Near Jazz Experience – from left to right: Terry Edwards, Simon Charterton and Mark Bedford.

Bedders (and friends) play jazz

This Thursday Kino-Teatr presents Tongue & Groove – a radio show / podcast recording plus a live gig from members of Madness, Alabama 3, Higsons and Special AKA – all for a fiver. Erica Smith cornered Madness’s Mark Bedford – Bedders – to find out more.

Tongue & Groove is a new initiative by St Leonards-based musician Simon Charterton. Musicians Mark Bedford (Madness), Terry Edwards (P J Harvey) and Simon himself (Higsons) – collectively the Near Jazz Experience – will discuss music and what it’s like to be a musician with special guest musicians, Steve Finnerty (Alabama 3) and Rhoda Dakar (Bodysnatchers and Specials AKA – see right). After they’ve chewed the fat, there will be an improvised performance between all concerned.

ES The Kino-Teatr is a fabulous place to play, but last time you were here, you were in the first band to (officially) play on the pier. How did that feel? And what is your gig preference – stadium or small, sleazy dive?
MB The Pier was a great gig – it was good to be the first band to play on it. We were aware of the history of all the bands who had played on the old pier, so that made it special. I’ve played in all sorts of places but my preference would be for some of the old theatres like the Hackney Empire or the Lyceum in London. I’ve even played the London Palladium!

I know Suggs has a Hastings connection,  do you?
My connection with Hastings is that I came down, as a kid, for day trips and little holidays. It is amazing the number of people I now know who live here now. The Kino is a great focal point in the area.

What do you love / hate about Hastings?
I love the the big sky. The blue expanse when sky meets sea. I also love the view from the cliffs (near the funicular railway), you can see all the way down the coast. You know, I haven’t found much I hate.

Apart from your fame playing in Madness, you perform with loads of different artists and bands. What have been some of your favourite collaborations?
I’ve worked with Robert Wyatt and I’ve worked with Morrissey. Both singers; each have their own distinct style.

‘Near Jazz Experience’ – how nearly jazz are you? What are your jazz influences?
Very near jazz but not quite? I do listen to a lot of jazz. My favourites are Thelonius Monk, Charles Mingus, Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans.

Tell me a bit about the radio show element of the night.
The Tongue & Groove event at the Kino takes the form of a discussion with a bit of live music thrown in. The idea is to get musicians around a table, without the pressure of promoting something, and let them talk about what it’s like being a musician. Basically, how they feel about what they do.

It’s somewhere between The Psychiatrist’s Chair and Private Passions, it hopes to catch a musician unawares and make them, metaphorically, ‘pull back the curtain’ to reveal what it is to lead a musician’s life. It will try to answer the question, ‘why are we musicians?’. We may not get an answer but we will be taken on a ride through the darkly humorous, sometimes melancholy, just plain odd and occasionally satisfying world, of what is said to be the world’s second oldest profession.

What other projects have you got up your sleeve?
I play with the Ska Orchestra, with Lee Thompson of Madness. We dig out all the old Ska tunes and play some of our favourites. We’re an 11-piece big brass section. We are off to Jamaica in November to play at the International Ska and Reggae Festival.

Tickets for Tongue & Groove are a snip at £5.
Available from Kino-Teatr box office or online

7.30pm on Thursday 15 September at Kino-Teatr.
More details on the Kino-Teatr website

Also on HOT: Simon talks about Sheared Wit (and Weird Shit) here.

Also in: Music & Sound