rigby"   "You know you're right"

Off  to America (again... they've let him back in!) Danny does covers - Beatles, Nirvana, Neil Young ....... just so it's a good song.

Brendan - "Headache" (I think)  "City of Chicago"

Brendan's brogue adds an international flavour to the Lancastrian ambience of the Dog and Partridge. He's partial to Irish ballads but does lots besides including his own songs, sometimes just composed the night before.

Steve - "Born on the bayou" "Black hole sun" "No rain" "Polly"  "Feelin' groovy"  "Street spirit"  "Lucky" with Star

Wide-ranging tastes and the ability to tackle challenging vocals make Steve's contribution particularly valuable.

Pete -  "Nervous breakdown"  "C'mon everybody" "Mean woman blues" "Boy named Sue" "Get rhythm"  "Boppin' the blues"   "Trouble in mind"  "The Johnny Otis hand-jive"  "Mystery train" "Stranger in the D and P" " He stopped loving her today"  "Johnny B Goode"    "Lawdy mama"   "Stormy Monday"   "20 flight rock"  

Pete energises any evening with his own take on Rock and Roll classics. Elvis is always number one but there are other , forgotten treasures that get dug up with style.

Tony -  "Strange Town", "Fistful of hate", "Brainwashed"

Tony is another forceful performer who enjoys covers of Bowie, Talking Heads etc but is also a prolific songwriter - mordant social commentaries, usually with a local or topical twist.

Eric  - "Mood Indigo #2" (with robotic chorus) "He'll have to go" "Travellin light" "You don't know me" "St James's Infirmary" "Groove is in the heart" (with Dan, Kev, Adam and Danny...so it's not just my fault) "One more cup of coffee" "Raining in my heart"  "Tell Laura I love her" "Waitin' for my man"  "Mood Indigo" "Blue valentines" "Dock of the bay" "Born under a bad sign" "Mona" "Losing end" "Long black veil" "It makes no difference" "My baby left me" "He's in the jailhouse now" "Tequila sunrise" "Who do you love?"  "You ain't going nowhere" (with Dave and Dan)  "There is a light" "Birds"  "I can tell" "Childhood sweetheart" "Goin down slow"  "Folsom prison blues" "Fake plastic trees" "Oh well"  "Don't let me be misunderstood"  "Spoonful"  "The weight"  "Smokestack lightning" "I can't help it"  "Tonight's the night"   "Burn"  "Early in the mornin"  "Trouble" "Mystery train" "Out on the weekend"  "You ain't goin' nowhere" (with Kev)  "Tryin to get to you" 

Eric originally came along to support son Dan but was easily persuaded to join in. He'd largely been twiddling his musical thumbs since being a teenage group vocalist in the Sixties (cue crackly antique MP3) and most of his contributions come from those years but he enjoys coming to grips with more recent decades and thinks current local talent more than measures up. He spends much of his Dog nights recording for this page and videoing performers for our Youtube outlet. He's also doing some online collaboration with old band-mate Paul the results of which Paul has posted to www.myspace.com/theinvictors

Dan, Dave & Eric    "Helplessly hoping"    "This boy"    "Wasn't born to follow"  

3-part harmonies are addictive so as an 06 Boxing Day treat (for themselves) the joint hosts warbled their way through some sixties samples from Crosby,Stills & Nash, the Beatles and the Byrds. It was thought that further rehearsal would iron out the problems..... but it never did.

As a bonus-track there's an improvisation from Dan, Kev and Star on the theme of "Tree Slime" ?

..... and another bonus, as Sunday night turned to Monday morning in the  D n P summer 2006, Eric, Kev and Dan treated survivors to all the verses they knew of "Hallelujah"...and there's lots of them...it rolled on for seven minutes and grown women wept.

Acoustic Showcase 2006  is still on-site if you want to reminisce about the good old days.

Finally, thanks to all the performers.... and if they don't like my selection, just let me know and we'll record someting different.....also let me know if there are problems with any of the links on this site or with YouTube videos....email to vandiddley@yahoo.co.uk if you can't make it to the night.

*Bolton News 22/05/08

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