James Oliver brought his band to Cefn Fforest Miners’ Institute on Saturday 21st February and put on a show that will go down in history.
James has been incredibly helpful in the past, playing two previous benefit gigs to help us raise money to re-open our beloved Stute. Tonight, for his first show actually in the Stute he brought with him a rather special line-up.
Local lad James has built himself a formidable reputation for incredible guitar skills and a work ethic to match. He plays over three hundred gigs a year – often squeezing in two gigs in one day. In a very short space of time he has won over the admiration of his peers and established music legends alike. He has played all over Europe and has done several mini-tours of the USA.
Since 2022 drummer Mark Kemlo has been a constant companion, keeping time on the drums. Mark has been drumming for forty years, including for the award-winning Welsh rockabilly band The Rimshots. Mark sits calmly at the back demonstrating a skill that can only come from years of practice, making his job look easy.
James and Mark regularly gig together around the country, but tonight is one of the few times James has brought his three-piece band set up to perform in the South Wales Valleys. They are joined by bassist Norman Watt-Roy.
Norman will be celebrating sixty years of gigging this year. He kept busy with session work throughout the ’70s and appeared on Jona Lewie’s number one single ‘You’ll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties’. Perhaps most famously, he formed part of the rhythm section for The Blockheads, backing band for Ian Dury, hitting the charts in 1979 with ‘Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick.’ His time with The Blockheads allowed him to cross paths with Dr. Feelgood’s Wilko Johnson, which led to his joining Johnson’s own group in the mid-’80s. In between, he played with The Selecter on Celebrate the Bullet and The Clash on Sandinista, with Wreckless Eric’s Captains of Industry, and he played the original bass part on Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s single ‘Relax’.
Norman’s most recent crack at the album charts is on ‘From Bombay to Blackwood’, James Oliver’s most recent album, released late in 2025.
We were thrilled that the stars aligned for James to bring this full three-piece line-up to the Stute to support our charity.
The band had played two dates in Dublin prior to coming to us, so we had fingers and toes crossed that there would be no delays with their flight back to Cardiff.
Local legend DJ Kelvin had jumped at the chance to be on the same bill as the full James Oliver Band and kept the full house entertained whilst the guys set up their gear.
As the clock struck nine, the band struck the opening chords of Bo Diddley’s ‘I can tell’, quickly followed by ‘Voodoo Mumbo Jumbo’ from James’ Frantic album, followed by the Dr Feelgood classic, ‘She Does it Right’.
Having seen the band many times as a two-piece, this reviewer had never really noticed anything missing. James and Mark are a good match. The presence of Norman on bass though, definitely added a depth to the sound that takes it to another level. We are now getting an experienced rhythm section for James to sprinkle his magic over. And boy does he have some magic.
Those who have seen James before are appreciative of the new depth Norman brings to the party. Those who have not seen James before sit there open mouthed, trying to get their heads around the speed with which his fingers move. Each tune is met with rapturous applause and cheering, and some even inspire dancing.
For forty-five minutes we are entertained by a mix of original material taken from across his three studio albums, ‘Twang’, ‘Frantic’ and ‘Bombay to Blackwood’. Tunes such as ‘TV Mama’ ‘American Cars’. Alongside more Dr Feelgood, ‘Roxette’ and the surf classic ‘Misirlou’ by Dick Dale. The fact that Norman is laying down the bass on tunes that that he has played with the original song writer made it all the more special.
Each tune is punctuated by James rapier-like wit, although he seems better behaved than usual.
There’s a short break where MC Kelvin spins some classic disco tunes to keep the crowd in good cheer, before the guys return with the sound of ‘Tear it Up’ and ‘Mean Little Mamma’. Crowd pleasers like ‘Riot in Cell Block Number Nine’ by The Robins (and countless others) and ‘Wipe Out’ by the Surfaris, have the, now heavily lubricated, crowd throwing shapes on the dancefloor.
They finish off with ‘Stay Outa Trouble’ and ‘Real Gone’, before leaving us feeling privileged to have witnessed three gifted musicians coming together to create a sound that was far more than the sum of its parts.
Will we ever see this line-up in Cefn Fforest again? We can only hope. Until then, we will have the memory of this gig. But we are pleased to say that in the very short space of time since re-opening we are already getting lots of interesting bookings and we are starting to get a reputation for putting on quality events that even we had only dreamed of. James and his band being one of them.
Thanks to James and the people who turned out on a wet and windy night. We raised over a thousand pounds towards the continued refurbishment of the rest of the building. The future is bright. Keep an eye on this website for future announcements.
