The Longshot

Review 'younger, fresher and more vibrant than almost anything around. Tyneside's Megson are simply brilliant...they marry traditional North-Eastern song to breathtaking harmonies' Martin Townsend -- Sunday Express **** Debbie and Stu Hanna, better known as Megson, are the most original duo on the British folk scene... Their last album, Take Yourself a Wife, reworked mostly Victorian songs from the north-east, and much of the new album follows the same approach.... California is a bittersweet ballad about workers rushing to Teesside after iron ore was found in the 19th century, while Working Town could be a Springsteen acoustic rocker if it weren't for lines such as: "My dad worked at the factory, they moved it all down to Leigh-on-Sea." Best of all, there's the title track, which starts as a lament for football fans in a dreadful season, and develops into a powerful ballad about hope in the face of disaster. It's the best new song I've heard from the folk scene this year. -- The Guardian **** Stu and Debbie Hanna are reviving the music of the north-east of England. This collection focuses on work: there are Victorian match boys, cabmen and miners, and a handloom weaver in love with one of the factory maids who are superseding his trade. The Hannas' own songs, about the decline of manufacturing in Middlesborough and the difficulties of getting up in the morning, work the same territory. "The Longshot" itself is that rarity, a listenable football song, largely by virtue of not really being about football. -- **** Financial Times Product Description Double BBC Folk Award nominees and heavy touring folk-duo MEGSON present THE LONGSHOT, produced by Debbie Hanna and much sought after producer Stu Hanna. Since releasing the critically acclaimed 'TAKE YOURSELF A WIFE' in 2008 (“This album places them in the major league” **** THE GUARDIAN), Megson have been touring hard and rightly received their second BBC Folk Award nomination as well as the award for Best Duo in the Spiral Earth Awards 2010. Alongside this they have picked up a string of enthusiastic live reviews including a recent 4* review in the Financial Times. If that was not enough, in 2009 Stu Hanna from the duo took time out to produce “The Awkward Recruit” album for Mawkin Causley “(***** UNCUT) and the award winning “Arrogance Ignorance & Greed” album for Show Of Hands. ’The Longshot’ is themed around work and many of the selected songs originate from the couple’s native North-East of England. They bring to each of them a unique singing and instrumental approach that is fresh and vibrant. Their music chronicles an industrial world much of which may be a fading memory in the UK but is a very present reality in China and India. Tracks; 1. Two Match Lads / 2. The Cabman/ 3. Working Life Out / 4. The Longshot / 5. The Old Miner / 6. The Handloom Weaver & The Factory Maid / 7. Time To Get Up / 8. The Last Man In The Factory/ 9. Working Town/ 10. William Brown / 11. California Also available TAKE YOURSELF A WIFE(EDJ015) SMOKE OF HOME(EDJ013) MEGSON EP(EDJ012) ON THE SIDE(EDJ011) Tour dates 27 Apr - Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham 28 Apr - The Old Ship Inn, Loudham, Notts. 29 Apr - The Harpur Suite, Bedford. 30 Apr - The Grub Cafe, East Grinstead 01 May - Washington Arts Centre, Co Durham 02 May - Bellingham Acoustic Festival, Northumberland 04 May - Dartford Folk Club 06 May - Green Note Cafe, Camden 14 May - CB2 Cafe, Cambridge 15 May - Mellor Brook Folk, Blackburn 12 Jun - Gate To Southwell Festival 20 Jun - The Big Session, Leicester 27 Jun - Leigh on Sea Festival 17 Jul - Brampton Live, Cumbria 25 Jul - Folk by The Oak, Hatfield 29 Aug - Minstrel Court Acoustic Festival, Cambs. 25 Sep - The Junction, Cambridge 03 Oct - Derby Folk Festival 05 Oct - Processed Pea, Derbyshire 06 Oct - Nailsea Folk Club 09 Oct - Ebbesbourne Wake Folk 12 Oct - The Stables, Milton Keynes 13 Oct - Greenwich Folk Mob, London 14 Oct - Trades Club, Hebden Bridge 15 Oct - Henshaw Arts & Crafts Centre, N Yorkshire 30 Oct - Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury 31 Oct - Hitchin Folk Club, Herts.