December 16th 2004 Tony Hughes

Tonight saw a welcome return of the Mid - Wales singer / guitarist Tony Hughes.

Though only a few months since his last visit, Tony gave us a new show this evening, displaying his versatility on the guitar, using three different instruments during his three acts. He started his programme with his Fender Strad and ' Po Boy Blues' , popularised by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler. Several songs saw him accompany himself on Harmonica also - Bellamys' ' Old hippie', Ricky Scaggs', ' Home Is Wherever You Are' and J.J. Cale's ' The Breeze'  

His second act saw him introduce his Black Guild 12 string guitar and produce an acoustic session. Songs included ' On The Road again', ' Waltz Across Texas' and two of his own compositions ' Tribute to John Denver' and ' She's a Great Kid'.  

To start his third session, Tony played his Gretsch Guitar for two popular Bellamy Brothers numbers ' If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body' and ' I Need More Of You'. Other popular songs followed - ' The Cowboy Rides Away', ' Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain' and ' Walking On The Moon Last Night' amongst them.

The highlight for me however was a Rock n' Roll medley of ' That's Alright', ' Blue Suede Shoes', Johnny B Goode' and 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and the excellent guitar work only confirmed his virtuosity with this instrument. Tony once again gave a most enjoyable and varied programme to keep dancers and listeners content throughout.

Cyril Insley 

August 26th 2004  Tony Hughes

Tonight's performer has regularly appeared at our club since it's inauguration, but i was surprised to learn he has not been here since April last year.   

Tony is from Mid - Wales, an area which only belatedly received television; so his ' mis-spent youth ' was devoted to learning to play the guitar. He listened predominantly to folk singers  like Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan etc.He gradually moved towards Country Music through Guy Clark and John Denver paticularly, and has been playing the genre for thirty years. Tony is an accomplished guitarist, also plays the  harmonica and is strong with vocals. He has acquired a large and varied catalogue of songs over the years; so he's able to cover all diverse aspects of Country Music.  

He gave us ' Po' Boy Blues', covered by Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins, ' The Bug ' from Mary Chapin Carpenter, Hank's ' Hey Good Lookin'  'Ghostriders in the Sky ' a particular favouite in our club, John Denver's ' Back Home Again ' and ' Country Roads, ' Dick Feller's ' Some Days are Diamonds ' and two songs that i particularly enjoyed, Vince Gill's ' If i Didn't Have You In My World ' and Philip Donnelly's, ' Home is Wherever You Are '. 

Just a sample of the mixture he provided to keep all and sundry in good spirits all evening.     

I have never known Tony Hughes not to put on a good show for his audience, and with displays such as tonight's he will always be welcome here.     

Cyril Insley Top