Bob specialising in Celtic music, and has performed at most major concert venues and folk festivals around New Zealand over the past 20 years. A multi-instrumentalist on guitar, flute, uilleann pipes, whistle, harp, mandola and very impressive singer too. Bob has produced two solo albums to date ‘ Island Mist’ and ‘Music in the Glen’, and has featured on a long string of albums.
Bob has also written a wonderful song that is a regular part of Andy Irvine’s stage set called ‘ A Close Shave’. He is what Bob had to say about the song when I talked to him,
“ I wrote 'The Close Shave' in 2000, really for a bit of fun. There are, as you know, a number of songs in the tradition about sailors returning from being at sea with hard earned cash only to be waylaid by a young damsel, Patrick Street and Barrick Street would be examples of these.”
“ I set the song in the gold rush on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand and put a few extra twists in the tail as it were. Yes the miner (sailor) gets waylaid and yes his clothes are gone when he wakes up and all that's left behind are women's clothes. But then the twist starts; also left behind is a shaving kit and not the miner's! i.e. the woman was a man! (the miner falls asleep before any funny business happens by the way) Anyway the miner does the inevitable and has a shave and puts on the women's clothes bhut is himself tempted into playing the same trick on another miner. Convulted - yes, but it works very well.”
“ Andy heard about the song after I had performed it at the Wellington Folk Festival and I gave it to him the following summer when he was touring here. I understand he has used it from time to time since.”
This seems to be quite a popular tune for audiences, and one that Andy does with great energy. As yet this song has not been recorded by Andy but I have a feeling it will be some time in the future.
I would very much like to Thank Bob for his time and support. Drop into Bob's site and check out some of the albums by Bob Bickerton.
Kieron