Michael Chapman live at Porters, Tynemouth

Without running the risk of being sued, I believe it is safe to say that Led Zeppelin liberally nicked songs and arrangements from a range of other artists and called them their own. A prime example is 'Whole Lotta Love' which almost certainly began life as 'You Need Love' written by Willie Dixon and recorded in 1962 by Muddy Waters. Then there is the instrumental 'Black Mountain Side' which pretty much copies the Bert Jansch arrangement of the traditional 'Blackwaterside'.

But what has all this to do with Michael Chapman who played last night at Porters Cafe/Bar in Tynemouth Metro Station? Well it would appear that the Zep boys 'borrowed' the chord sequence from his own 'Kodak Ghosts' for their classic 'Stairway to Heaven'. Or so Chapman now believes. Give them both a listen and I'll leave you to be the judge(s).

This was just one of the many anecdotes related by Chapman in between songs from various stages of his career. In case you are unaware of it, his career spans the 1960's to date and in that time he has made over 30 albums. His songs have also been covered by people like Lucinda Williams ('That Time Of Night') and more recently, Kurt Vile ('Just Another Story'). Last night's set was broadly split between songs delivered in that distinctive husky growl and some superbly performed guitar instrumentals.

The venue is a very small cafe that originally served as the waiting room for the Victorian railway station in the coastal resort of Tynemouth. It is now tucked away in a corner of what has become Tynemouth Metro Station, and serves as a cafe during the day, with occasional small gigs such as this one on certain evenings. This is the third time I have seen Chapman play at this venue in as many years and he never fails to deliver a fine performance. The only down side last night was that only 16 of us turned out to see him play. Could this possibly be due to the lack of advertising I wonder?

The small turnout put me in mind of one of Chapman's comments last time he played there. He asked what was the difference between a rock guitarist and a jazz guitarist. The answer - a rock guitarist plays three chords to hundreds of people and a jazz guitarist.......
Well, I'm sure you know the rest.