PIPE DREAMS

By Pat Haswell 

Peter Arkle, John Haswell and Patricia (Pat) Haswell formed Pipe Dream in 2008. Initially doing lots of Charity Gigs (people loved the fact we did it for nothing). When we started asking for money our popularity waned. ONLY KIDDING. 

After charity gigs, which incidentally we still occasionally do, we started to play local pubs in the area. We ventured as far as Scotland where we were tarred and feathered and thrown into the Tweed. ONLY KIDDING AGAIN. 

Pat's roots were in folk and Irish music. Visiting folk clubs and festivals was very enjoyable and the audience were really appreciative. We were approached by fans who asked us if we had any CDs for sale. A very talented singer/songwriter, Paul Liddell produced our first CD called Song For You with the title track written by John. 

We have been fortunate to play many great folk clubs and festivals, also weddings, birthday parties and The Tyneside Irish Centre. The most unusual gig we played was to a group of bikers (400) to be precise. One of the bikers contacted John and said they would like to see us play as they felt they would like us to book us for their gathering. John explained we were not a Heavy Metal group. George the leader said they have plenty of Heavy Metal bands and they wanted to come to our next gig and watch us. 

A huge group turned up on motorbikes, leather clad, big and burly and sat listening while we played. After we finished, they told us we were exactly what they wanted. One stipulation, we must sing Where Have All the Flowers Gone! They booked us four years running. Inspired by the late Ewen Carruthers. Richard Thompson, Christy Moore, Jimmy McCarthy and Judith Durham we made two more CDs. One devoted entirely to Ewen Carruthers called A Little Bit of Ewen. Also, the If I Ever CD, which features some of our popular songs as well as some composed by John and Pat. 

We are looking forward to the day we can get back onto the circuit and meet all our really wonderful friends, also the folk club we run at the Blue Bell, Fulwell, Sunderland and the open mic night at the Britannia Cleadon. 

We are booked to play Croxdale Folk Club at the Daleside Arms Croxdale on Tues September 26th 2023. 

We will always be grateful to all the people who have booked us over the years and everyone who has supported us by coming to watch us play.