Arthur Kitchener is a poet and a musician of some renown, having played bass guitar with music legends like Dr John. His many bands include The Balham Alligators, Arthur Kay and the Originals, and currently, The Lords Of Lonesome. He plays solo at folk and ska festivals, and has released many cd's. In a collection of street poems, Arthur tells us the story of his childhood, a difficult one by modern standards. Colourful relations and friends are brought to life in poems full of historical imagery of his early years in south London.
About the Author: Born in South London in 1948, the son of a soldier and piano teacher, it wasn't until buying his first record 'The Wanderer' by Dion that his love of music first started. His mother bought him a second hand acoustic guitar and with the help of a friend he learned 'House of the Rising Sun'. In the summer of 1965 he teamed up with three youngsters at a local youth club and formed his first band 'Noddy and the Plods', they never gigged - just rehearsed in a garage. By Christmas of that year Arthur had switched to bass guitar and joined a band called 'The Shapes' and in February 1966 played his first ever gig at the Holy Redeemer Hall in Streatham Vale. By October of the same year Arthur had moved on to join The Next Collection, a top south London band which subsequently changed their name to Second Hand. Their album 'Reality' was released on Polydor Records. Polydor included two of their tracks on the 'Deep Overground Pop' album which featured amongst others The Who and Jimi Hendrix. Arthur left the band in 1968 due to musical differences. By this time however, listening to Bob Dylan and his contempories, he started his journey once again into acoustic music, playing bass for an acoustic band in folk clubs in south London. On one occasion the rest of the band failed to show and Ivan St Clair, who ran the club, asked him to do a floor spot. 'The only song I remember playing was, Lilly of the West' he recalls. Taking a break from the folk scene he carried on playing bass with fellow musicians Ron Kavana and Keith Chilvers in top London Bluegrass band Panama Red. By the end of 1977 Panama Red had split up. Now living in Clerkenwell, Arthur started to write his own songs, Limehouse Lady being an early one from this period. He then joined a top London Cajun outfit, The Balham Alligators also playing bass with Doctor John on occasions. Having to leave the Alligators and his native London (due to family circumstances) he moved to Kent. Eventually becoming dissatisfied with playing bass he once again returned to his acoustic guitar and began writing new songs influenced by the rich experiences he'd had throughout his colourful life. While in Canterbury, a chance meeting with an old friend Mark Hewins was to give him the inspiration to go it alone as a singer/songwriter and to share his songs, old and new, with a new audience. Since then his unique style has been warmly received wherever he goes, and now he has written a volume of street poems.