Music and Arts Centre, Barnoldswick
Saturday, 30 May 2026
Firstly, before I do the review I think I need add a bit of texture to the day and also to demonstrate that I am not afraid to laugh at myself and see the funny side of things. I will begin by regaling you with an explanation of something that happened to me on the way to the concert and effected my behaviour for the whole day. Making everything even more memorable, albeit possibly for the wrong reasons.
As it was a lovely, hot and sunny day I was wearing shorts and showing off my pale, short, fat hairy legs to the world. However they had a loose button and, when I stopped at a service station for a comfort break, the button gave up the battle against my stomach and left me with clothing that not only refused to stay up, but also had a zipper that insisted on slipping down. But despite this wardrobe malfunction I pressed on to Barnoldswick and with hands in pockets and frequent pulling up of flies, I found myself walking around a busy town as I tried to find a charity shop that was selling cheap belts. Thankfully such shops seem to be ever present in even the smallest of places so, on finding one I went hunting but all I could find was a woman’s thin and sparkly golden belt. Not exactly up to my usual stylish heights but needs must and I proceeded to wear it and continue my walk to the venue. Not ideal and my zipper still needed constant attention, so that to any onlooker it might have made me look dodgy, but I didn’t care as I had a concert to attend.
And now that you have that mental image in your head, what about the venue, band and the actual concert?
Another day, another concert and another venue that was new to me. This time in small, but picturesque but seemingly out of the way town in Lancashire. The room was small and, in the basement, but more of that later.
Sharing the name with two other bands, one from Sweden and the other from America, might make for confusion, especially when it comes to buying records, but ignoring the dark metal or hippy iterations I was fortunate enough to see the English, and in my opinion the best, version to be using Quill as a moniker. I can say that because they have none other than ELO/The Move/Black Sabbath’s Bev Bevan on drums and if that doesn’t tell you that they are something special then you obviously have different musical tastes to me.
The original line up appeared in 1972 and have had a few changes over the years until Bev eventually joined almost 10 years ago and the rest, as they say, is history. A band that are proud of their West Midlands musical roots and the music that came from there. They played a set that was a mixture of song from Bev’s musical back catalogue, their own material, covers of other songs by artist who originated in Birmingham or the surrounding areas and even found time for a couple of traditional Irish tunes thrown in for good measure.
Although most of the songs were familiar, thanks to the beautiful and, at times, moving violin playing of Kate McWilliam or deft keyboard playing of Abby Brant, they were given a new and unexpected twists. At times songs were injected with extra energy while, for others, the gentle depths left me with goosebumps on my arms.
Kicking off with the first single by ELO, 10538 Overture. A song that always sounded complicated to me and, in the hands of a lesser band, could easily have been turned into a caterwaul but thanks to the violin and skill of the rest of the band it managed to capture the magic of the original. Then, as if that wasn’t a start to grab people’s attention, they continued with a belting rendition of Slade’s How Does it Feel which demonstrated how great Joy Strachan-Brain’s vocals were.
As Bev had a brief stint in Black Sabbath, and because to their Brimingham roots, there had to be one of their songs included in the set and Changes was the perfect choice. With an introduction relating to Ozzy and the final band concert, the rendition was moving and had an extra emotional resonance. A beautiful song made even more so by Quill.
The first half carried on with plenty of class songs which I could list and describe individually but why give out spoilers? You need to go see them yourself and buy their Still Live and Kickin’ CD which captures them in all their glory on stage. However, the pause in the music during the interval, gives me the chance to elaborate on the venue. A small room with a mixture of chairs and standing areas that probably had a maximum capacity of 60 people. Compact and, despite being in the bar’s cellar, the outside heat made it feel like I was in the sweat box from The Bridge on the River Kwai film. Great for the sale of cold drinks but all the audience took the opportunity to leave the room, get some fresh air and cool down.
Then, once everyone had refreshed their glasses and returned to a comfortable temperature, it was time to return to the heat for the second half. It might have been hot, but Quill were not going to show any mercy and their fast version of the Irish folk reel Toss the Feathers was well chosen. If there had been room to dance, I am sure that even more heat would have been generated but despite the lack of space many a foot was tapping and hands clapping. The hits and band own compositions continued, with brief interludes as stories relating to the song choices were given by Joy or Bev but the highlights were Quill’s own composition Riding Rainbows, Abby’s keyboard led rendition of Murray Head’s Say it Ain’t So and a fun version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
A superlative concert and, of course it would not have been complete without the encore Mr Blue Sky ensuring that everyone in the audience left happy and full of memories of a great concert.
SETLIST
10538 Overture
How Does it Feel
Changes
Winter Rain
Can’t Find My Way Home
You’ve Got Your Troubles
Whole of the Moon
Copperhead Road
– Interval –
Toss the Feathers
California Man
Riding Rainbows
Go Now
Say It Ain’t So
The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Blackberry Way
Whisky in the Jar
~ Encore:
Mr Blue Sky
MUSICIANS
Joy Strachan-Brain – Vocals, Tambourine
Lee Evans – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Abby Brant – Keyboards, Vocals
Kate McWilliam – Violin, Vocals
Phil Tree – Bass, Backing Vocals
Bev Bevan (have I mentioned him before) – Drums
LINKS
Quill – Website | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
