The Hayes Sisters/Corrie Shelley – Over Hulton Folk Club -Wednesday 4th June 2025

corrie shelley

This month’s bill at Over Hulton Folk Club sees The Hayes Sisters supported by Corrie Shelley. The long awaited return of our host came to an end when she started the evening with a short opening set. Although she may have been feeling a little stage rusty, her buoyant character and endearing popularity saw her through one or two sticky moments.

Whether singing acapella or strumming her guitar her voice came through strong and true. Her links with local mining culture dominated much of her choices tonight. Escape From The Dark is a donkey’s eye view of life down the pit. Poetry and song adorned the short spot with a sensitive tribute of her Grandad, a song about a lad wanting to follow family tradition much to the dismay of his mother who would rather see him as a rag n bone man, the tragic tale of the 1910 Praetoria Mine disaster all featured . The close knit nature of community and family are all heavily featured in her songs and poems dealing poignantly with all issues pertaining to national mining areas. Now she is on the road to recovery we wait in anticipation for her new release.

the hayes sisters

Despite the lack of some tasty tapas the evening began with a touch of Spain. Flamenco guitar opened a song sung by Cathryn in Spanish which was a call to arms for the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish theme remained with the jaunty Victor about a love affair between a girl from a rich family and a poor shepherd boy.

Little is known that folk from Britain were as vulnerable to the cruel slave trade to the American cotton plantations. Their next song about the plight of an Irish girl which had a country gospelly feel penned by Cathryn. Her educational language links were clear when her interpretation of La Vie En Rose sung in French and English impressed the audience.

Their love of country singer Nanci Griffith came through strongly with superb melodic interpretations of Cold Heart, Closed Minds, I Wish It Would Rain and Listen to The Radio in the encore. A project in collaboration with Clive Gregson, ex Blue Moon Orchestra member, who used to back Nanci, is planned for 2026. What a promising venture that will be as they capture the spirit of Nanci perfectly. This dedication to her will be awesome judging by the harmonious renditions of her songs tonight.

a forte in tragedy

Tragic love stories seem to be their forte as Dieter and Marie-Pierre told the wartime tale of a loving relationship between a German soldier and a French girl. On a happier note Cath’s autobiographical song You Are The One dedicated to her husband was sandwiched between a song of a doomed relationship Saints and Sinners, which gave a child’s eye view of a failing marriage. The country tones were much enhanced by some lovely syncopated guitar work between Cathryn and Angela.

Angela showed her songwriting skills with a tune about her frustrations with social media , Skip it. This ended the first set which had included a lovely balance of old and new self penned songs and their accomplished interpretations of others. The Sisters entered the world of 70’s rock when they tackled the complex harmonies of CSN’s Helplessly Hoping with aplomb, which is a brave thing to accomplish showing the sisterly duo’s growing confidence.

When composing their own songs the autobiographical and life observational themes clearly resonate with their audience. Count To Ten, Cath’s song about needing your own space was an example of this. It’s probably why the Hayes Sisters are so appealing is that they seem so in touch with the world around them and encourage you to tackle tricky issues head on.

There was a traditional English folk tune feel to Sweet Dreams, reminding us all of those special times reading bed time stories to your children. A heartrending tale introduced the cover of local punk hero Peter Hook’s Transmission before a slow tempo version of Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark showed their interpretive skills again giving it a English folk song lilt. This song was pure joy as the pace of the song fitted perfectly and made one think whether The Boss wrote it like that in the first place before he ramped it up. They dramatically performed The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, touching on the dark world of domestic abuse, the changing tempos within the song displaying their creative song writing prowess.

Once again they touched people’s hearts with the sea shanty lament Fisherman’s Tale, showing how music and a supportive family can give strength when recovering from illness. This poignant song blended in well with covers from other legends like Beatles and The Dubliners, which linked nicely to their traditional finale showing their proud Irish links with the amusing Irish Raver.

The Hayes Sisters online: Website / Facebook / X / Youtube

Keep up with At The Barrier: Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Spotify / YouTube