BIOGRaPHY
Tim Readman is a musician, singer, songwriter, producer and music journalist, originally from County Durham, England and now based in Vancouver BC. His musical output is eclectic and embraces a wide range of influences but most frequently he performs live in the realm of folk/Celtic music. He also records with a range of artists including Chronolord (Prog/Rock) and The Eventually Brothers (highly eclectic contemporary rock, pop and folk). See Discography for more information.
He is the leader of Canadian Celtic/folk favourites Fear of Drinking, with whom he has recorded 4 albums, and has played for years with Canada’s Clown Princes of musical comedy, The Arrogant Worms.
LIVE PERFORMaNCE
In a live setting Tim usually performs folk/Celtic music solo or in a duo with a fiddler, with musicians of the calibre of Shannon Johnson, Mairi Rankin, Jennie Bice and Shona Le Mottee having filled that role. Currently he is performing with Prairie Wolfe of Podorythmie. He has an extensive repertoire of original songs and can also perform everything from traditional folk songs to more contemporary material. Tim has an infectious sense of humour and a real ability to engage an audience with his stories and songs. He can entertain in any setting, from concert hall to festival to house concert.
He still performs from time to time with Fear of Drinking featuring co-front man Gerard Kerr and multi-instrumentalist Tom Neville. His energetic and personable style makes him a superb front man. As a band leader he can always deliver a driving danceable show.
As a recording artist and producer he has a widely varied output across many releases – see Discography for more.
HISTORY
Emerging in his mid-teens from the same North-Eastern English folk scene as Jez Lowe, Vin Garbutt, and Bob Fox; Tim Readman earned a reputation as talented songwriter, guitarist, singer and interpreter of traditional and contemporary folk songs. He cut his teeth with space rock legends The Blintz Band and prog-folk outfit Pigs Might Fly, before moving on to join ex-Bryan Ferry alumni and new-wavers The Divers. He spent 10 years in Newcastle upon Tyne as electric guitarist and singer with northern soul/ska sensations Arthur 2 Stroke and the Chart Commandos, political world pop darlings Watt Government and also enjoyed a brief stint with schoolmates and hitmakers The Kane Gang who hit the UK top 40 charts several times.
Since emigrating to Vancouver BC he has worked with all sorts of musicians including Allison Russell, Ché Aimee Dorval, Mairi Rankin, Jimmy Kwan, Kavita, The Blinds, Craig McKerron and Video Barbeque. He is the leader of seminal Canadian Celtic/folk favourites Fear of Drinking. He has performed for 30+ years with The Arrogant Worms – as an opening act, as a replacement Worm, as part of their symphony orchestra show, as an accompanist on electric guitar and as road manager and dialect coach. Along with Andy Cooke he formed Chronolord to write and record Prog/Rock music. He has been writing with lyricist Alan Millen for many years and their projects include The Exiles (Newcastle United F.C. themed material), Newcastle Road (songs that celebrate The Beatles) and The Eventually Brothers (an eclectic mix of rock, pop and folk styles).
Tim has recorded and produced many CDs in a variety of styles. See Discography for details.
RECORDINGS
Tim has released 2 solo albums of original songs, 2001’s folk release Into the Red and 2011’s Go Blue which showcased his pop/rock/soul musical output. He has also released 3 CDs of songs about Newcastle United Football Club under the name The Exiles, and 4 albums with The Eventually Brothers, all of which feature lyrics by Geordie/Swiss/Canadian co- writer Alan Millen. He has also recorded several Beatles inspired songs written with Alan for Beatles Week in Liverpool. These recordings have been released on 3 CDs under the name Newcastle Road. Tim and Alan also wrote the theme song for Run Geordie Run charity runner Mark Allison’s historic sponsored run across the USA in 2011. Tim released the hit children’s CD Rockaroladoo in 2018 – penned by Alan Millen and set to music by Tim and Bill Buckingham under the name of Tutti-Frutti Funhouse Band.
Tim played guitar, sang and wrote material with renowned BC/Scottish fiddler Shona Le Mottée and produced her solo CD, Destination Grouville. He has also produced a number of CDs for other acts such as Fear of Drinking, Sensible Footwear, Tarkin, The Eventually Brothers, Millentrax, The Exiles and Massey 44.
In 2019 he formed Chronolord with Baltimore’s Andy Cooke (Dataloaf, Pine Tree State, Electric Wave Inspection Bureau). Their debut album The Cuckoo Gene, a concept album based on a science fiction story penned by Tim, was released in 2020. It was constructed with Andy creating all the backing tracks and Tim developing the vocal melodies and lyrics and singing over the top of those tracks. The Covid 19 pandemic of 2020-202? saw them continuing their musical relationship remotely and writing new songs which they recorded using the digital web-based tools available to them. These recordings became their second album Time, Space and Other Dimensions which they released in September 2021. They used a more collaborative approach with Tim adding guitars and bass tracks to some songs and creating the backing tracks for others and Andy adding more input to lyrics.
WHaT Else?
Tim wrote reviews and interviewed artists for the mich-missed Canadian folk music magazine, Penguin Eggs and for Roots Music Canada. He was the Artistic Director for the 2008 and 2009 CelticFest Vancouver. Tim has worked as an event MC at many private engagements, as well as at Vancouver’s Rogue Folk Club, the Mission Folk Festival Main Stage (pretty much an annual gig for last 30 years or so), Vancouver Music for Literacy Concert, The Fiddlers for Funds Tsunami Relief Benefit and CelticFest Vancouver.
He hosted the successful ‘Tim Readman and Musical Friends’ series at Montmartre Cafe on Vancouver’s Main Street for 15 years, which won the Georgia Straight songwriter venue of the year. This proved to be a labour of love for Tim and resulted in imaginative collaborations with his fellow musicians and the continued emergence of promising new talent. Many performers including Allison Russell (Po Girl, Birds of Chicago etc.), Old Man Luedeke, Lydia Hol, Cleia, Norah Rendell (The Outside Track), Karla Mundy, The No Shit Shirleys, Jocelyn Pettit, Thereafter and Ché Aimée (Casualties of Cool, Devin Townsend) honed their chops there. Special guests who performed with Tim at the venue included Dougie MacLean, David Francey, Vin Garbutt and Jez Lowe.
