Eric Faulkner – Eric Faulkner
Independent – Available via his website
A former member of the Bay City Rollers might seem, an unlikely proposition for this site, but in the past decade or so Eric Faulkner has reinvented himself as a folk protest singer of no little musical and lyrical clout. His burgeoning new career suffered a dramatic setback when, in 2015, he almost died of viral encephalitis. He has, however, continued to recover and, in the process, has recorded a collection of songs, not an official album as such, that’s he’s made available on his website as free downloads, though tips are welcome (and I would suggest encouraged).
The lyrics to all but one are self-penned, opening with Ghosts, a fingerpicked circling melody underpinning a song about the collapse of the Clyde shipbuilding industry (“The whole dock’s dry no overtime/We’ve got our cards, they’ve sent us home today”), followed in similar mind with Take No More, with a melody not dissimilar to I Fought The Law on a stomp rhythm call to action lyric against those who, as the first verse announces, “take our money and they build their bombs/Chop our trees ‘till the forest’s gone/Plant our crops with a demon seed”, going on to reference Trump and the NHS.
Opening with Irish whistle, the slow sway-along Long Way From Miami is a commemoration of the recent 45th anniversary of the murder of members of the Miami Showband (who had earlier supported the Rollers in Belfast). On their way back to Dublin from a gig at The Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, the band were stopped at a checkpoint by members of the Ulster Volunteer Force dressed in British Army uniforms, two of whom were killed when a time bomb they were hiding in the band’s minibus exploded prematurely, the others opening fire on the band, killing three and wounding two (wiki).
Staying on a military theme, The Frontline, another rousing stomp akin to something from Robb Johnson perhaps, is a sort of Universal Soldier variation about the common man sent to be cannon fodder before the subject matter shifts for Front Perch Rock, cascading acoustic guitar lines backdropping a number about those who “With our earned dignity laid across the endless sea/O’er this watery grave with our faith in God/For our precious catch we have sailed our luck”, the title referring to the installation situated at the mouth of Liverpool Bay, built in the 1820s to defend the Port of Liverpool and, in the song, an indication of safely reaching home.
Driven by an urgently strummed guitar, Born To Be Free pretty much speaks for itself as does the more reflective Spirit Run Free (“Follow the wind in your heart”), while, set to a deceptive jaunty rhythm, Giving It All To Charity speaks of those abandoned by society, the homeless, the veterans who fall through the cracks, the addicts “hung out to dry”.
As the title suggests, evoking traditional Scottish folk, The Prodigal addresses redemption and reconciliation (“Will you be there shining brightly?/Standing strong for to guide me on my way/Are you with me: are we one voice?/Is there peace at the end of our day?”) and, given the Scottish poetic nature of the lyrics, it’s fittingly followed by a piano and strings setting of Robert Burns’ friendship and mortality themed To Chloris, both songs produced by Phil Cunningham before Faulkner fell ill.
The pastoral folk mood sustains through the fingerpicked Neath The Rowan Tree which could easily pass as a traditional song about courtship and fertility, the collection ending with, first, the rousing shanty-styled stomping Idy May, sung in the voice of a man facing the gallows after being inflamed with lust for the village girl and her “devil eyes” and killing her husband, the two looking down from heaven as she’s “still dancing in the circle/With a new man by her side”. Finally, there’s the bluesy strum of Faithless, a ‘love letter to his lawyers and “the suits on deposition row”, the line about being “lost in the fog of litigation” and the Statutes of Limitation a reference to a 10-year court case where he and the other original Rollers sued Arista Records for unpaid royalties, resulting in an out of court settlement for far less than was claimed. Regardless of whether you have a lingering affection for the Rollers or not, these songs deserve a far wider platform than sitting on Faulkner’s website awaiting curious browsers or fans of his folk and festival appearances wondering what’s happened to him. Give them a listen, earn him some money, spread the word and give a little love.
Available via https://www.ericfaulkner.co.uk/