General News
August 2026 News Update
Saturday, August 1, 2026
This month’s news is pretty special believe me.
I had the great pleasure and privilege to spend the morning with (without a shadow of doubt) THE greatest acoustic guitarist alive. My old friend Tommy Emmanuel.
I was looking on YouTube and came across Tommy playing a tune that he wrote for his late brother Phil two days after his passing. I was so moved that I felt I had to reach out to him to let him know how this tune truly touched me.
Within a few hours the great man replied and told me he was in the UK for a short time visiting his family. A mutual day was arranged and off I went. When I arrived at his apartment, I could hear some music bring played from the communal garden below his dwelling. As I got closer, I could see Tommy sitting on one the benches with eyes closed playing his Maton guitar. I stood there for at least half a minute captivated by the scene. When he opened his eyes, he broke into a huge smile and we hugged.
We exchanged a few tunes, and I reminded him that it had been at least 12 years since we saw each other. I was able to get him up to speed with my life over that period.
Bless him, he had no idea of what the events of my life had been. Needless to say, there was a look of shock and sadness on his face after he heard of my illness, the loss of my beloved Jamie and latterly my Hilary's passing in 2022. On an optimistic note, he was delighted to hear of my MBE for services to music and charity. Tommy holds the Australian equivalent The Order of Australia also for services to music and charity.
I had known Tommy the musician for several years but never truly knew the man, and of course that was true of him with me. Those few hours spent can only be described as PRECIOUS!
It soon became apparent that we had so much in common with our working class backgrounds, fear of school and the bullying, losing our mothers at a relative young age, and of course our love of music.
It is well known that over the years Tommy has been struggling in some areas of his personal life. I am delighted to say that this seems behind him, and he is looking so well, as our lovely selfie confirms. Tommy has a beautiful family and is now a proud grandfather and his love for them is paramount in his life.
The thing that blows people away about Tommy the entertainer (outside of his dazzling virtuosity) is his energy and commitment to his audience.
He shared with me his deep faith in something far bigger than us and this faith has helped him move forward.
His performances NEVER fail to deliver.
I had heard so many rumours in the early days about this amazing Australian guitarist who had taken the scene by storm.
The first time I met him was when we shared an evening at a venue in South Shields. I attended his soundcheck and after a few seconds I understood what all the fuss was about. We did a couple of tunes together that night, 'A Dublin Day' and 'Sallie's Song'. The audience went ballistic! A few years later I was guest at one of his Tommy Fest events. For me it was a badge of honour to be invited.
After the show we spent an hour in his hotel room sharing tunes. I remember I played him a tune of mine called 'Simply Margaret' and he loved it. He said he wouldn't know where to begin writing a tune like that. Praise indeed coming from the maestro!
On my present visit I played him some of my tunes and his comment was "it sounds so English”. He particularly liked my new updated version of 'Heartsong' and was visibly moved by 'Loren'.
Time was marching on, and he had a Zoom meeting booked, so it was farewell time. We had a selfie together which was nice, to mark the occasion.
I put a brief posting on Facebook and people were asking if we would be making an album together? My reply was "our get together wasn't about that”. I have no doubt that if the great man wanted to it would be wonderful.
If we ever did record an album, I think the working title could be SLOW TUNES. Grin Grin.
Whitstable Sessions Radio Interview - Jazz, Blues & Beyond vol 188
Here's a link to a phone interview I did. The voice is a bit distorted but Johnny's comments from his listeners sort of makes up for it. Hope you enjoy it.
Two gigs of note last month
Firstly, Mylor Bridge Festival, Cornwall.
Much to tell about this gig...
First of all, I received an email from Lee, my agent giving me some final details of this upcoming concert. On checking my diary, I realised I had omitted to transfer the date into my new 2026 diary. The gig had come in months previously. There is a lesson to be learned here!!! It was an added shock to realise it was in Mylor Bridge CORNWALL!
I had a meeting the day prior in Birmingham which would have meant a very early start. The stars were looking down on me however as the appointment was unexpectedly rescheduled to later in the year, which as you can imagine was a great relief. It gave us some breathing space for our very long journey which was 250 plus miles.
We broke our journey with an overnight stop and arrived at about midday at the most glorious Cornish village of Mylor Bridge. We were greeted warmly at the festival site by an old acquaintance Steve Hutt. Steve is a very charismatic and dynamic guy who has been in showbusiness for many years and during his career was and still is Jasper Carrot's manager/ promotor.
We were then met by his lovely partner Liza who is herself a professional singer with the wonderful 'Fascinating Aida' and we followed her to our accommodation for the night. A delightful farmhouse run by a farming couple Jess and Tom. After unpacking, Liza collected us and treated us to a most wonderful lunch at a stunning location overlooking the river estuary. The food and company were fantastic and just what I needed to relax before the festival gig.
I opened the evening followed by a wonderful singer who had the leading role in the West End production of the Carole King musical 'Beautiful'. The final act of the evening was Steve's excellent band doing covers.
The interesting thing was that the guitarist in the band was Dick Cadbury. Dick is a superb bass player and vocalist but on this occasion was playing guitar. I had known Dick from way back in 1973 when I supported a band he was in called 'Decameron'. It was nice to see him again.
The following morning, we had a delightful breakfast served by Jess who couldn't have been more obliging, and we definitely hope to return.
The other gig of note was my gig with Carrie Martin at the Sun Inn, Beverley. A small intimate pub. All went well in spite of the extremely hot weather.
My friend Carrie always delivers a good show, and it was lovely sharing the evening with her. I was pleased to perform our new version of 'Scarborough Fair' which will be on her excellent new album 'Le Fay'.
Recording Projects
The new album with my friend Mark Guyatt is almost finished and will be part of a major release later this year. There will be more details to follow.
Another album due for release this year is a joint album with the great Nicholas Hooper. Once again more details close to its release.
I hope you find my interview with Johnny Fewings interesting.