Christopher Sidwell 2021

by Pete Clemons

There’s a belief in our society that bad things
always happen in three’s. From natural disasters to household mishaps, if it’s
happened twice, it’s definitely going to happen a third time. Particularly when
it comes to death.

The source of the superstition appears to be that
if three soldiers lit their cigarettes from the same match, one of the three
would be killed or that the man who was third on the match would be shot. Since
then, it has been considered bad luck for three people to share a light from
the same match. Maybe best to give up smoking altogether.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Because in this
case its all good news. And all three occurrences involve local artist and
musician Christopher Sidwell.

Specialist record company Ace Records, who excel in
re-issues, have been in touch with Christopher. It appears that they are
interested in a track he wrote for a previous band from forty years ago, The
Digital Dinosaurs called ‘The Sideways Man’.

They want to include the track on a new compilation
album called ‘Winter of Discontent’ compilation which the St. Etienne guys are
putting together for release in the autumn. St. Etienne’s Bob Stanley is a
consultant for Ace, along with other record companies. Together with other band
members they compile collections of obscure songs. St. Etienne fans are already
aware of this and hugely appreciate Bob’s discerning musical taste.

The album also includes bands such as Scritti
Pollitti, The Television Personalities, The Raincoats, The Melons, Danny and
the Dressmakers, The Homosexuals. Also included on the album is another track
with a Coventry connection. ‘The Window’s Broken’ by Human Cabbages, a tune
recorded in 1980 from the Boys And Girls Come Out To Play EP also finds itself
being given a fresh lease of life.

Say’s Christopher ‘They have sent a contract and
are paying me ! The album comes out on CD and vinyl – very excited ! It is not
my best material but it was as good as I could do at the time’.

The second piece of good news involves a series of
programs documenting what people did during the Lockdown last year. Tentatively
titled ‘The Lockdown Diaries’ the associated stories were built up during 2020
as Christopher completed, and posted up songs, from his Hoi Polloi album with
notes about the songs. This formed the basis of a submission Christopher has
made to a national radio station. Along with four songs being changed for ones
he wrote and recorded at home last year.

Graham Fellows aka Jilted John / John Shuttleworth,
and no stranger to Coventry following work at the Belgrade Theatre with Bob
Eaton, is mentioned in one of those songs. We both wrote a song using the
lines, ‘I remember that you came in the period that remained after Christmas but
before the new year in the days that have no name’. The project with Graham is
completely different – it is a song we wrote a while back together which was
called ‘Love in the Afternoon’ originally. It is now being used in Graham’s new
film titled ‘Father Earth’.

The final piece of news involves a tune Christopher
wrote for the Trees, ‘Here Come the Trees’ album. A version also exists on the
Hoi Polloi album by Crokodile Tears. Says Christopher: ‘The song was originally
titled, ‘Save that tree (Melanie)’ and is a song about my wonderful friend
Melanie Moon. Melanie is trying with others to prevent the HS2 devastation of
ancient woodland in Warwickshire. She has the courage to stand up to a project
that I and many other of the ‘Hoi Polloi’ believe to be wrong’. The song, it seems
is becoming an anthem with the environmentalists who are against HS2.

Good luck goes to Christopher in his ventures.
Maybe the biblical quote that begins with ‘For everything there is a season’ is
a more appropriate for his recent turn of events. A time to plant and a time to
harvest.