Tuesday 5 December 2017

Portraits of the Band







Once upon a time there was a violinist called Cathy who led a string quartet and played gigs up and down the North-East of England, but then one day, after playing for a conference of neuro-surgeons in Alnwick Castle, her health took a nosedive and the violin was put away for twenty years.

—At which point her health got even worse, so she thought to herself, this is ridiculous, and after major surgery and radiotherapy she pulled herself together and re-invented herself as a fiddle player with Irish band ‘Share the Darkness’.

These things can happen! I know, I was—and am—that violinist/fiddle player.

Whilst being ill, I hadn’t wasted my time. I’d worked at portraiture, so it was only natural to do some drawings of the band. Here they are:


Phil Graham (Lead Vocals)



Geoff Pickering (Mandolin, Guitar, Vocals)



Gary Lee (bass)



Mark 'Hammie' Hammond (vocals, Guitar)



Cathy Edmunds (Fiddle)


So where are the drawings of the string quartet? Nowhere. I played quartets before I was into portraiture, so the ladies of ‘Cameo Quartet’ were, alas, never immortalised in the same way. 



Forthcoming ‘Share the Darkness’ gigs are listed on our Facebook page here. Come and listen! I’m having terrific fun playing with them, and the feedback we get is great; many people come time and time again to see us. And unlike at the quartet gigs, you’re allowed—encouraged—to dance. 

Photo: Dan Graham