Arthur
Kitchener legendary
Londoner Singer songwriter, wordsmith, recording artiste Arthur Kitchener
is also known as the artiste Arthur Kay, an Original rude boy, who started his
career in the 1960s as a session musician for the Trojan label.
As the singer songwriter Arthur Kitchener,
he has released various albums musically different from his legendary Ska performances
with THE ORIGINALS and most recently with the Geman ska band THE CLERKS.
Other bands Arthur has worked with are Second Hand, The Next Collection, Artur
Kay's Originators. Arthur Kay and the Originals went for nearly thirty
odd years on and off. At their height, they were Judge Dreads backing group.
Unfortunately, Arthur thinks the band died with Judge Dread death. Arthur
suggests the difference between his band The Originals and other Ska bands
was our influences. His influence was Rock and Roll, Dion, Fats Domino, all those
sort of guys. Later on, Bruce Springsteen. The Originals was more a cross
between the East Street Band and The Specials. It had all that power with
the Hammond organ. Arthur's Ska albums are not three cord tricks. Theyre
engineered in their arrangements. The
Wordsmith album (Folk, World Music) The
Hobo Manifesto Album(Folk, World Music) was released on HMI Records The
King of the Jungle Album (Rock, Punk, Oi, Acoustic) was released on Randle
Records The Acoustic Warrior album (folk, world, country) was released
on Lounge Records The Road I've Travelled was released on Somebody's Music
Records Belmont Avenue Street
Poet Sweet Little Princess The
Road I've Travelled: The road to rock is a hard one. For some it's a quest for
a crock of gold at the end of a rainbow. It's a road littered with broken hearts,
broken dreams and broken lives. For others it's a path of self-discovery in search
of the grail. And for some it's a mixture of both. The
road started for me in a back street in London it lead me up the High road where
the local record shop played Dion, "the last of the one named singers"
singing The Wanderer on an outside speaker mixing with busy traffic noise. The
road lead me to watch Jimi Hendrix at the Ram Jam club with fellow musical travellers,
down the Cold Blow Lane where I picked up my love for football and into deepest
Kent. Sometimes I lost sight of the road for
the trail of empty beer cans. Sometimes I couldn't see the road for the 2 white
crystal lines that seemed to stretch out in front of me. Today,
the road has also led me to the top of Glastonbury Tor. I often watch the sun
set over the Mendips to the sound of fellow traveller Haggis playing the bagpipes.
If I try to take twelve simple steps in one day I seem to travel a lot further
than I have ever done before. Arthur Kitchener
July 18th 2004 Arthur
Kay

Arthur Kay & The Clerks The Night
I Came Home
(Released
on Grover Records - Germany) A
local band from Cologne joins forces with a legendary Londoner for a top-class
ska album. Thats only one of the extraordinary tales written by the international
ska community these days. In this here story,
the Freedom Sounds festival (based in Cologne) plays a major part. With much patience
and persuasion, its promotors were able in 2016, to haul Arthur Kay out of retirement
back onto the stage, in Germany. For those who dont know: Arthur Kay is
an Original rude boy, who started his career in the 1960s as a session musician
for the Trojan label. In the 1980s, he spread his Cockney charm on a number of
albums whose production unfortunately couldnt live up to Arthurs qualities
as a fascinating storyteller. What followed
was a long downtime. Until last year, when Arthur showed up in finest thread,
supported by The Clerks who had offered to be his backing band for a weekend.
Arthur Kay was so blown away by their shared performance that, as soon as he was
back in England, he sat down to write new songs and vowed to record them with
The Clerks. The resulting album, which was
mixed by Nico Leonard in the Belgian Pum Pum Hotel, comes with an air of the local
pub. Its a knockout how Arthur delivers catchy slogan refrains like in Dont
Give A Damn, and then again takes the listener on the intricate ways of
his story in Wide Boys & Cowboys. And between all that, The Clerks
seem to always find the best musical expression, from soundscapes to stompers.
The Clerks proof their status as the most complete, versatile ska band far and
wide, when they shimmer effortlessly between serious reggae and merry ska. Thats
top class. Buy
Arthur Kay & The Clerks at Moskito mail order (vinyl, cd) Buy
Arthur Kay & The Clerks at The Clerks online shop (vinyl, cd)
Track list: Vinyl LP (A & B Sides) A1 The Last Of
The One Named Singers (A. Kitchener)
A2 The Night I Came Home (A. Kitchener - Scamp Music)
A3 (I Was) Born To Cry (Dion Dimucci) A4
Wideboys And Cowboys (A. Kitchener) A5 ReggaenSka (Clerks)
A6 Sunlight Of The Spirit (A. Kitchener - Scamp Music)
B1 The Count Of Clerkenwell (A. Kitchener - Scamp Music)
B2 It's the Hatton Garden
Job ((A. Kitchener) B3 The Last Of The Summer Ska (Ronnie Hazlehurst
- Cherry Red songs / Kassner) B4 Don't Give A Dam (Clerks) B5
Trying To Make A Living ((A. Kitchener) B6 Mardi Gras On A Saturday
Night (A. Kitchener)
Track list: Compact Disc CD1
The Last Of The One Named Singers (A. Kitchener)
CD2 The Night I Came Home (A. Kitchener - Scamp Music)
CD3 (I Was) Born To Cry (Dion
Dimucci) CD4 Wideboys And Cowboys (A. Kitchener) CD5 ReggaenSka
(Clerks)
CD6 Sunlight Of The Spirit (A. Kitchener - Scamp Music)
CD7 The Count Of Clerkenwell (A. Kitchener - Scamp Music)
CD8 It's the
Hatton Garden Job (A. Kitchener) CD9 The Last Of The Summer Ska (Ronnie
Hazlehurst - Cherry Red songs / Kassner) CD10 Don't Give A Dam (Clerks) CD11
Trying To Make A Living (A. Kitchener) CD12 Mardi Gras On A Saturday
Night (A. Kitchener) | Arthur
Kay & The Clerks. CD & Vinyl release on Grover Records Germany 
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Photos:
courtesy of Arther Kitchener aka Arthur Kay
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