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STOP PRESS!
A TALE OF SYNCHRONICITY . . AND THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME
Phyl Lobl Sept 5 2017 rev. Feb 2020
I wrote words to the pipe tune BATTLE OF THE SOMME, by Piper Bill Laurie, because my
father as a young man had been injured on The Somme. Aged 18 he was patched up and sent back to battle. He returned home, fathered
six surviving children and returned to fight in WW2, serving chiefly in Palestine. When WW 2 ended he was ill and was repatriated
home. He died aged 49 in 1946. I was aged 9. Circa 1980 I read a book called GLORY VAIN GLORY by Guy Chapman. Comprised mainly of
interviews with people who served on the Somme it supplied me with information. An outcome of this was I wrote the song utilising
the tune as it was recorded by a folk group The Dubliners. At a NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL concert in the Sydney Town Hall I sang the
song accompanied by Declan Affley playing Uilleann pipes. 
Although I later included the song in 'sets' at various venues I did not formally record it again. A series of chance happenings
led to a successful performance of BATTLE OF THE SOMME in Kiama with a local Pipe Band. The positive responses led me to think that
the song could do well as an offering on YouTube with appropriate images. In such a format people could take their time to absorb such
a song. With this in mind I searched out possible images on line and found suitable ones. I tried to contact a friend, Folklore
Professor Graham Seal, for feedback on the idea, and who could perhaps name a contact at THE WAR MUSEUM who could suggest more suitable
images than the ones I found online, and give permission to use them. I tried via phone a few times then I gave up and went to bed, listened
to Philip Adams on iPad, turned it off and went to sleep. The next part of the story is really odd. I was woken at 3a.m to the sound of an interview coming from my iPad. I recognised the voice of the person being interviewed, a 'folk' friend of longstanding. When the interview was over I was wide awake and began thinking that the person being interviewed, Roger Montgomery and his performing mate, John Angliss, who perform as 'Dingo's Breakfast' would have the skills, the facilities, and the mindset to create a YouTube Version. Goosebumps for me were becoming a common phenomenon. Searching in vain for sleep I looked at my e-mails. There was an e-mail from Graham Seal who was OS and out of touch.
Next day I made contact with Roger Montgomery of Dingo's Breakfast and was surprised to be told they had been contacting Graham Seal re his book, 'The Soldier's Press - Trench Journals in the First World War'. Odd, but I was becoming used to Synchronicity happening oddly and often. There is no doubt a logical explanation involving the way the mind or minds work to have this happen. But who knows? I then contacted an early responder to my web-site version of the song. Gregor Ferguson had explained in his contact message that he was, at the time, Editor-at Large for the Australian Defence Magazine. As his Scottish Uncles had died at The Somme he was familiar with the tune. He knew it was the last tune played when the Scottish Regiments left the Somme. He knew the tune writer Piper Bill Laurie, had died shortly after being repatriated home. He also said he felt my words were the best he could imagine for the tune. I wanted to have his permission to quote from his responses because they would provide positive feedback to the song for Dingo's Breakfast. That was also when Gregor told me his story of visiting The Somme recently with his wife. They played my song at the graveside of his Uncles.
The feelings and questions that news created in my mind are hard to describe. Coming from imagination, or connection with something, but what or who?. More Goosebumps. I then decided I should re-read the book GLORY VAIN GLORY and borrowed a Second Edition copy from the Library. I next felt the need to buy a copy of the first edition. I unearthed such a copy in Sydney from only four copies that seemed available worldwide. In the book I found the appropriate parts I had used to create the stanzas I had written, except the last four lines as they were my own work and thought. In buying the book over the phone and giving my name, the girl on the phone said .. 'Phyl I know you !' .. Synchronicity rules OK !
Roger Montgomery, John Angliss and Lindsay Martin as recordist, have worked on the song for some time since 2017. They have tried various combinations of instruments and voice, and through perseverance, skill and commitment to honouring the songs they sing, have given it a truly, worthy setting. Bagpipe accompaniment is there, underlying Roger's clear diction, the inflections of his voice and power of his performance which is eerily echoed by my own performance. The vibration of the keyboards and the drumming gives extra tension to the images. Through word, sound and image the story of a day of devastation on the Somme is told. A tribute to my father, to all who died and to those who fought and lived through the Hell that history has named The Battle Of The Somme.
THE RECORDING SAGA . .
John and I sat down with Phyl's recording of her and Declan Affley at the Sydney town hall . . a wonderfully powerful Phyl sang like an angel, played
easy folk guitar and then, to cap it off, Declan winds in on pipes It is beautiful . . Phyl wanted the Irish pipes on the Dingo recording and we fully concurred. The plans we made . . Ideas hashed, re-hashed and beaten into shape and back out again . . Off to Lindsay Martin's Laundry Studio . . Lindsay laid down a guitar track to work by . . Andrew MacKay generously put down a couple of Uileann pipe tracks and we had a bed for the vocals . .
. . Vocals . . Lindsay picked up Phyl from down Kiama way, recorded her, took her home and sent us the tracks. What to do? . . We experimented, played around with seemingly endless try-outs . . tried big choral harmonies . . small harmonies . . double melody tracks . . this went on for an age, but nothing to write home to mum about . .
We went back to Lindsay's studio for a couple of days and ended up. after much discussion and more try-outs, with a blueprint of just Phyl and Roger on vocals. The KISS principle won.
Also whilst there, the multi-talented, much beloved Alison Boyd came down and put down a selection of whistles to compliment the pipes . . and by the balls of St Pat, she did just that! . .
Back to Victoria to hash out the percussion . . John, studio engineering, we tried massed drums, un-massed drums, also more of Alison on bodrhan and a variety of explosive FX's . . it just did not work . .
Then we thought of Ryan Tews, drummer for Mandy Connell's Stray Hens on their Confluence album. Saw him at the most pleasurable Burke & Wills Festival, nicely constrained, contacted him, went to his studio near the Yarra Ranges, and he was perfect . . also gave us the tensioned growl underlaying it all . .
Back to the studio, mix it down . . a couple of re-runs, took it to Phyl who pronounced herself satisfied . . we returned to Vic with lightened hearts . .
(N.B . . Many good folk gave time and skills unstintingly . . any costs were generously covered by John Angliss, friend and mate beyond compare. A classic collaboration of good folk people. Thank you.)
Next we buckled down on the media content . . collected swags of film from the archives, swags of stills and John painstakingly fitted them together into what we thought was a good mix to fit the song. We haven't compromised on the imagery . . some of it is savage . . the faces of the soldiers, the utter beastliness of war juxtaposed with Phyl's lyrics . .
Then to ice the cake we've sent the whole shebang off to John Reed, filmic wizard of Hammy Hill and bade him work a wonder for us . . the result is in the 'video' panel (top left of this page)