John Eliot's thoughts on Beau, and on the new "Bonfires Of The Soul"...

John Eliot’s generous assessment of my work – and of the new “Bonfires Of The Soul” album – is now published on his website.

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Beau

Bonfires of the Soul

Cherry Red Records

Available on download sites from May 8th

I reckon I began the review of the new music in 2024 from Beau, The Last Confessions of a Saboteur, with this tale. When I was a student in 1972 I spent a great deal of my time and money in the local vinyl shop. There I came across an LP which I could not resist when the hippy behind the counter played me a track or two, Creation from the singer Beau. It also had the benefit of being on John Peel’s Dandelion label which these days is collectable. Reader don’t bother to offer any price. It’s not for sale. I have hundreds of LPs, so many that my wife has been heard to say, ‘Do you really need to buy anymore?’ The LP from 1972 by Beau lives with my singer songwriter records along with Dylan, Cohen, John Prine, Alan Hull, Andy White and others. It is not a whim that I put certain records there. They have to be of a quality. That really says a lot about Beau. He is an excellent writer of song. And the way he performs them shows his importance on words. I edit poetry anthologies with different universities in Europe. Timiᶊoara university in Romania is one of these. I provide the poetry from different poets. The professor, myself, student translator, and poet meet to discuss the poem for translation. The poems have to be of a quality. This year Beau was one of these. His words read as poetry, not simply song lyrics. He is an excellent poet.

In performance he is superb. The quality of his 12 string guitar playing has to be heard to be believed. Sounds a bit corny, but true. As I write I’ve reach the 49 minute mark the final track, The Glass We Knew, where guitar is plucked and all strings hit. Beautifully played. Sung, with feeling and memorable melody. A moving final track to an excellent collection of songs. I’m wiping away a tear.

John Eliot: Poet Editor Reviewer

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He’s also published a link to my full “Creation” album, an original vinyl of which he’s had since 1971!

Many thanks, John! 

Let It Rock (Canada) reviews "Bonfires Of The Soul"...

Five stars! Many thanks to Dmitry Epstein / Let It Rock - greatly appreciated!

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BEAU – Bonfires Of The Soul

Cherry Red 2026

 

Not one to be nixed for heretical thought he’s been exhibiting over the years, the minstrel of Leeds leads a vicious assault on the woes shaped by our times.

 

Being caustic is a typical modus operandi for Trevor Midgley; being belligerent, however, is not what Beau’s many performative personas are famous for. Still, the current state of sociopolitical affairs and unsavoury tendencies in the realm of culture dictate his uncharacteristic stance that makes “Bonfires Of The Soul” one of the most memorable albums in the canon of the artist who’s issuing it on the cusp of his 80th anniversary. The veteran may not offer any apocalyptical scripts here, but his references to “Fahrenheit 451” scenarios and the return, on two songs, to the theme of the Russo-Ukrainian war for the first time since “Kingdom Of The Blind” paint this platter in gloomy colors. Of course, sarcasm and humor lurk in there, too – otherwise, neither twelve-string-strum nor angelic voice would make another annual entry into Midgley’s discography a genuine Beau record, which it, sure enough, will prove to be right off the bat.

 

But while stinging opener “Environment Knight Of The Puritan Woke” sets the light tone by exposing snowflakes who brew blizzard in a cup of English tea, that light will turn into a hellish flame of literary auto-da-fé, the ultimate cancelling, in the album’s title track where Trevor’s faux-serene vocals burn with a righteous anger, as opposed to sizzling with laughter in “Lady Chatterley’s Brother” which lambasts opportunistic graphomaniacs whose works don’t immediately catch fire. And since the last two cuts mention a beacon, Midgley wasn’t able to not whip up his usual maritime tale and spin a proper folk story in “Smalls Lighthouse” further on, yet the shanty form of the semi-autobiographical “My Truth” can’t blunt Beau’s sharp words, just like the sailing of “Upon The Tide Of Time” can’t tone down the piece’s drama, and “The March Of Time” can’t dim the verity hidden in the delivery of his deceptively innocent lyrics.

 

But there are no allegories and metaphors in “Enlightenment Song” which calls out public servants for what they’re worth, unlike in “The Glass We Knew” which wraps things up in a sentimental, highly human way. A perfect commentary on here and now, “Bonfires Of The Soul” is profoundly enjoyable.

 

*****

Beau “Bonfires Of The Soul” - two weeks to go...

Beau – “Bonfires Of The Soul”  – looks like a masterpiece! Out two weeks today and available for pre-order now.

Terrascope reviews "Bonfires Of The Soul"...

Great commentary on the upcoming Beau "Bonfires Of The Soul" album from Terrascope. 

Cheers, guys!

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Beau - Bonfires Of The Soul. Trevor Midgley has just released his twentieth album for Cherry Red to coincide with his 80^th birthday! A new batch of his songs is always to be relished. Fourteen songs that are delivered solo with just his trusty 12-string acoustic guitar for accompaniment, falling somewhere between the political bent of Phil Ochs and the arch Englishness of Roy Harper This could well be the only album I have which references Noddy and his side-kick Big Ears (see title track)! The songs are both satirical and reflective. The passing of time, Lady Chatterley's brother, mortality, and land ownership are all subjected to his acidic humour, which also dissects the current state of life in these British Isles. Contemporary and topical, it is due to be released in early May and only available as a download at present. Find it here at www.cherryred.co.uk

The Strange Brew Podcast: "Beau’s Top Five Dandelion Records"...

Some reflections on Dandelion Records, and my top five tracks from the label for The Strange Brew Podcast. 

Also a link to the "Environment Knight Of The Puritan Woke" video from the upcoming "Bonfires Of The Soul" album.

Many thanks to Jason Barnard!

"Bonfires Of The Soul" - the countdown begins...

Three weeks to go (as of yesterday!) 

Counting down now to the new Beau release on May 8^th…

Beau "Bonfires Of The Soul" - readying for take-off...

It’s all starting to come together! Several sites are now listing “Bonfires Of The Soul” (my new album for 2026) for pre-order!
 
The album will be available for download and streaming worldwide from Friday, 8^th May! But you can get in on the ground floor! Click here for the pre-order links!
 
The fourteen-song running order is:
 
Environment Knight Of The Puritan Woke
Bonfires Of The Soul
Incident At Checkpoint One
My Truth
The March Of Time
Zadog The Beast
Nasty, Brutish & Short
Lady Chatterley’s Brother
Motherland
Upon The Tide Of Time
Smalls Lighthouse
Ain’t That The Truth!
Enlightenment Song
The Glass We Knew
 
 
Stay tuned – more coming up later today…

New review of Beau - "Live in Lichfield"...

Many thanks to Geoff Wall (at SIIYE) and Brian Hinton for this review of the recent “Live in Lichfield” vinyl from Fruits de Mer Records.

Appreciated, guys!

Beau - "Bonfires Of The Soul" - RELEASE DATE CONFIRMED...

STOP PRESS: We now have the release date and cover for the brand-new Beau album for 2026!

 “Bonfires Of The Soul” will be released by Cherry Red Records on Friday 8^th May, just in time for my 80^th birthday!
 
Much more soon!

New Beau “80th birthday celebratory album”...

 

Some excellent STOP PRESS news!

Cherry Red & I have just agreed arrangements for release in a few months’ time of my new Beau “80^th birthday celebratory album”.

Much more info to come, but I can at least confirm the title of the new set; “Bonfires Of The Soul”.

You heard it here first! Stay tuned…

"Live in Lichfield" review...

This rather nice review – translated from the original German – of the recent “Live in Lichfield” EP was published a few days ago on the Vanbauseneick website.
 
Many thanks to Matthias Bosenick.
 

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Beau – Live In Lichfield – Fruits De Mer Records 2025

Published on October 14, 2025

 

By Matthias Bosenick (October 14, 2025)

Playing his twelve-string guitar alone, Beau, alias Trevor Midgley from Leeds, performed some of his folk songs at the Lichfield Festival in 2012. This was the first gig promoted by the Fruits De Mer label, and the label is now expressing its gratitude by releasing four tracks from this performance on eight-inch vinyl. Beau also gained notoriety because, in 1969, he was one of the first artists to release on Dandelion Records—John Peel's label.

 

Listening to this recording, you'd imagine yourself in a pub: English-style folk, performed solely on guitar, in a restrained but emphatic mid-range voice—the classic guitarist who accompanies drunkenness, you might think—but Beau doesn't bring infectious, participatory music here. His songs are reflective, internalized, in typical English style, with what feels like an endless number of verses—which isn't true—and accompanied by a crystal-clear guitar, which he pushes into the background of his vocals as needed or energetically brings to the fore as a focal point. Although he doesn't generate any ostentatious gimmicks, he doesn't simply strum the instrument either. Beau demands that you listen, and the audience obeys enthusiastically.

 

Lichfield, West Midlands, Staffordshire—you have to be familiar with that area, and that's not even close to Walton-on-Thames, where the Fruits De Mer label is based. That's where Beau, now 79, performed 13 years ago. The man is not that well known on the continent, although his 1969 single "1917 Revolution" was the second release on John Peel's Dandelion label. The song sounds not dissimilar to those on "Live In Lichfield", and there is a certain consistency to that.

 

However, his obviously best known song, "The Roses Of Eyam", was recorded in 1975 under the alias John Trevor and only released it in 2007. Today it is available via Cold Spring Records, the industrial neofolk label. Cherry Red is the other label that is concerned with his oeuvre, a more wavy environment. Now the psychedelic artists Fruits de Mer, and despite the various genres, his music has changed nothing: simply a man with his twelve-string, singing English folk songs.

"The S Factor" of 5th October - now on Mixcloud...

For those who missed Steve Wood’s rather fine “The S Factor” show of 5^th October on Mrs Yarrington’s Radio (in which he included “Today Began A Thousand Years Ago” from “The Way It Was” LP); the programme’s also now playing out on Mixcloud. 

Check it out and enjoy!

Beau on Mrs Yarrington's Radio...

Friends addicted to the excellent Mrs Yarrington’s Radio don’t need me to tell them about “The ‘S’ Factor” with Steve Wood!

 
However, in tonight’s 9pm show, I’m reliably informed Steve will be playing a song of mine, recently featured on the Fruits de Mer “Beau – Live in Lichfield” EP! 

The even better news is the show will have a repeat outing at 4pm tomorrow afternoon (Monday). 

Take it from me; an hour of splendid music is guaranteed!

"Influences" Radio show - chat audio...

For those who didn’t catch Chris McGranaghan’s “Influences” show on Lionheart Radio last Wednesday night, they’ve just posted the “chat audio” from the show
 
This is just an edit of the audio – no music – so there are a couple of linkage abnormalities. But it might be of interest.
 
Thanks as always to Chris; and enjoy!

"Influences" radio show on Mixcloud (with Part 1 of the Beau interview)...

Many thanks to Chris McGranaghan of Lionheart Radio for all the chat and plays on his last night’s “Influences” show. 

Aside from my shy and retiring self, there were some truly memorable tracks (including my old label-mate, Bridget St John). 

Thanks again, Chris!