The British Steelies Society

Only close..That's not the melody that I know ! Acker was an EMI artist the same time as I was, I recorded his tune, but with the correct chords and the melody that he wrote..

Boll's guessing at it ! But that's what comes from NOT doing your own backings..
AND how on earth could he miss the obvious point that he SHOULD have come back in on ???
http://picosong.com/7ALq/

Just to remind you of the melody..

What a beautiful melody. Acker outdid himself when he came up with this little gem.
Anyone know what Acker is short/stands for? Accrington?

Danny Mitchell wrote:What a beautiful melody. Acker outdid himself when he came up with this little gem.
Anyone know what Acker is short/stands for? Accrington?

Bilk was born in Pensford, Somerset, in 1929. He earned the nickname "Acker" from the Somerset slang for "friend" or "mate". His parents tried to teach him the piano but, as a boy, Bilk found it restricted his love of outdoor activities, including football. He lost two front teeth in a school fight and half a finger in a sledging accident, both of which he claimed affected his eventual clarinet style.

BUT....this is not about Acker, it's about that feeble attempt by Bill Nauman...Totally disrespectful to the listener. He is capable of FAR better playing, so this was just cobbled together with no care and effort. I say Shame on him for being so lazy..


BTW The story about how the song was written is also VERY interesting. It has to do with Income Tax, Prison and a tune for his daughter "Jenny" ..and a BBC TV Series..

Good grief, I've just listened to that picosong thing, and I think the version I did a couple of years ago sounds better / more faithful to the original than that. I know there's a constant tension between doing justice to the original versus "artistic interpretation" but that does seem simplistic and plain wrong in places.

Basil Henriques wrote:Bilk was born in Pensford, Somerset, in 1929. He earned the nickname "Acker" from the Somerset slang for "friend" or "mate". His parents tried to teach him the piano but, as a boy, Bilk found it restricted his love of outdoor activities, including football. He lost two front teeth in a school fight and half a finger in a sledging accident, both of which he claimed affected his eventual clarinet style.

BUT....this is not about Acker, it's about that feeble attempt by Bill Nauman...Totally disrespectful to the listener. He is capable of FAR better playing, so this was just cobbled together with no care and effort. I say Shame on him for being so lazy..


BTW The story about how the song was written is also VERY interesting. It has to do with Income Tax, Prison and a tune for his daughter "Jenny" ..and a BBC TV Series..

Firstly, apologies for going off topic, Basil. That version certainly didn't do the original any favours.
And secondly, thanks for indulging me with the 'Acker' explanation, and the tidbits behind the tunes origins. Very interesting.

As Will mentioned above, there is a fine line between respecting the original melody and trying to bring your own interpretation to it. It takes a lot of musical ability to carry this off successfully and bring an audience with you. It starts with being able to play the melody correctly with good intonation and timing. The track in question in here failed on even these basic requisites.