Blessed may be the cheesemakers. Or even the peacemakers!

Certainly, when it comes to busking, one of the Rev J. Olly Glum’s pet hates is amplifiers of any kind. So he laid down strict rules from the beginning for those poor souls who were press-ganged into being Wayside Serenaders: an electric cable, a device which had batteries, printed circuits of any kind, just the faint whiff of positive and negative terminals, was enough to put him in a semi-incoherent rage.

Then, in a moment of self-doubt, he wondered if he was being a bit harsh…

Thankfully, a book he was reading came to his aid and convinced him that his original gut feeling was the one to go with.

This is the late, very great art critic, novelist and man of wisdom John Berger quoting his friend Ken on a performance by musical hall artists Flanagan and Allen (Here Is Where We Meet. John Berger – Bloomsbury, 2005):

“The microphone is going to kill their art… They talk across the whole theatre and we’re in the middle of them. If they use a mike, this will stop and the public will no longer be in the middle. The secret of music hall artists is that they play defenceless, like we are. A player with a mike is armed!”

The Wayside Serenaders will remain “defenceless”, just like their audience!

Five of the seven Serenaders (two had left for more important business) bringing some suitably bathetic cheer to Market Street in Lichfield this morning.

Same old songs, however…

It’s been a quiet year so far for the Wayside Serenaders, with just one live appearance, but we abide in hope that, like the weather, things will hot up before too long. And with that in mind, we are busking outside the Samuel Johnson Birthplace in Market Street, Lichfield, between about 11am and 1pm, this Saturday, 19 August.

The weather is set fair, the band is now even bigger, and we look forward to seeing some friendly faces among the passers-by.

Here’s a little video reminder of some of the Serenaders’ abiding idiosyncrasies, including fumblingly ragged kazoo breaks, the very real sense that nobody has a clue what the Rev J. Olly Glum is going to do next, and a knock-knock joke without a punch line. Bob Dylan would be rolling in his grave but, luckily, he lives still!

The Wayside Serenaders are delighted to announce an addition to their number. Kate Sluggish has agreed to join the band as singer and bass drummer.

The group’s leader, the Rev J. Olly Glum, said in a prepared media statement: “Kate not only has a very striking (and encouragingly loud) voice and is a fine interpreter of a lyric, but she will also have a dramatic effect upon our reading on the ‘Decrepitometer’, the age-sensitive device which measures the ability of busking bands to remain upright and in full possession of their faculties while performing.”

Rev. Glum, who is rumoured by close associates of the band to rule it with an unashamedly ungloved iron fist, added: “Of course, Kate, in accordance with Wayside Serenaders policy, will be expected to perform with a handicap. In her case this is the playing of a bass drum, an instrument of which she has no experience at all. On the plus-side the drum will also act as a seat upon which to rest while performing.”

Like all prospective Serenaders, Kate had to pass a rigorous set of tests and exercises before being offered a role in the band. These included turning out at short notice in the depths of winter to sing archaic carols and laughing indulgently at the Rev Glum’s tedious jokes. She has often been taking pictures and videos of the band in performance, and the Rev was at pains to add that such signs of loyalty to the band’s mission should not in any way be seen as influential in his decision. “Such behaviour is certainly not an automatic ‘free pass’ to becoming a full-time member of the group. That would be to reward sycophancy,” he harrumphed, adding: “We’re not bloody politicians!”

The band hopes its full complement will be available on its next busking date, which is Saturday 19 August, between about 11am and about 1pm, outside the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum in Market Street, Lichfield.

Thunder and lightning forecast… so we’ve decided to stay indoors. Apologies to all our fans. 😉

As has become a tradition each July, the Wayside Serenaders are forming their own one-band fringe to the Fuse Festival in Beacon Park. We’ll be entertaining comers and goers on their way to the Fuse paddock and will probably be somewhere near the tennis courts between 2.30 and 3.30 this coming Saturday afternoon.

We understand thunder showers are forecast but our hopes are always set on sunshine; here we are singing about it (video courtesy Kate Slater):

The Serenaders had a jolly time on Saturday. Just an hour’s playing but we managed to pack in most of our tunes. A jolly time seemed to have been had, too, by the passers-by who were most generous with their coins (and a note!)

One man took a video and said he was sending it to his daughter who was down at some festival called Glazonberry or something like that, seeing a band called the Fooey Floaters or some such. He was asking her why she’d gone all that way when he was being thoroughly entertained right here in Market St, Lichfield. Good man!

We may have some videos to come once the Reverend gets his thoughts together, but in the meantime many thanks to one of our most loyal supporters, Kate Slater, for this pic:

There’s an ice cream van in our usual spot so we are reconvening at the far more classy Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum.

See you there!

Six months is a lot of time off, even for as laid-back a mob as the Wayside Serenaders. We finally got together yesterday to re-learn all the regular material that had been erased from our meagre brains by the Yuletide repertoire, and we should be the full six-strong for our return to Speaker’s Corner, beside Minster Pool in Lichfield, this Saturday, 24 June, between 11am and about 12.45pm.

Hope to see you there!

The people of Lichfield – and visitors to the city – have been most generous this December. Not only did they stop to listen a while to the most ramshackle of bands, they threw loads of coins and notes (!) into the hatbox.

As a result, we have been able to donate £350 to Crisis.

The charity says: “Supporters like you help give people facing homelessness a safe, joyful Christmas and the support they need to leave homelessness behind for good. I’ve seen first-hand how bright and confident our guests become over the Christmas period after being shown dignity and care.

“And Christmas is just the beginning.

“Your gift can also help provide tailored support all year round – for example, helping someone with finding a home and settling in, gaining new skills or a new job, or helping with their health and wellbeing.”

Hurrah! We look forward to seeing you again when we are the Wayside Serenaders once more, when the days are longer and the weather is warmer. In the meantime, may you all have a very merry Christmas and a most prosperous 2023.