Helen McCookerybook

Delighted to be returning to the Lantern Theatre, Sheffield on Thursday 25th July 2019, is pioneering She Punk and John Peel favourite Helen McCookerybook. For one night only, original bass player and lead singer with 70’s/80’s Brighton-based punk rock band The Chefs and later Helen & the Horn, Helen McCookerybook is appearing at The Lantern Theatre, 18 Kenwood Park Road, Sheffield S7 1NF (http://www.lanterntheatre.org.uk) 0114 255 1776 at 8 p.m. tickets £10.00 from www.ticketsource.co.uk. After a memorable sell out gig with Martin Stephenson and The Daintees a couple of years ago, this is McCookerybook’s solo debut at The Lantern, Sheffield’s oldest theatre (built in 1893), which has a uniquely intimate atmosphere with just 84 seats. McCookerybook’s appearance marks the 40th anniversary of her explosive recording debut with punk rockers The Chefs, in 1979. McCookerybook’s 2019 solo set on guitar will feature fan favourites such as ‘The Sea’, ‘A Good Life With a Bad Apple’ and recorded in NY her limited edition single ‘Saturday Night with the London Set’. McCookerybook’s Sheffield gig is part of a 15 gig plus UK tour running from March to December 2019 (http://www.mccookerybook.com). Supporting Helen is Sheffield based singer songwriter Duncan Parsons, who has released solo albums in a variety of styles and moods ‘Parsons writes catchy ditties and clever lyrics’ Sea of Tranquility and whose music ‘mixes a dry wit with a wonderfully observant line in lyrics’ The Waiting Room. McCookerybook’s music is admired by fans and the music industry alike, “McCookerybook purveys a gentle, jazz-folk melodicism, with a dark underside.” (Time Out), “acoustically led, her songs are of love, politics and quite possibly, the kitchen sink, and her voice is pure as crystal.” (HIAPOP) and “McCookerybook’s lyrics, frank and idiosyncratic, find poetry in the everyday – shards of broken glass in the ice-cream*.” (Art & Music: The Saatchi Magazine). Her association with protest art chimes with Sheffield’s rich history of protest and activism and as part of the first wave of female punk rockers, McCookerybook is no stranger to controversy with The Chef track ‘Thursh’ considered too outrageous to be played by the BBC (but BBC Radio Birmingham played it anyway, on the basis that management wouldn’t notice!). A multi-faceted talent: singer/songwriter, artist, author, academic, McCookerybook returned to the stage ten years ago, releasing four albums the latest being her finest album ‘The Sea’, an exquisite collection featuring the divine ‘Summer Days’ a favourite of Gideon Coe on 6Music. McCookerybook’s bossa-inspired jazz lilt songs allow her pure vocals to soar; glorious melodies in simple sparse arrangements are juxtaposed with subtly dissident, occasionally dark lyrics, a critically praised feature of McCookerybook’s music. McCookerybook currently gigs with the likes of The Nightingales, the Monochrome Set and The Wedding Present and is admired by contemporary artists such Amelia Fletcher of Tallulah Gosh and Kenji from German band Friedrich Sunlight. In 2007 McCookerybook, (AKA Dr. Helen Reddington), published ‘The Lost Women of Rock’, a ground-breaking book described as “gritty and compelling” for its frank and critical analysis of women breaking into a male domain. The book was turned into a powerful documentary ‘Stories from the She Punks: music with a different agenda’ (2018, UK, 45 mins), directed by McCookerybook and Gina Birch of the Raincoats and had its successful world premiere at London’s 2018 Doc’n Roll Festival. It is currently touring UK and international film festivals (visit http://www.mccookerybook for screening dates near you) and had a sell-out screening in Northern Ireland in January. The wide appeal of McCookerybook distinctive song writing and vocals, her evident wit and intelligence, prompts airplay on an eclectic mix of radio stations from 6Music, Juice FM’s ‘Midnight Campfire’ and interestingly BBC Radio Scotland’s nan Gaidheal, a Scottish Gaelic station that embraces her work. McCookerybook is a frequent guest on talk radio, such as Joanne Good’s popular Radio London programme, Ruth Barnes’ at SOHO radio and Melita Dunnett’s programme on Radio Reverb, Brighton. McCookerybook’s music is audaciously simple in arrangement and her talent as a luminous chronicler of the heart will light up The Lantern, so early booking is recommended.