KIDDARS LUCK

Interviewed by Sammi

On Location at 

The Pit Village Band Hall, Beamish Museum

27th October 2024

If you wish to book them, here are the details:

☎️ 07377 132970  📨 kiddarsluck@gmail.com   🕸️ Kiddars Luck Facebook Page   Reverbnation

The band lineup is John Dixon, Colin McLelland and Mike Davidson.

The beginnings of the band go back to 1992 with John Dixon and Colin McLelland, founder members of the Beamish Mary Folk Club. They had played as a duo in Local Clubs, and at Concerts and Festivals. Their mate Charlie McKee had regularly accompanied them in club sessions and the successful relationship was formalised in 1994 with the formation of Kiddars Luck. Alan Beadle joined the band in 2009 and added a host of instruments to the band sound. 

Always a real pleasure to these three wonderful Gentlemen in action.

The sublime harmonies really get you in the feels, and you can see by the films, the warmth of their gentle personalities shining through.

They talk TO the people watching instead of talking AT them, which is worth it’s weight in gold, explaining what words from the local dialect mean to those who like me, need subtitles at times.

Interacting with the audience they way they do, with humour, shows real showmanship. I can highly recommend these wonderful chaps, so much talent and wonderfully down to earth lads. 

Oh, and Colin dear boy, that's the door shut! Hahaha

"Seal Coal" is the first song that I heard these guys sing. 

It got me right in the feels. 

Hauntingly beautiful harmonies, and they did this song at my humble request.

The Scottish Heritage website explains sea coal:

[Sea coal is] coal that washes up on the beaches. There must be exposed beds of coal on the sea floor out in the Firth of Forth. After storms at sea, coal washes in and is to be found along the high tide line. There was never a lot of it at any one time or place on the beach but enough to supply the needs of those in the village who appreciated sea coal. It was common practice to always carry a bag with you when you walked the beaches to carry home your black gold. If there happened to be a stone in it, you could be treated to a few pops from the fire!

Sea coal, sea coal, hear the man call .... Sea coal, sea coal, hear the man call

If we go buy a bag, we’ll have nowt left at all, For we need our bit money to buy bread and meat, And if we must go hungry then at least we’ll have heat

Sea coal, sea coal, hear the man call

Who’ll buy, who’ll buy, hear the man cry, It’s just a few shillings for the finest of fuel, Come stoke up your fires now for the weather is cruel, It’s a cold place in winter, is old Hartlepool

Sea coal, sea coal, hear the man call

See him, see him, see him at the end of the road, If we don’t go buy quick then it all will be sold, I can see by his wagon that small is his load, And if we must go hungry then we needn’t go cold

Sea coal, sea coal, hear the man call .... Sea coal, sea coal, hear the man call