Barbara Dickson to headline Wirral Folk On The Coast festival (From Messenger Newspapers)

Barbara Dickson to headline Wirral Folk On The Coast festival

10:06am Wednesday 30th May 2012 in Music By Craig Manning

MULTI-MILLION selling singer Barbara Dickson will headline Wirral’s Folk On The Coast Festival next week.

The music and dance event, now in its eighth year, will take place at Whitby Sports & Social Club in Ellesmere Port from June 7-10.

Barbara, awarded the OBE for services to music and drama in 2001, will perform on Saturday June 9.

Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, the former civil servant signed her first recording contract in 1968.

She made her stage debut as Mrs Johnstone in Willy Russell’s musical ‘Blood Brothers’ in 1983.

In 1985 her duet, ‘I Know Him So Well,’ recorded with Elaine Paige and taken from the musical ‘Chess’, reached Number One in the UK and went on to become a Top Ten hit around the world. Further hits followed, but in the early 1990s Barbara moved away from pop and back to her roots in folk and acoustic music.

In the 1990s Barbara diversify more and more into acting, with major roles on TV including ‘Taggart’ and Kay Mellor’s ‘Band of Gold’.

In addition to her annual concert tours, Barbara has performed at numerous folk festivals around the UK as well as at the prestigious International Eisteddfod in Llangollen.

Her autobiography, ‘A Shirt Box Full of Songs,’ was published by Hachette in 2009. More recently she has presented two series of ‘Scotland on Song with Barbara Dickson’ for BBC Radio Scotland, exploring folk and roots music.

Asked if there were any ambitions left, Barbara said in a recent website interview: “Oh, loads! I’d like to sing a duet with James Taylor.

“I’d like to appear on the ‘Transatlantic Sessions’. I’d like to play again in Australia. I’d like to play in the US and Canada.

“I could go on and on! Who knows if any of them will happen? So many wonderful opportunities have come my way throughout my career, many totally unexpected.

“I always look to the future and it’s why I always roll my eyes when interviewers ask me about the highlight of my career, as if the best is behind me. It’s certainly not – I truly believe the best is yet to come!”

A very high quality line-up of folk and acoustic acts will perform at five concerts over the weekend in the main building.

Some of the top support acts will be - Kieran Goss, Harvey Andrews, Jez Lowe & the Bad Pennies, Mike Silver & Jo Partridge, Tom McConville Band, Keith Donnelly, Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, Bernard Wrigley, The Young ‘Uns, Anthony John Clarke, Elbow Jane, Edwina Hayes plus a number of very talented local acts.

Festival director John Owen said: "This will be our eighth festival but our first at our new venue, The Whitby Club.

“We are absolutely delighted that the iconic actress and singer Barbaar Dickson is our top of the bill on the Saturday evening in the main concert hall.

“In addition, this 'family fun festival' has free entertainment outside in the grounds including a craft fair market place arena with dance displays, Viking battle re-enactments, workshop training in – musical instruments, story telling, poetry, harmony singing, Appalachian and Arabic dance, music sessions and tunes workshops.”

Pupils from Whitby School will present ‘Who do you think you boat people are?’ a production in music and words about canal boat life, a feature of Ellesmere Port.

This is an all-on-one-site event with over 130 artistes performing over the weekend. Camping facilities are available for weekend ticket holders. Individual main stage concert tickets and Weekend tickets are available and can be purchased via the box office.

Further details are from www.wirralfolkonthecoast.com or the box office on 0151-678-9902 & 0151-652-0734. Tickets can also be purchased via www.wegottickets.com