Singer/songwriter Jez Lowe was born into a family with Irish roots in County Durham and a lot of his material reflects on his life — and life in general — in the North East and the history and events from that area.
He is regarded as a musical ambassador for the North East and has recorded about 20 albums in his career to date.
A prolific songwriter, Jez’s songs have been covered by a wide range of artists including Fairport Convention, The Dubliners, The McCalmans, The Tannahill Weavers, Liam Clancy and Cherish the Ladies amongst a host of others. He was deservedly awarded the coveted Folk Singer of the Year in the 2008 BBC Folk Awards — an honour that was long overdue.
Jez’s Last of the Widows is a brilliant song written in 1991 to mark the 40th anniversary of a pit disaster that happened in Easington Colliery where he was born just four years after the tragedy.
Sean Cannon recorded a Lowe song, Back in Durham Jail, along with The Dubliners and Liam Clancy recorded another fine Lowe song, The Bergen, that features on one of his albums.
There is a great clip on YouTube that is well worth a look. It shows Liam performing the song with his son Donal and Robbie O’Connell on The Late Late Show back in 1996 when they launched a new album.
Jez Lowe is one of those artists that work constantly, whether solo, with his band The Bad Pennies, or in a duo, and you can catch him at one of his remaining December gigs.
Bishop Auckland Town Hall (17); Folk at the Barlow, Bolton (19); Cramlington (20); Green Hammerton Village Hall (21); Normandy Hotel, Middlesborough (22); The Sage, Gateshead (27)
