Jez Lowe is a remarkable musician. He plays many instruments and has been an active collaborator with others in the folk movement, especially in England. It is however, as a songwriter, arranger and singer of the Geordie repertoire that Lowe has acquired a reputation for authenticity, sincerity and skill. Oh, and he happens to be a novelist as well!

While Jez Lowe is perfectly capable performing solo, he is also renowned for playing with the ‘Pitman Poets’ and his band ‘The Bad Pennies’. Among some 20 albums, Lowe has an exceptional CD with hurdy gurdy maestro Jake Walton which shows the pair would be comfortable in early music. Lowe plays guitar (left handed), cittern, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer, keyboards, harmonica, bass, whistle, bodhran and accordion with ease. What is really impressive about Lowe’s style is that he sings proudly within the Durham/ Northumberland idiom. Songs about miners, seafarers and the many ‘characters’ who inhabit England’s north east sound best expressed with the Geordie accent.

Arising from Lowe’s exhaustive research into Geordie folk tales are two very readable novels. It is no surprise that Lowe’s books are so enjoyable. He is a naturally gifted story teller in song and his ear for a meaningful narrative transfers to ‘The Dillen Doll’ and ‘The Corly Croons’.

‘The Dillen Doll’ (2017) is based on a street chant ‘Do Li A’ widely known for generations around Newcastle. Without trying to explain the ‘facts’ behind the song, Lowe takes the existence of a Dolly Coxon as the starting point for a tale set in poverty stricken Tyneside around.1800. Dolly has various adventures which eventually see her on a mission into Scotland to secure justice for her lover. Lowe produced a matching CD of songs to accompany ‘Dillen Doll’ and these include well known pieces such as ‘Broom Bezzoms’, ‘Blind Willie’, ‘Keel Lad’, ‘Bobby Shafto’ and the song itself ‘Do Li A’. The CD released by Tantobie Records features Andie May (Northumbrian pipes), Kate Bramley (violin) and producer David De La Haye (bass) with Rachel Hamer, Kari MacLeod and Benny Graham (vocals) and Robbie Sherratt (string synth).

‘The Corly Croons’ (2019) is set among the poets of the mid eighteenth century. Mention of the names of these bards (Gilchrist, Selkirk, Rossiter, Leonard) and some of the verse they produced (‘Ode to Pandon Dene’, ‘On Ropery Banks’, ‘The Fiery Clock Face’) ensures that readers will follow up with their own research into the period. Lowe creates an historical mystery complete with police investigators and links to an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Peel. And just as musicologists are likely to uncover all sorts of stories in their search for the provenance of folk songs, Lowe’s Inspector Evan Piper, a London ‘Bobby’ makes many literary discoveries which enrich his stay in Newcastle, endanger his life and lead to some solutions. Blind Willie Purvis, a fiddler and busker, is a character in both books.

Perhaps the fact that I happen to have ancestors from the north east might predispose me to enjoy Geordie folklore and culture. A female convict came from Alnwick in 1800 and a great grandfather came in about 1850 from Morpeth. But most of the attraction comes from the way that Lowe uses his research into the folk world as starting points for his creativity. That, and his faithfulness to Geordie style. One of Lowe’s humorous songs ‘Talk To Me Dirty In Geordie’ acknowledges the distinctiveness of the speech of the working class people of England’s north east.

These Bad Apple books feature fine artwork by Kari MacLeod. Jez Lowe’s third novel is nearing completion and it will come as no surprise I will be among the first to seek a copy.

© 2021 Tony Smith. Dr Tony Smith is a former political science academic. His writings appear occasionally on Pearls and Irritations.