Stories from songbook of Sixties and Seventies

MUSICIAN and television comedy producer Paul Wheeler says he is lucky to be able to pay homage to the greats of the Sixties and Seventies music scene.

His show, Fire and Rain and American Pie, returns to the Kenton Theatre on Sunday. It celebrates the songs of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, Don McLean and more.

Paul, 68, who goes by the stage name Paul Prem Nadama, will perform hits such as You’ve Got a Friend, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Big Yellow Taxi, Horse With No Name, Mrs Robinson and You’re So Vain.

The guitarist and vocalist will be joined by his band, Sophie Langham (flute and backing vocals), Vikas Botsford (keyboards), Al Innes (percussion) and Derek Huff (bass). The show comprises melodies and a backdrop of images and narratives on the lives of the people covered in the show.

Paul, who also produces television programmes such as Live At the Apollo and Have I Got News For You, says: “I always change a few songs, all the structure is the same, there will be some songs that for people who came last time they wouldn’t have heard before.”

The stage is dressed with two Moroccan rugs, bought at market in Marrakech, says Paul. “It’s that sort of thing, you buy it on holiday and you get it home and you go, ‘I don’t know why I bought that, it doesn’t really work anywhere’.

“So they got shoved in a bag and ignored and then when I was setting up this show I suddenly remembered the Moroccan rugs.

“Stages are always black, they have to be for obvious reasons, and I thought, well, they’re hippie and they actually work very well.

“So that’s the set dressing, that’s where Sophie and I sit while we’re performing the show. I’m quite pleased they found a purpose so the Moroccan rugs that I bought
20 years ago have now appeared on about 30 different stages. They say nothing is ever wasted.”

The band has been able to honour the legacy of some late, great artists. “David Crosby from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young passed away a couple of years ago. We were in the middle of a run at the time and we were able to do a little tribute to him.

“There was a guy called Gordon Lightfoot, he was also part of that gang and he had a big hit with If You Could Read My Mind and Sundown and some brilliant songs. He died a couple of years ago so I did a live version of If You Could Read My Mind in front of a live audience who knew it, it’s a very lovely song, it’s a beautiful tune.

“Happily, James Taylor has just been touring again in the States so still going strong. They’re made of tough stuff, these guys and girls. Some of their hardcore abuse back in the day is well documented.”

The show even made a fan of radio DJ, David “Kid” Jensen.

“He came to see us three years ago and he was completely blown away. He’s been very much in the forefront of making Parkinson’s charities and promoting research into treatments for Parkinson’s.

“When I met him, he was absolutely lovely. People said to me, ‘Look, he’s not very well, he won’t stay for the whole show’, but he did.

“I was on stage packing up and then someone rushed in and said, ‘You know Kid Jensen’s waiting in the bar for you?’ and I went, ‘Really?’ so I ran out there and there he was.

“He wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry, we were half an hour together, having a beer or a glass of wine together and he was absolutely glowing.

“He said, ‘You’ve put together something absolutely magic here’ and that was a very sweet thing for him to say.”

l Fire and Rain and American Pie is at the Kenton Theatre on Sunday, October 26 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £25. For more information, call the box office on (01491) 525050 or visit thekenton.org.uk