Ralph was on tremendous form this evening at Chequer Mead, East Grinstead. The intimacy and excellent acoustics of the venue suited his performance perfectly, and the audience were entranced throughout

Playing straight through with no interval, Ralph's selection of old and new material was excellently balanced.  Beginning with the ragtime number, 'Arthur Blake' the set included 'Hiring Fair' (often covered by the likes of Fairport Convention but it was a delight to hear it from the man himself); the wonderfully evocative 'Mr Connaughton'; and a spine-tingling  performance of the thought-provoking 'Lost Boys'.  

Naturally, he played 'Streets of London' but by doing so without introduction in the middle of the set, and with subtle changes in the opening to each chorus, the audience quietly listened - a nice change from the mass choir that so often accompanies the song!

Other highlights included the mesmerising 'Still in Dreams', A Feather Fell', 'Summer Girls', 'Miss You Most Of All', 'Wild Cape Horn' and (accompanied by piano), the ever-popular 'Naomi'.  But my favourite song of the evening was his riveting performance of the moving 'Jesus Wept' - you could have heard a pin drop.  A well-deserved encore of 'Glory of Love' followed, sending the appreciative audience home happy (after the usual CD and book signing session, of course).

Martin