FOR seven years, Oxfordshire’s Glovebox Live crew presented some of the most memorable shows in the county, promoting 100 show and giving a platform to big stars and new bands alike.
The Witney outfit presented gigs by Tom Robinson, Nine Below Zero, Danny & The Champions of the World, Emily Barker, Robyn Hitchcock and Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook and ran stages at Wychwood, Cornbury, Riverside and Truck festivals.
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They were particularly hard hit by the pandemic, however, and earlier this year, Glovebox Live supremos Mark Stratford and Adrian ‘Ade’ Phillips decided to call it a day.
To say goodbye to their loyal audiences and to act as an archive for some of the amazing nights they staged, they have released an album of live tracks taken from 12 of their gigs from over the years with recordings from Fat Lil’s and Cogges Manor Farm in Witney, SJE Arts in Oxford and The Frog & Fiddle in Cheltenham.
Boo Hewerdine
The album – the second volume of a collection of live tunes – has been mixed by West Oxfordshire musical legend Tony Poole (of Starry Eyed and Laughing, and Bennett Wilson Poole fame) and is subtitled Where All the Best Music Is Kept.
The album, released digitally on Bandcamp, is designed to help struggling musicians, small venues and stage crew, with profits going to the Music Venue Trust, Stagehand and Help Musicians UK.
“Mark and I are really proud of the calibre of artists we brought to Oxfordshire over the seven plus years we ran Glovebox,” says Ade, an ex-actor turned arts marketer who has worked at The Oxford Playhouse and The Watermill Theatre in Newbury.
“The album reflects this and, hopefully, gives the listener a sense of being there.
“From the opening soul/funk track by Smoove and Turrell – Craig Charles’s favourite band – through to the barnstorming blues guitar solo by Catfish that finishes the album, it’s littered with aural gems.
Ade Phillips
“Personal highlights include New York rockers Jeremy and the Harlequins who we organised a tour for back in 2018 and who had a wonderful time buying vinyl from Rapture in Witney the day after the gig; Boo Hewerdine who is one of the UK’s most prolific songwriters; Charlie Austen who is a regular support act for Squeeze’s Glenn Tilbrook who we put on at SJE Arts in Oxford; Nine Below Zero and a rousing track from Welsh punk-folk band Rusty Shackle with added audience participation.”
There is also pop from rising Scottish singer Kerri Watt; an acoustic tunes from Bristol’s Rainy and local act Dolly Mavies; country from Naomi Bedford, The Orange Circus Band and Paul Simmonds (former Man They Couldn’t Hang); and folk from Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou.
“Covid has ravaged the live music industry and it’s really important to support grass roots musicians and smaller venues whose livelihoods are under threat,” adds Ade, who previously ran music site TunA the Day – which played a new track from largely unsigned acts every day for a decade. By buying this album you’ll be doing this with all profits going to the Music Venue Trust, Help Musicians UK and Stagehand.”
Find the album at gloveboxallstars.bandcamp.com/album/where-all-the-best-music-is-kept-2
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