Emma at BBC Radio 2 with Cerys Mathews December 2023
Magazine front covers, BBC Radio 2, awards, tours, record releases – this past few year Emma has been prolific. In 2023 she released ‘Memphis Calling’ recorded in Sam Phillips studio in Memphis, USA, earlier this year she talked about her third album ‘A Spoonful of Willie Dixon’. Recently she got in touch about her latest single…
I’m stablemates with American band Chris Wyze and the Tellers. We’re both signed for distribution with ‘Select-O-Hits’ in Memphis. Chris found out I was in Tennessee for a few days in September so asked me to co-write and sing a duet with him. We recorded ‘Hearts Blue Christmas’ at Royal Studios in Memphis with the Hi Rhythm Section.
At the end of the recording session producer Boo Mitchell said ‘We have an hour left“. Chris turned to me and said ‘Do you want to do anything?’ I’ve previously recorded with pianist Charles Hodges (who is part of the Hi Rhythm Section) on my record ‘Memphis Calling’ and we have a good friendship and work well together.
I asked Charles if he knew the song “What are you doing New Years Eve”? The track was written by Frank Loesser in 1947. I think I must have first heard the Lena Horne’s 1966 version as my Mum played a lot of her music when I was little.
Charles strolled over and started playing it so beautifully on the grand piano. That piano has been in the same position at Royal studios for decades. Goodness knows how many iconic songs it has featured on!
Charles and I spent about ten minutes getting a key to suit and having a run through, then he called Steve Potts to play some lovely light drums and then we taped it.
L to R – Charles Hodges, Steve Potts, Hubbie Turner, Emma Wilson, BooMitchell, Lina Beach, Chris Wyze and Leroy Hodges at Royal Studio, Willie Mitchell Boulevard, Memphis on 25 September 2025.
Along with promoting the singlenowEmma is already looking forward to 2026…Recently I won the UK Blues Challenge at Marshall Studios which means I go to Memphis in January to represent the UK in the International Blues Challenge and for the European Blues Challenge I go to Poland.
‘What Are You Doing New Years Eve’ is out on 21st November 2025 as digital download and a very limited run of CDs which are available from the official website >>>
How’s it gaan? After sharing stories first posted here in 2018 about the New Wave of British Heavy Metal there’s been a welcome spike in views from Poland, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
NWOBHM has always been popular since the first posts in 2017 which featured Fist, Raven, Mythra, Satan, Hollow Ground and Tygers of Pan Tang, plus stories from Impulse Studio big wig David Woods and producer Steve Thompson who brought the hammer down on seminal recordings on the Neat label. Also posted are stories from Durham’s Guardian Studio, although producer Terry Gavaghan has remained elusive. So far.
While new interviews are being lined up to take the site to the end of 2024, November has featured a compilation of stories from this year – and here’s another batch.
First up is a regular to the site, songwriter & vocalist Emma ‘Velvet Tones of Teesside’ Wilson. Emma first appeared back in 2019 talking about her influences in music…
‘Aretha Now’ and ‘Aretha Sings the Blues’ were both records that shaped my development as a singer. I used to sit for hours listening to the songs on vinyl’.
Emma kick started 2024 being pictured on the cover of Blues Matters magazine featuring her new album ‘Memphis Calling’ recorded in Sam Phillips studio, USA.
‘The studio breathes, it has an immense presence. The live room is awesome, beautifully designed. I let my emotions out on the recording’.
100 year old actress and entertainer Helen Russell sadly passed away this year. She will be missed. In May, Helen featured on the site looking back at the start of her career.
‘We didn’t have a phone in the house so I’d take calls on the local public telephone box outside to tell me where I was playing that night. Sometimes it meant getting a bus to Newcastle and then catching another to Stanley in County Durham, or Ashington in Northumberland, then heading back after 10pm – all the time humping my guitar and other equipment. I had no helpers.’
‘When guitar groups became popular in the ‘60s I had to stop dancing on stage because of all the leads and wires. That’s when I took up the guitar and later started writing my own songs.’
Another regular to the site is songwriter and former Neat records producer Steve Thompson, he got in touch in May.
‘I was 24 year old at the time and just quit a waged job to live on fresh air and follow a dream. I was either very brave, very stupid, or both. I quickly began knocking out songs and pitching them all over the place. I knew I needed some action or I was going to starve’.
‘One day I was at the dentist in Wallsend. I’d been called upstairs to the surgery when the receptionist called me back down. It was my publisher on the phone they tracked me down to tell me ‘Hurry Home just entered the charts at 63’. You could’ve knocked me down with a feather, that was the break I was looking for’.
‘From there on in incredible things happened it climbed the charts over a period of three months and peaked at 17. Here I am top 20, I had arrived! Then all sorts of things started to happen, the lyrics were printed in pop magazine Smash Hits, all the airplay on Radio One, name checks from DJ Mike Read on the Breakfast show, and of course Top of the Pops. All this was happening but I was still broke’.
In February former entertainer Peter Embleton recalled his time in clubland.
‘I had a marvellous time working the North East, the greatest training ground for anyone, my job was to put on a show not just be a singer of songs’.
‘As well as all over the North East I worked in Australia and the cruise lines, I was voted male vocalist of the year twice in the ‘80s in the National Club Mirror awards’.
‘I look at some of the talent now and feel sorry that they never experienced the Saturday night atmosphere of say the King Street club in North Shields. The club full at 7pm, great musicians to play for you led by the inimitable Micky Watson, what a buzz.’
‘Yes of course there were poor nights when it didn’t all go according to plan, but hey the good times by far outweighed the bad times. I feel lucky to have experienced the golden age of clubland, there were some brilliant acts and musicians’.
Emma first appeared on this site back in 2019 talking about her influences in music and how she got started…
“It was ‘Aretha Now’ and ‘Aretha Sings the Blues’, both records shaped my development as a singer. I used to sit for hours listening to the songs on vinyl”.
Last Christmas as the sun went down on a cold, dark night I filled me hot water bottle, turned on the TV and watched an exhilarating performance by Aretha Franklin. The live concert from Amsterdam in 1968 was an absolute joy to watch.
In the packed audience the front row laid flowers for the Queen of Soul as Aretha ripped into (I Can’t Get No)Satisfaction wiping away the painful memories I have of the Stones version.
With Aretha at the piano my mind flips back to Christmas Eve 1975. I was a 10 year old kid watching Freddie Mercury singing Bohemian Rhapsody on his white piano, the BBC were broadcasting a Queen concert from Hammersmith Odeon. Live events like these on the telly stood out as really special.
With fast cutting, crash zoom and whip pan camera shots, Aretha’s black and white film captures a danger – giving the concert an air of at any momentthis could all fall apart. I can see why the show has acquired legendary status. Closing out at 35 minutes my only complaint was why so short?
Here we are in 2024 and life for Emma is coming at her fast, she kick started the year being pictured on the cover of Blues Matters magazine which features her new album ‘Memphis Calling’ recorded in Sam Phillips studio, USA.
“The studio breathes, it has an immense presence. The live room is awesome, beautifully designed. I let my emotions out on the recording” said Emma.
USA publications Downbeat and Living Blues have also featured Emma. Keeping the momentum up live dates see Emma hitting the North during March, first up is Bowness Bay Festival on 16th then Boom Club in Leeds on 23rd. More gigs are planned during spring.
A gig in the North East is a quickie on the coast in May with an acoustic set at the Harbour View, Sunderland on the 23rd where you might see Emma on Roker beach plodging in the sea. For non-Geordie or Mackem speakers that’s when yer ankle deep in water.
More dates during summer are being fixed in the diary with venues lined up through to the autumn. Details to be released soon.
A handful of releases this year by North East bands include theGodfathers of Thrash, Raven, who unchained their latest album All Hell’s Breaking Loose, John Gallagher (bass/vocals) explained…
”We released the album on 30th June and are really proud of the way this one came out and came together. Basically between the three of us we did everything except the mix. Wrote, arranged, performed, produced and Mike recorded it! We’re looking forward to playing a lot more of the songs live starting in Blighty in February”.
Punk band The Fauves put out Resistance 22, Bri (bass) said…
”Since our album ‘Resistance 22’ was released on 1st July 2023 we’ve had some fantastic reviews. We sold out the first batch of CDs in the first two months, selling them in the UK and abroad. We’ve also released a live album recorded at The Bunker in March this year”.
Durham duo Lowefeye released Northern Crown in October. Songwriter & vocalist Carol Nichol explained…
“I suppose it’s a celebration of the working class featuring the great kitchen sink actor Albert Finney. There is grit in some tracks but there is always the cinematic feel and storytelling all done DIY”.
Memphis Calling is the latest release (27 October) from R&B singer & songwriter Emma Wilson.
“From Teesside I travelled to Memphis, got into a cab and asked to go to 639 Madison Avenue…the home of the iconic ‘Sam Phillips Recording Studios” explained Emma.
“The great Sam Phillips built the studio in 1960. I was invited to record my album there and it truly was a magical experience”.
“Memphis influenced this album, the musicians of the HI Rhythm Section, the producer – Scott Bomar, the wonderful STAX console. I was the English girl obsessed with Rhythm & Blues music who got to sing there and make a beautiful record. I hope you enjoy listening to it” .
Mythra released Temples of Madness on Classic Metal Records in April. John Roach (guitarist)explained…
“The album was written and recorded pre-pandemic so mixing and mastering was delayed due to Covid lockdowns in 2020, but strangely relevant to today. After recommendation from Satan guitarist Russ Tippin, who we shared stages with, it was finally mixed by David Curle at First Avenue Studio in Newcastle”.
“Also available is a limited number of 500 numbered copies of a double CD album of ‘Death & Destiny’ and a live recording of our reunion gig at Brofest 2015”.
To celebrate the quarter of a million milestone the next couple of posts include messages from contributors to the blog.
Mond Cowie (ex-Angelic Upstarts) ‘Well done on the milestone Gary, great achievement, it was a pleasure being involved. I love reading the posts, it brings back so many great memories of gigs, bands, friends and pigs heads! What a blast we all had eh…long may it continue.’
Lou Taylor (Satan, Blind Fury, Heaven or Hell) ‘Extremely proud and honoured to have been asked to contribute to the Alikivi Culture and Music Blog, it’s so amazing that we have someone with enthusiasm, dedication and commitment to the scene – long live the Alikivi Blog !’
John Gallagher (Raven) ‘Congrats on hitting that 1/4 million mark.. and telling so many cool stories of our NE music scene!!!’
Emma Wilson (Singer/Songwriter) ‘When I released my first EP Gary offered to do a piece for the North East culture blog. Since then he has approached me at every milestone of my career – often even before I have decided to start my promotion he messages me “Get your info over to me”.
He helps promote me and often gives me a cherished page on his magnificent blog enabling my music to reach a huge audience. As an independent artist the exposure I get from Gary’s blog is invaluable. Thank you Gary you always get the exclusive x’
Tom Hill (Geordie) ‘Gary you put some great stuff on the blog and I always enjoy reading it…keep it coming mate’.
Dave Ditchburn (Brass Alley, Geordie, Talisman) ‘I’ve never been one for interviews, mainly because I have a terrible memory and sometimes get mixed up with dates and people. When Gary asked me to do the honours I was a little bit dubious but he has a great technique and makes you feel right at home.
As usual since then I have remembered and forgotten again a hundred things that could have been part of the story. I think Gary does a fine job and long may he be able to keep it going. I very much enjoy reading his interviews’.
Lorraine Crosby (Singer/Presenter) ‘So thrilled to have been part of this amazing blog. Thanks so much for a great interview Gary x’.
Ed Waugh (Writer & Theatre producer) ‘What you’ve done is an incredible job of recording North East cultural and social life in your tremendous blog. It’s a fantastic feat achieving 250,000 hits but I’m sure the millionth hit will not be too far away.
I look forward to reading every interview, not least because I lived through most of what you write about and it gives a fascinating perspective of what other people were doing at the same time. Not only that, you’ve recorded history for future generations – what a magnificent legacy! Keep up the great work’.
Ray Spencer MBE (Director, The Customs House) ‘Alikivi is a rare and beautiful thing. Not seeking praise for its self but always a celebration on the subject. Gently incisive interviews cut to the heart of the subjects beliefs and motivation without them even being aware they had sat in the psychiatrists chair’.
Steve Dawson (Geordie) ‘Gary is a staple of North East cultural awareness. Working tirelessly to keep the region’s heritage of music, art and local celebrities of all genres alive and kicking in living memory. Long may he continue.’
Jan Graveson (singer & actor) ‘The North East runs in my veins. I’m a proud miner’s daughter and absolutely love where I am from and the people. It’s incredible really that while as a teenager most of us were in bands, performing, singing, playing music. It wasn’t until I moved away from my beloved North East that I realised not everywhere is like that.
I learnt over the years that it’s all about the ‘soul’ of the people and the inherent talents passed through families, the strong communities and passion that creates such love. Thank you Gary for being so devoted in showing the world what we, of the North East are all capable of !’
Dave Taggart (Belinda Carlisle, Danceclass) ‘Well done Gary. The North East culture blog is going from strength to strength. Keep it going and spread the gospel to the ‘yoof ‘ out there that there was and still is a thriving music scene in the North East’.
Jim Sculley (former Musician, Promoter & Manager) ‘Wow ! That’s some achievement Gary. But I’m not surprised to be honest. I’ve read almost every interview and most other things that you’ve written and never felt the urge to stop reading or to question or doubt what you’ve written.
Everything feels right, obviously written from the heart and absolutely smacks of the truth. You’ve laid out in words what you know to be the North East’s fabulous past, culture and heritage. Whether it be music, the arts, everyday life or it’s wonderful characters albeit sometimes wacky, but always funny, likeable and very musically talented.
You’ve done a fine job these last five years Gary and our area owes you a huge debt of gratitude for keeping us in the spotlight. I hope fervently that this is just the beginning and there’s a lot more to come. This is not bluster buddy – it’s from my heart.’
Phil Sutcliffe (Sounds/Mojo music journalist & author) ‘North East culture reaches out around the world in the endless circle of seeking and finding inspiration and using it and sending it back out again with a different accent. Lit the fire under me when I lived in Newcastle during the ‘70s. Keeps on rolling around and around (until the seas run dry?) Congrats and keep on keeping on!’
Sheila Graber (Animator) ‘Gary is a very experienced and well respected documentary maker so he fully understands the process involve in making any art form – this makes him a great Blogger.
He asks all the right questions and summarises answers into a readable and interesting form. He has been a pleasure to work with over many years – here’s to the next 250,000 viewers’.
Davy Little (Axis, Pauline Gillan Band, Lies of Smiles) ‘Congratulations on a wonderfully informative blog. Nearly 5 years, 250,000 views, a wonderful depiction of the lives/culture/music/art of the North East.
Artists, Photographers, Animators, Sculptors, Writers, Poets, Musicians, Playwrights, Broadcasters, Journalists, Authors, Actors, Entertainers, Stage crew, Tech Crew, Managers, Promoters, Film Makers, Record Company execs, the full gamut of the North East’s incredibly creative community can be found here, stories that will evoke the full range of human emotion.
From the Animals to the Tygers of Pan Tang, from the Dark Arts of the Stasi to Postcards from Spain. An incredible body of work’.
Richard Laws (ex-Tygers of Pan Tang) ‘Congratulations Alikivi for reaching the landmark of a quarter of a million readers and shining a spotlight on North East music and culture. An outstanding achievement’.
Big thanks to all you lovely people…keep spreading the love !
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE 