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| photo: Michal Mecner |
Alasdair Bouch is not strictly Welsh and indeed is now based in Prague, but he did begin his musical career while in University in Bangor. Not only did Alasdair (affectionately known as Ali B... well before the existence of Ali G) work in the legendary Cob Records, but he was also responsible for turning upper Bangor's Greek Taverna into a music venue back in the early 90s. His tireless promotion of live music in the town created a platform for many of the area's young musicians to showcase their talents (or lack thereof). To this day, the Greek Taverna remains a vibrant venue for upcoming local musicians thanks to the work of Ali B.
Since leaving Bangor and relocating to Prague, Alasdair has released three excellent CD albums, ranging from the
alternative folk-blues sound of his debut First Person Singular,
via the raw soul power-pop of Second-hand Lullabies to his recent Third Time Lucky which beats in a
old-school rhythm 'n' blues vein, shot
through with classic drivetime rock and ballads. Over the past few years he has played 457 concerts across Europe!
Whenever Turquoise Coal finds itself in the Czech Republic, we never fail to hook up with the talented troubadour for an evening of pivo and reminiscence, as we did most recently last month.
Here's a great new video for Alasdair's song Bed of Happiness - you can't go wrong with a Trabant in a video... unless, of course you're U2!
Alasdair's three albums are available for sale at concerts, or as downloads from iTunes and other digital outlets.
Very nice indeed. I once had a meal in said taverna but sadly there was no music on that night. Of course, I can recall a time when that whole section of the shops in Upper Bangor was all boarded up and sealed off, so it being miraculously opened up in such a magical way came as a splendid surprise when I revisited many years ago. He worked in Cob? Good man. RIP, Cob Records.
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