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Kimber's Men Telephone: 01422-833659
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Kimber's Men were formed in the summer of 2001 and in those early days they comprised Neil Kimber - ship’s bosun, John Bromley - ship’s cook, Joe Stead - ship’s doctor, and Roger ‘Tonky’ Hepworth the ship’s cabin boy. But in the summer of 2004 Roger was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and sadly he passed away in April 2005. Kimber’s Men realized they would never sound the same again. Roger is missed not only for his wonderful harmonies and guitar playing, but for his friendship and advice always warmly given. Neil and Roger had been singing together as a duo in West Yorkshire since 1966 whilst John burst upon the folk scene a little later in 1972 as a member of Hebric. John, who has a voice similar to Paul Robeson also sings with the local operatic society in Halifax and is a member of The Bradshaw Mummers who can be seen in quaint outfits throughout most summers at various festivals acting out the important chapters of English history. John sang lead bass with Northern Ballet at Leeds Playhouse for the winter season of Mozart’s Requiem. Meanwhile Joe Stead had begun a professional career in London in 1966 which eventually took him to various parts of the world and more recently the first Valparaiso Festival of the Sea in Chile. Joe has performed in concert in America with Pete Seeger twice and also sung at a garden party with Paul Robeson in London in 1958. Neil also sang in concert with Pete Seeger when he and Joe crossed the Atlantic with Paul Downes to perform in a concert in New Jersey to raise funds for the Delaware Valley River Project. We now have two new member in the group. David Buckley joined Kimber's Men at the end of April 2006. David is an actor and a singer who has performed in musicals and with the Halifax Operatic Society. When we found him he was playing the part of Captain Smith in 'Titanic the Musical'. We managed to grab him by his shirt tails before he went down with the ship. David sings tenor harmony. He has recentlywritten a song called 'I will always be there' which we reckon will become as popular as 'Don't take the heroes'. In June 2007 we increased our number to 5 when 'Gaz' joined the quartet.
Our new compact disc, Don't take the heroes', is now released. It marks a transitional phase in the life of Kimber’s Men. Recordings started one weekend in late March 2004 before Roger was diagnosed with cancer and were completed, again in one weekend, in late January 2006, almost two years later. In the interim period the group was left to reflect and rebuild, changing harmonies whilst learning new songs. Traditionalists might be a little alarmed to again hear tracks on the new CD quite unashamedly double tracked and in some songs the emphasis of timing and harmonies have been changed to provide different and brighter sounds. Kimber’s Men believe they are an important part in the tradition, and traditions are passed on through generations not by constantly regurgitating the same tunes and words, but, by keeping the music alive with vitality that the listener will want to hear more than once. The title track ‘Don’t take the heroes’ was written by Neil Kimber with considerable help from his wife Roz.
We are due to record a new 'live' album at The Halifax Playhouse Theatre on April (2008). In the meantime you can catch Kimber's Men in rehearsal with Banda Celtamericana from Chile at Joe's house in July 2007 on the link below. (Please note this is a rehearsal and filmed on a cell telephone!). We had no idea we were being filmed! Kimber's Men in rehearsal with Banda Celtamericana
From
the very West of West Wales to South and East England, and from Cumbria
and Northumberland in the North to Jersey and Portsmouth in the South
audiences have raved over Kimber’s Men. Aberaeron
Festival ++++++++++
What
a superb evening! A
friend said; "It was a really good night. I hadn't seen anything
like that before and went along with an open mind, not knowing what
to expect. It was great. I loved the songs, the humour and the atmosphere.
When are they coming back?" The
weekend Kimber’s Men spent in Jersey showed what a versatile bunch
of lads they truly are. They went down a storm on stage in the concert
inside the Maritime Museum and outside on the quayside at the Fête
de la Mer - but from a purely selfish point of view the spontaneous
set on board the Charles Marie as we sailed out of St Helier harbour
under a clear blue Jersey sky is one of life's great memories. If
you get the chance - book them! In
my humble opinion Kimber’s Men are the finest shanty group in Britain
today. Brilliant harmonies, they took The 2002 Portsmouth Tall Ships
Event by storm. After one 45 minute set they sold 43 CDs to an audience
hardly versed in the music. You were absolutely
awesome Press the 'Joe Stead' button top of page for Photographs and Ramblings
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