NEWS:
E.ON Rampion Wind Farm Proposal for Sussex Bay.
"Having had a leaflet put though my front door asking for my thoughts on the E.ON Rampion Wind Farm proposal for the bay off Sussex, I have spent a little while gathering myself before writing the feelings which came to mind.
'From The Hill' is a song, a lament, for the Sussex coastal views which would change irrevocably by the instigation of this proposal, a wind farm 167km sq in area and 13km offshore at its nearest point to the shoreline. The turbines of which will be taller in height than the South Downs that overlook them, Cissbury Ring behind Worthing for example 165m above sea level, the largest planned turbine standing at 210m.
FROM THE HILL
To my dismay, through my door today
Came a leaflet bearing unwanted news
Of a development plan
Constructed by man
Right there in my beautiful view.
From the top of the hill, out passed Selsey Bill
'cross the bay to the Isle of Wight
Is a view that I treasure
Beyond monetary measure
And something that man shouldn't blight.
Power, power, yes we need more power
So that we can leave everything on
Lights shine all night
With no one in sight
The countryside wasted and gone.
So look at our view, where houses ensue
Where woodland was growing pristine
And out in our sea
A wind farm you'll see
Turning, yes turning us green.
Copyright © 2012 Greg Harper. All rights reserved.
Just when the South Downs have been made a National Park to protect the landscape, this enterprise arrives to expand man's touch on into the unspoiled seascape."
Please click here for a link to the planned details of the
Wind Farm.
'Make the Difference' concert
Greg is looking forward to taking part in the 'Make The Difference' concert at St Mary's Church Hall, Compton Avenue, Worthing, West Sussex on Saturday 10th March at 7.45pm.
The concert is in aid of the National Autistic Society and is being run by talented local musicians Claire Booth and Chris Davis.
Also featured during the evening of acoustic rock, pop, folk and country music are: Gary Holder, Magda Taylor, Trevor Clawson and local duo Graham and Jo.
Tickets are still available at £5 each from 07790 511054 or folk.singer@btinternet.com.
Please support this worthy cause and enjoy a great evening of music in the process.
'Storytellers in Song' fund raising concert for the Alzheimer's Society
"Thank you to the fantastic 'sell out' audience who supported the 'Storytellers in Song' concert last Saturday night, 25/02/12, at Clapham & Patching in West Sussex. What a brilliant night! Thanks too to the superb singers and musicians who shared the stage with me to help raise much needed funds for the Alzheimer's Society. Namely Steve O'Kane & Fiona McBain, Chris Davis, Claire Booth and Gary Holder. It was such a pleasure.
As a result of everyone's combined generosity I have donated the sum of £500 to the Alzheimer's Society.
Thank you all so much."
'Storytellers in Song' 2012 Sold Out.
All the tickets for the 2012 'Storytellers in Song' concert in aid of the Alzheimer's Society on Saturday 25th February have now been sold.
Greg and Steve look forward to what promises to be a great evening of music with their special guests.
Thank you to all the people who have purchased tickets and supported this fund raising event.
For anyone still looking to obtain tickets please leave your details on Greg's e-mail list on the website.
If there are any tickets returned we will get in touch.
Being on the e-mail list will ensure that you are given early notification of any future events.
'Storytellers in Song' 2012
Following last February's 'sold out' evening, Greg is delighted to announce details of the next 'Storytellers in song' songwriters concert.
The event will take place on Saturday 25th February at 7.45pm.
Tickets for the evening will be available from 1st December. (see image below for details)
The profits from the evening will again be donated to the Alzheimer's Society.
The venue will be Clapham and Patching Village Hall, Clapham, A280 Long Furlong, near Worthing, West Sussex.
This venue made for an intimate and warm atmosphere last year, provoking the following comments from the audience as the last notes of music faded away at the end of the evening....
"Have just been reminded why music means so much to me. What a wonderfully beautiful and touching evening - proper music all the way."
"What a wonderful evening! Great musicianship and vocals. I could easily have sat listening for another couple of hours!"
"It was an amazing evening packed with talent, fun and real camaraderie".
"Great evening of musical and lyrical talent".
This time Greg will be sharing the stage with talented songwriter Steve O'Kane from Hornchurch.
Greg and Steve met at Tenterden Folk Festival in 2010 and it's fair to say they are kindred spirits in music, both having a love of storytelling lyrics.
Steve's songs express something of our journey through life; emotional, spiritual, and philosophical. His songs frequently start by setting an opening scene; perhaps in a Station cafe, or by a riverbank, in a seat on an aeroplane, or simply late at night looking at the Moon.
From this physical starting point a journey commences, but the physical journey becomes secondary, acting as a vehicle for Steve to express the accompanying thoughts, feelings, questions and emotions inspired along the way.
Steve will be accompanied by special guest Fiona McBain.
Also appearing as a special guest during the evening will be the beautiful Worthing vocalist and songwriter Claire Booth.
Greg will be accompanied by Gary Holder, adding his superb musicianship on double bass and by the talented Chris Davis on vocals and mandolin.
UK SONGWRITING CONTEST 2011 RESULTS.... the world's most prestigious songwriting event
Greg's song 'Capel-le-Ferne', from his new album 'Well Spun Lies', has just been awarded a semifinalist placing in the UK Songwriting Contest 2011. It was his sole entry into the competition this year and it won this award for it's lyrical content. This moving song recalls the sacrifice made by 'The Few' in the summer of 1940. You can read the lyrics here.
This is the fifth consecutive year that Greg's songs have been awarded a semifinalist placing or above in this prestigious competition.
He was a finalist in the UK Songwriting Competition in 2008 and a semifinalist in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The UK Songwriting Contest is an international contest that invites entries from all parts of the world and it is the favourite songwriting event of many writers from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Asia and Europe.
This contest attracts the very best and the most serious songwriters from around the world.
Songs awarded a semifinalist position are considered by the judges to be among the top songs entered into the contest.
Reviews coming in for Well Spun Lies.
"'Well Spun Lies' from Greg Harper is an album of delicious self-penned songs delivered by an English songwriter writing about his country, his experiences and the intense emotions that move his soul. The warm richness of his vocals overlay simply constructed yet enticing melodies to make this album a thought-provoking listen - just prepare to weep as the words cut to your core."
The above is an excerpt from FolkWords' recent review of Greg's new album. Click here to read the full article.
Well Spun Lies has also received the following review from Fatea magazine:
"I've always been impressed by the observational singer/songwriters that are as much storytellers as they are composers. To be able to compress the essence of a story, the emotion, the cause and effect into four and a half minutes takes a rare talent and one that Greg Harper seems to have in his soul...His song from the perspective of a Battle Of Britain veteran sheer poetry"
Click here to read the full review.
Well Spun Lies Greg's new album of 11 original songs is available here.
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The Songs...
Something's Changed
A song championing old fashioned values against modern consumerism. Giving thought to what is really important in our lives.
Sweet River
"England oh England your beauty so ever and ever remains, where the streams run down to the rivers and the rivers run down through your plains". A song that celebrates the beauty and majesty of the English Countryside.
Capel-le-Ferne
Last summer I found myself in Kent, just a few days before the 70th Anniversary of The Battle Of Britain. An article in a local magazine and a visit to the Battle Of Britain memorial site at Capel-le-Ferne inspired this song. The song is about remembering the summer of 1940, from a fighter pilots' perspective, whilst he stands and watches the Anniversary ceremony taking place, 70 years on.
Well Spun Lies
Beware the web of lies that is spun or else love's sweet magic comes undone.
Always And Forever
A love song, pure and simple.
Road To Nowhere
Sometimes we would like to turn off the road that we are traveling upon...but something leads us on.....
A song about the inevitable consequences of our actions.
November Sky
'November Sky' is a song that was inspired by the BBC documentary, 'Blitz- The Bombing of Coventry'. The program detailed the events of the night of November 14th, 1940, when the German Luftwaffe attacked the city of Coventry with a massive air raid, code named Operation Moonlight Sonata. In the BBC program several survivors of that night gave their own first-hand accounts of the raid. None were more touching than the ones given by Eric Holt and Valerie Goode, both nine years old at the time. This song tells the true story of the experiences of that night, from the perspectives of Eric Holt, Valerie Goode and Alwyn Sweetman, three survivors of that terrible raid.
Shades Of Grey
An ill thought-out criticism turned into the inspiration for this song. "Harper, everything is just so black and white to you".
"Well, I guess there are shades of grey if you look deep enough" was my reply!
Voices In The Wind
An ethereal lament song written about the South Downs in Sussex, England.
"And now below the Downs its all sirens and sound and the felling of the last few hundred trees. As the town still expands and the money changes hands is there anyone can stop this madness please?"
Seasons
This song beautifully caresses you through the changing seasons and landscapes of spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Angel's Kiss
A song to help us cherish the memory of those that we miss..
The Musicians....
The following gave freely of themselves and their musical skills, to enhance and decorate Greg's songs on Well Spun Lies.
Greg is grateful and indebted to:
Chris Davis.... Mandolin
Gary Holder.... Double Bass / Tuba
Tom Holder.... Keyboards
Gary Mobsby.... Harmony Vocals
Greg presents lyrics to 'Capel-le-Ferne' to the Kent Battle of Britain museum
Whilst in Kent recently, Greg presented a framed copy of his lyrics to
'Capel-Le-Ferne', a song about remembering the summer of 1940, from the pilots' perspective,
to the Kent Battle Of Britain Museum chairman, Mr David Brocklehurst.
David and his museum volunteers have done an amazing job, over many years,
of preserving the most important collection of Battle Of Britain
artefacts on show in the country.
It is nice to think that Greg's lyrics will find a small space in the
museum where they too may
inspire others to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many people, all
those years ago.
The beauty and awe of the changing seasons......Greg's new video
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Please take a few minutes to view and listen to Greg's latest song video. |
Find Greg's song 'All Gone' (written for Titnore Wood), on the Woodland Trust Website
Many thanks go to Kaye Brennan of the Woodland Trust, who has embraced Greg's song 'All Gone' written
about the saving of Titnore Wood on the outskirts of Worthing in West Sussex. The song however
is pertinent to so many locations of threatened woodland and countryside throughout the UK.
Kaye has recently championed a new section of the Woodland Trust Website called 'Creative Woodwatching'.
Here you can find creative writing in the form of poetry and song, including 'All Gone',
which relate to the protection of our native woodland and environment.
Click here 'to go
to the Woodland Trust creative writing page and see what it is all about.
The BEAUTIFUL New Song and Video 'Sweet River'
| Please view Greg's NEW, Beautiful Video and song, 'SWEET RIVER'. |