Chronicling the Hastings music scene for HOT

Sean O’Shea has been interviewing local musicians for HOT for a number of years, and has recently published a collection of these interviews with an accompanying guide to venues and calendar of annual music-related events and festivals. The launch of this book will take place at The White Rock Hotel, Hastings on Saturday 23 July at 6.30 pm and is open to all. We asked Sean about his background, why he came to Hastings and what induced him to publish this book.

Hastings Old Town is a cornucopia of musical talent and one of the most popular live music hubs in the south east. All the more surprising therefore that no one to date has got around to writing an introductory guide to this renowned and vibrant music scene.  

Sean O’Shea’s beautifully designed, photo-packed compendium fills this gap in a timely, informative and entertaining manner. It both illustrates and celebrates the Old Town’s distinctive music culture and pub life, comprises in-depth interviews with local musicians and singers, a comprehensive list of music venues, and a calendar of annual music-related events and festivals. The compilation also encompasses a variety of genres including folk, bluegrass, klezmer, festi-funk and blues, as well as classical and jazz. Finally, on the rear cover, there is a very convenient map for finding your way around the numerous pubs and venues.

Though the selection is varied it doesn’t claim to include all the many talented musicians here – that would require a number of volumes. So do look out for Hastings Old Town Music Scene Book Two!

The book is a must for music lovers and makes an ideal gift or treasurable memento of a visit to the historic Old Town. It will be a valued guide to the local music scene for many years to come.

A number of launch events and book signings will be scheduled over the coming months. The first of these will be held on Saturday 23 July at the White Rock Hotel, Hastings, at 6.30 pm (www.thewhiterockhotel.com, tel: 01424 422240).

For further information contact: seanoshea@hastingsonlinetimes.co.uk

Sean, could you say a bit about your own background?

I was born in a small town in the west of Ireland over half a century ago. As well as having regular fairs, music festivals and race meetings, we had frequent visitations from wandering minstrels and balladeers, many of whom were gypsies. You could purchase their ballad sheets for a few pence.

There was no TV in those days so we made our own entertainment. When there was a gathering everyone took a turn to sing, quote a bit of poetry or dance. There were also loads of local characters that were good at story-telling, mimicry and animal noises. Then there was the radio: every Saturday we had the Walton programme, which broadcast the best of Irish music from across the land. The programme’s tag line was:

If you sing a song
Do sing an Irish song

Though I wasn’t aware of it at the time, I was slowly absorbing a rich cultural heritage of fine songs and melodies which were to seep into my bloodstream and become faithful, lifetime companions.

In the early seventies like many Irish people before me, I took the boat to England. I settled in London where the counter-culture was in full swing and a sense of optimism prevailed. Many of my generation envisaged that with the ‘white heat of technology’ the working week would be reduced, human emancipation, rather than just market freedom, would reach top of the political agenda, and society would be transformed into a co-operative, convivial commonwealth. How wrong we were!

The folk music scene thrived in London and I had some good nights in the Victoria Pub in Holloway Rd – now Phibbers – the Crown in Cricklewood and the Archway Tavern, where I remember seeing the Pogues in their full irreverent flight. I also hosted regular informal sing-along sessions at my own gaff.

Then came the right-wing backlash: ‘work until you drop’ became the motto, ‘lunch was for wimps’ and the business culture, with its associated ethos of performance management and escalating demands, became dominant. Time for music-making and other cultural pursuits was substantially curtailed.

What brought you to Hastings?

I retired some years ago after a long career in public service. I felt like a bone-weary beast yearning to crawl back to the sea, which it dimly remembered had once been its home. So I retreated to Hastings, a short distance away from God’s waiting room. I felt I was entering the departure lounge of life and was now just waiting for that final anonymous call.

But Hastings wasn’t done with me. I slowly woke to the sound of its music, the cries of the gulls, the barks of the foxes, the hoots of the owls, the crashing waves and the incantations of its poets. These sounds and events seemed to call out to my pagan soul and beckon me back once more into the fray. I wondered to myself: Am I really up for another shout in the blood?

Then I joined the small group of volunteers who comprised Hastings Online Times. I appreciated the opportunity to write for HOT and interview some of Hastings many talented musicians.

To my surprise I found that the music making culture I remembered and absorbed from childhood, and with which I’d intermittently kept in touch during my life in London, was alive and well in the pubs and venues of Hastings.

What induced you to publish a book about the local music scene?

As the interviews accumulated, friends suggested I publish them in the form of a book which might make an informative and entertaining introduction to the local music scene. Surprisingly no such guide existed. I dismissed the suggestion at first, but slowly came around to the idea in spite of many cautionary voices saying: ‘People don’t want to pay for books nowadays, it won’t sell and you’ll be left with many copies gathering dust.’

The book Hastings Old Town Music Scene, or HOT Music Scene for short, is the result.

I wanted to cover lesser-known people as well as celebrities, and some of the interviews of which I’m most proud are with the former.

I feel privileged to have been able to spend time with all the talented people I’ve interviewed, and pleased that I’ve been able to encourage them to tell their stories. As an amateur singer myself, I think I may have had a fantasy that some of their talent and charisma might rub off on me. Well it didn’t, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey and made some friends along the way.

Finally I hope that by describing, chronicling and celebrating what I regard as a unique cultural tradition here in Hastings, I have done something to correct the negative image still sometimes associated with this remarkable repository of ‘colourful characters, crooked steps and alleyways.’

‘Hastings Old Town Music Scene’ is for sale exclusively at the Tourist Information Centre , Aquila House, 2 Breeds Place, Hastings, tel: 01424 451111. 

For further information contact: seanoshea@hastingsonlinetimes.co.uk

 

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