Colin Henderson
Colin Henderson
Colin’s
Story
When I decided that I wanted to play songs to an audience I was starting from a long way back on the grid. I had a voice that wouldn’t win any prizes, and a guitar style that was at best rudimentary. All I had going for me was a seemingly improving ability to write songs which people might like to hear.
I was starting to hang around my local folk clubs doing ‘floor spots’ either on my own or with friends and eventually gravitated to the folk club at the Black Horse pub in West Kirby. There I met Tom Topping and Brian Jones. Tom and Brian welcomed me into what became the Tom Topping Band (TTB) and we embarked on a career which saw us perform hundreds of shows in hundreds of places to thousands of people.
Colin’s
Story
When I decided that I wanted to play songs to an audience I was starting from a long way back on the grid. I had a voice that wouldn’t win any prizes, and a guitar style that was at best rudimentary. All I had going for me was a seemingly improving ability to write songs which people might like to hear.
I was starting to hang around my local folk clubs doing ‘floor spots’ either on my own or with friends and eventually gravitated to the folk club at the Black Horse pub in West Kirby. There I met Tom Topping and Brian Jones. Tom and Brian welcomed me into what became the Tom Topping Band (TTB) and we embarked on a career which saw us perform hundreds of shows in hundreds of places to thousands of people.
My band-mates were always willing to give my song writing exploits the benefit of the doubt and with Tom’s effortless ability to truly deliver a vocal and Brian’s innate skills in song and harmony arrangement, some of those songs became staples of the band’s repertoire. To say I was lucky to be in that company would be a considerable understatement.
Performing gigs was a wonderfully rewarding way to make great music, meet new audiences and make new friends. As an aspiring songwriter I was drawn to and influenced by artists such as Allan Taylor, Harvey Andrews, Vin Garbutt, Mike Silver and Jack Hudson. Via Brian, I got to know about and appreciate the tremendous musicality and power of Silly Wizard (his brother, Gordon, being a member of that great band). Silly Wizard’s song writer was the sadly now departed Andy M. Stewart who could write a contemporary song but make it seem like it was a hundred years old.
It all began quite by chance.
Colin gave me a container full of blank CDs that he no longer needed. As I was finding room for them in my cupboard, I noticed a dozen green CDs tucked away at the bottom of the pile. Curiosity got the better of me, so I slipped one into the player before leaving for a holiday the following day.
What I heard was a wonderful surprise – a beautifully recorded live performance of Colin, alone with his guitar at a folk club. The recording captured him perfectly, his singing and playing full of warmth, confidence and character. I knew straight away this was something special.
When I returned from holiday, I uploaded all twelve tracks and realised they deserved to be heard again. Not only could they become a wonderful album, but they came with a story worth telling. We later discovered that my son Andrew had made the recordings, probably around fifteen years ago, although exactly where the concert took place remains a mystery.
Andrew and I often performed alongside Colin over the years, so being able add a bit of bass and backing vocals just like the old days was a joy and brought back some lovely memories.
As I listened through the recordings, there was another unexpected delight. Among the twelve tracks where six of Colin’s own songs, two of which I had never heard before. Having worked and performed with Colin for so many years, I honestly believed I knew every song he’d written. To discover two forgotten gems after all this time was a genuinely moving experience and made the project feel even more special.
This album has truly been a labour of love. It has given us the opportunity not only to preserve a wonderful performance but also to shine a light once again on Colin’s songwriting and musicianship. We are immensely proud of the finished album and hope these recordings will allow both old friends and new listeners to enjoy a little more of Colin’s music, just as it was meant to be heard.
If anyone recognised these recordings or remembers the concert they came from, we’d love to hear from you. We’d be delighted to add that missing chapter to the story of “Colin’s Lost Songs”.
featured SONG
Colin Henderson: “I wrote ‘One More For The Road’ number of years ago as a nod to a great singer and guitarist named Jack Hudson who I met when I was performing with The Tom Topping Band.
Jack became a good friend of ours and we performed at the same gigs on many occasions. Jack often performed a song called ‘Geronimo’s Cadillac’ (written by Charles John Quarto and Michael Martin Murphey) the chorus of which says ‘Hey boys, take me back. I want to ride in Geronimo’s Cadillac’. The Tom Topping Band ‘stole’ the song from Jack and we performed it often, too. When I first met Jack I was an aspiring song writer and he encouraged me with the words “Don’t let it die, if there’s a song to sing you have to try. If you’ve got something to say, stand up there and play”
As ‘One More For The Road’ was written for Jack, references to the Cadillac and to his inspiring words inevitably found their way into the song. Jack, sadly, passed away in 2022 and it seemed appropriate to re-record One More For The Road.”
