About Chris Manners
Chris Manners is a song-maker, singer and guitarist who’s been knocking around the folk scene for years, mainly in Yorkshire but also for appreciable times in Manchester, Oxford, London and Essex. He’s a resident with Ryburn 3 Step and the Ryburn folk club in Ripponden, and you’ll also catch him at venues around Airedale, Calderdale and Wharfedale.
New album – Exit Pursued by a Bear
The long-time-coming third album, firmly rooted in the English folk tradition, filtered through a mash-up of other influences: Nic Jones, Spike Jones, Jake Thackray, Bruce Springsteen, and John Chibadura & The Tembo Brothers.
Lyrically it’s a sharp but affectionate dissection of . . . well, everything, really. From Napoleon’s exile on Elba to choosing the right colour for the kitchen wall; from the decline of tradition industry to the horrors of war and the disappointments of middle age. It even includes a couple of love songs, one of them with fleas.
Latest From the Blog…
The times they are a-changin’ — Forgotten favourites #2
An occasional series on rediscovered treasures When I was young and even more foolish, me and a chum tried to smuggle quotes from Bob Dylan songs into our English homework. We got away with 'blowing in the wind', 'when the ship comes in' and a few more. But when I...
Past, Present & Future — Forgotten favourites #1
An occasional series on rediscovered treasuresSomehow the old favourites fell short; too familiar for unfamiliar times. Crown of horn (Martin Carthy); Penguin eggs (Nic Jones); Handful of earth (Dick Gaughan); Led Zeppelin’s Four symbols. Not even Sergeant Pepper or...
My first folk club
Originally printed in Tykes’ News, Spring 2019 Folk music discovered me just before The Sex Pistols; by the time they arrived, I was lost in a world of angular tunes and collarless shirts. I started to go to folk clubs while at university, so there are three that I...