Lockdown single from Eastbourne and Rye-based £20 in Cricklewood

Eastbourne and Rye-based band £20 in Cricklewood have just brought out their new album – and they have made a lockdown single of one of the songs, Solstice Moon.
The BandThe Band
The Band

Kelvin Message (lead guitar) and Tony Norman (lead vocals) live in Eastbourne. Chris Fisher (vocals and rhythm guitar) lives near Rye. They all met in Eastbourne in 1975 and have been friends for years but at the start of 2020 they decided to team up as a trio for the first time. As for the name, £20 is what Tony’s Kimbara guitar cost him at a junk shop in Cricklewood in 1973.

“All 11 songs on the new album were written on that acoustic,” Tony says. Combined group ages may come to over 200, but when they got together to record in January they were like a bunch of fresh-faced teens, he adds.

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Chris said: “Tony had £20 in Cricklewood in mind for our album title. It’s quirky, I liked that, so I suggested using the name for our new band too. Kelvin and Tony liked the idea and that was good news. Naming a new band can be a nightmare!”

Their plan was simple: make the album then get out and promote it by playing live. However, they finished recording just as coronavirus was closing in. Now Chris, Kelvin and Tony are following lockdown guidelines and live shows will have to wait, but Solstice Moon featuring fiddle player Dave Swarbrick is now out as a download single, as is the £20 in Cricklewood download album.

Tony said: “It took 47 years to write the songs and just ten weeks to rehearse and record them with two of the best musicians I know. No hassles or arguments, just good times.” Kelvin added: “Sometimes it takes forever to get a group sound; sometimes it just never happens, but with £20 in Cricklewood we found our identity in a natural way.” www.20poundsmusic.co.uk

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