Former Downham woman inspires band collaboration

The project has bridged the gap between modern music and classical poetry, young and old, in a new take on "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. The story of this track began several years ago when Barbara, a former pupil of Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, was in a care home, but it was lockdown that brought the artists together.

After the loss of his mother who suffered from dementia, John had regularly given his time, returning to entertain residents of the care home with a selection of songs by Noel Coward, Gilbert and Sullivan and others, along with poetry and readings from familiar childhood favourites such as Winnie the Pooh.

Recognised by the staff for their value in improving lives of residents, John’s sessions gained popularity, with poetry proving powerful in unlocking memories. In one case, John recounts: “I was reading Gus the Theatre Cat by T. S. Eliot and stumbled over some words; a gentleman who was listening quietly prompted me correctly. When I had finished, he recited the whole of Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, word for word, despite his dementia!”

In March 2018, following the death of Barbara Ayton, her daughter, Joanne Blain, asked John to read The Highwayman, Barbara’s favourite poem from school days, at her funeral. During her time in the nursing home she had recorded a reading of The Highwayman with her daughter. Touched by the recording personally, John was then taken aback by the effect his rendition of the poem had on the funeral congregation; “The atmosphere was electric and I realised the poem had a deep dramatic power.”

With the advent of Covid-19, the nursing home staff were keen for John to continue to deliver his entertaining and therapeutic sessions digitally instead of face-to-face due to the restrictions, so he began recording some of the poems and songs for them to be enjoyed at any time.

Revisiting The Highwayman for the project, John wanted music to add some added texture and dramatis behind the spoken word and approached The Tenmours to see if they may be interested in the project.

The band members were keen to get involved in the project for its artistic and community merit. Singer and guitarist Alex Johnston-Seymour spent a week arranging the piece which was then further developed by violinist Osian Gruffydd and drummer Adam Hopkins as the recording process evolved. Bridging the generation gap, their combined age lower than the residents for whom the project was conceived.

The musical texture that The Tenmours offered was a fitting match for the “passion and danger” of the poem. In the same way that John’s readings unlock beautiful memories for those suffering with dementia, the physicality and raw emotion of the Tenmours gives the Edwardian poem a new lease of life as a “short piece of drama.”

Celebrated poet Alfred Noyes first published The Highwayman in 1906 and his dark, epic tale soon became recognised as one of Britain’s favourite poems. Not only taught in schools, it has also featured in novels, been set to music by American folk singer Phil Ochs in the 1960s and referenced in Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Everyman’ in 1987.

The poem relates the story of an unnamed highwayman in love, sacrifice, and betrayal, reunited at death with his lover “when the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor.” A powerful image for those separated by the pandemic to share in the experience of this beautiful poem.

The Tenmours treatment of The Highwayman features a music-video shot in black and white, as a supra-diegetic narration in the mind of John, sat at home reading the poem. It has been released on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssln04t7EZg&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3CJ-zVtJz_F5-F5mHgoGcAQmcThdILXpclW3Z_E7Ag7X1f78cPO_jm_z8