We4Poets Live at the IABF, Manchester

On Saturday 12th July 2014, We4Poets celebrated the launch of Jack Par(r) by David A Llewellyn and After the Riot, Quiet by Stanley O Ayodeji with live performances from a dozen of Manchester’s finest writers, poets, storytellers and musicians.

A packed house and an enthusiastic audience – or the new Marketing Team as we
like to think of them – were welcomed to the International Anthony Burgess Foundation by Stan & David before handing over to the amazing Tez Skachill playing the first of two acoustic sets.

Tez was joined on stage by fellow guitarist, Paul Clark, and Laura Sinclair who sang the RnB classic Tyrone like Erykah Badu’s talented younger sister.

The musical section of the evening continued with Alex Aspden – the voice of a choir of angels.

Acclaimed writer and short story specialist, Naomi Hamill brought a change of pace and laughter to the hall with two inspired tales.

If you have never seen Tricia Ashworth perform, grab the very next chance you get. Poet and performer, Tricia connected with the Marketing Team in a heartbeat and never let them go.

With such a hard act to follow, rock legend Paul Clark returned to the stage, busking through technical difficulties like an old pro. Singing the first of two self-penned songs, Paul added his inimitable scouse wit to a sweet, sweet voice and solid technique.

Arguably England’s finest living poet, Justine Chamberlain, delighted the audienceMarketing Team with a macabre comic tale of sex, murder and decorating in scintillating verse.

It is fair to say that amongst such talented company no single performer was going to steal the show. But if anyone ran away with the first half, it was jazz legend Gail Meacham silencing the room with the purest rendition of God Bless the Child this world has ever heard.

Northern Poet, Kat Kehoe had the Marketing Team laughing again with a selection of warm and wry verse, before David Llewellyn brought the first half to a close with a humurous tale of football and Buddhism, and the shameless appeal to buy his new book,Jack Par(r), available in paperback from Amazon and as a Kindle download.

After the interval, Stan Ayodeji kicked off in similar style with a prolonged plug for his own hysterically funny and deeply disturbing novel, Damage Limitation.

The only new face in the second half was the utterly astounding Kate Woodward, better known to her growing number of devoted fans as the writer Spug. This evening saw Spug recount the apparently true tale of how Shergar was found in a back garden in Crumpsall.

After more poetry, song and comedy, a joyous evening was brought to a fabulous conclusion by Tez Skachill – possibly the finest songwriter and guitarist on the circuit today – performing songs old and new.