This features my friend Bruce Davies doing a fine version of my song. People often ask if I mind them singing my songs and if they need permission. The answer to both questions is a loud “NO!”
A song not sung is a dead song. Only if a song is recorded is there any need to notify the publisher. Otherwise sing away. But please fill in the PRS form if one is provided

Those of you who have the equipment (Sky) have access to a great new channel. Cine Moi is for French films from the 40′s to the present day and all are subtitled, no dubbing. Wendy and I are enjoying a feast at the moment because the films are free until May. We love French cinema because it is almost without exception about character and story, not special effects. So go to international on your Sky box, click Cine Moi, download three films a night, and enjoy! We’ve subscribed for a year (30 new films a month) for just £100.

Listening to Vince Cable recently, and being impressed as usual by his prescience, I played ‘The way we lived then’ from the ‘Spring Again’ CD which I recorded in 1994.

The last chorus strikes me as the best bit of crystal ball gazing I’ve ever written (in the middle of the last Capitalism earthquake):

Yes we’ll live it again, selling Euro or Yen
Only this time we’ll know where it comes from
We’ll know how to keep it and then
We’ll make someone else pay for our mad holiday
For the Porsche and the Rolls that are our only goals
Me and Jason and Ben
We’ll live it again

As a saver, I know who’s paying this time around! If you’ve got it, give the track a spin. It’ll bring a wry smile to your face as it did to mine.

A lovely story! Unfortunately the ‘I’m Resigning from Today’ CD is now out of print, but odd copies may be found floating around the Internet.

“I went to a medical school in Calcutta (India) in early ’90s. In those days there used to be a programme in Calcutta Radio from 1310-1400 on Tuesdays which played English Folk Songs. I always skipped my afternoon classes to listen to those programmes. I also recorded these programmes for my friends. Those were the days when the Internet and satellite TV were unheard of in India. And those were the days when I was a dreamy young lad.

“It was a hot summer afternoon when I first heard ‘Death Come Easy’ by Harvey on that programme. That was a new beginning in my thinking. I always had a deep interest in war history. But this song completely changed my perception of war. I played this song for my friends and my brother. They were moved. Like never before. When I came to the UK in 1996, my brother requested me to get this song in its original recording from somewhere, somehow. I tried hard but failed. I kept on listening to this rickety tape, which I’d brought from India, wondering whether it’ll ever be possible to get hold of a proper recording of this song.

“Couple of weeks back, one night, while I was preparing for my Consultant job, I felt really bored and thought of doing something different. I started searching amazon for ‘Death Come Easy’ (I don’t know why I didn’t do this earlier) and came across ‘I’m Resigning…’ I promptly ordered my copy. Last Tuesday, I went for my interview and got the job – when I came back ‘I’m Resigning…’ was waiting for me. It was too much for me. I wept. I phoned my brother in India and gave him these two good news. He told me he was not sure which one was making him more happy.”

“One of the true craftsmen of song, Harvey has created some pieces which are elegant magic and which last a lifetime. There are very few performers who are as committed as him and who can work an audience with such consummate skill. It is a genuine privilege to have met him and seen him at work!”
Folk on the Moor

Colonel Mosely had posted a follow up article to his twelve songs piece, providing a bio of Harvey and an appreciation of his work:

“By any standards Harvey Andrews has an impressive body of work covering many themes and styles. They range from the social and political to the artistic, from the domestic and romantic to the humorous and nostalgic. He is recognised as one of the most powerful song-smiths England has produced. In live performance he creates real intimacy with his audience with impeccable delivery, accomplished musicianship and engaging humour.”

Word Magazine‘s blog also recently featured Harvey, in a piece entitled ‘Keep it in the family‘, which says “all the family loved Harvey’s songs, rich with imagery, laced with a working class morality we all felt and shared.”

Finally, Reinhard Zierke has done a sterling job of cataloguing Harvey’s entire output in an exhaustive discography.

Colonel Moseley writes: “Some time ago, I wrote a profile reviewing the forty year career of Birmingham-born songwriter and performer Harvey Andrews. Constraints of space meant I confined myself to biography and wasn’t able to focus much upon my take on Harvey’s life and beliefs, as reflected in his songs.

“With some trepidation, as a fan with no musical background, this is my attempt to explore twelve songs selected as representative of the artist and the man and that I still enjoy listening to in 2007.”
Read the whole article.

“I just have to write to tell you how very much I enjoyed your book. I came with my husband and daughter to your show at the Brook Theatre in Chatham last week, which was where I bought the book and a couple of CDs. I bought an old favorite, Writer of Songs, and your new one, Somewhere in the Stars. I love it to bits and already know all the words off by heart.”

“I was at the Chatham concert on April 24th, with my parents. We all agree it was the best evening we’d had for ages – we haven’t stopped talking about it since. It was my first concert, my parents having seen you in Scarborough and Woolwich in the 1970s. My mum is now very much enjoying the book and I look forward to reading it too. Thank you for such a wonderful show and hopefully we’ll catch another very soon.”

“Wow! ‘Margarita Collection’, what an album. Fantastic, inspirational, don’t even come close. It is so diverse, imaginative, informative and wonderfully mellow, like sitting in on a personal show. I particularly liked ‘Learning the Game’, ‘Please Don’t Get On the Plane’ and ‘She Saw Him Smile’. And I thought ‘Writer of Songs’ was my all time favourite album.”
Website feedback, Nov 06

“I would like to thank you for your concert at Stony Stratford. It was the first time I had seen you in concert, despite having owned your ‘Writer of Songs’ LP since 1973. I enjoyed it greatly. You have written a large and varied body of work, and I was pleased to hear songs from across your whole career. I think the biggest surprise for me was your warmth and gentle humour. I left with the feeling that I had not really been to a concert, rather that I had spent a very pleasant evening in your company.”
Website feedback, Oct 06