1979

Sam and Simon in Cahoots. Jim in Ever After, then on a national tour with Nutshell.

1980

Sam and Simon in The Buskin’ Band. Jim moves to London, then Manchester.

1981

Ken’s work in The Nethrbow Restaurant leads him to buy a Tea Room in Rothbury Northumberland and becomes Egon Ronay Recommended in the ‘Just a Bite Guide’. He assists with the running of Linden Folk with Tony Welbrock, Rod Clements of Lindisfarne and Geoff Heslop of Black Crow records.

1982

Sam and Simon in ‘The Wilde Cigarillos’ and ‘The Fairly Solid Theatre Co.’

1983

Ken sets up ‘Pineapple Agogo’ carnival and dance band with Dodgy Clutch Theatre Co. www.dodgyclutch.com. Albums ‘Big in Winnipeg’ and ‘No Tripe Por Favor’ follow. Jim goes out to Harare, Zimbabwe, teaching English.

1984

Jim returns from Zimbabwe, settles down and gets a real job; discovers computers.

1986

Simon works on a youth project in Botswana and records an album in the Kalahari Desert with Duncan Senyatso and the Kgwape Band playing his own brand of highlife mandolin.

1987

Jim gives up the day job and forms Bernie Hot Hot with David Dunne and Pete Condor.

1988

Ken forms the Heaton People’s Band bringing the first steel pans set to the North East of England. The People soon choose to be called The 10th Avenue Band. www.tenthavenueband.co.uk.

1990

Jim forms Reel Funk Inc with Pete Condor and Shairon Rodgers.

1992

Kissing Spell shows an interest in releasing the 1978 album as a CD.

1993

Simon records ‘Private’ with Dave Heavenor as ‘The Night Visitors’. www.davidheavenor.com.

1994

Kissing Spell releases CD of ‘Caedmon’.

1996

Ken forms The Newcastle All Stars Steel Orchestra an 18 piece teenage band. www.newcastleallstars.org.uk

1998

Simon and Sam form Flaming Nora Ceilidh Band. www.flamingnora.org.uk

2000

Ken coordinates ‘Making Music On the Line’ with Folkworks, Channel 4 and Oxfam. A band of ten musicians from Shetland, Northumberland, Gascony, Catalonia and Burkina Faso perform on a year long project in each of their countries. (Catriona Macdonald, Alison , Sandra Kerr, David Oliver, Pierre Schidt and Les Sous Fifres, Cati Plana, Francina Turon, Salif Ouedrago and Mama Kouyate).

Jim forms the Jazzrascals with Peter Condor, a studio based band who publish their music on the web: www.jazzrascals.com

2001

Ken works with Richard Scott (Grand Union) in Rich Pickings and 4 Corners Music Network. 4cornersmusic.com. The network includes Yousuf Ali Khan, Gerry Hunt, Graham Raine, Cheng Yu and Zed Morgan.

2002

Kissing Spell releases a Caedmon Live CD.

Ken acts with Theatre Sans Frontieres in ‘Le Tour de France’ in a national tour. He starts a relationship with the company composing and music directing. www.tsf.org.uk

2003

Ken composes ‘Tyne Times’ for a Tyneside International Streetband Festival. A massed band of 100 musicians (Germany, France, Netherlands, UK and USA) plays the piece by the Millennium Bridge in Gateshead.

2004

Ken acts in ‘Round the World in 80 Minutes’ a further collaboration with TSF, filmed in Cameroon, Tunisia, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec for a multi media theatrical show.

Jim sets up the ‘James Bisset: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition’ project.

2006

Ken composes music for TSF’s ‘La Pelota Magica’.

2007

Ken composes music for TSF’s ‘Les Contes Dores”.

May 2008

Jim, Ken, Sam and Simon meet for 3 days of jamming to develop an album of new material.

March 12th, 2008 by Ken

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