Ringstead musician's song-a-day lockdown marathon is easy as A-B-C

Bob Fisher wanted to entertain his neighbour Roger when he was forced to shield until Bob too had to socially isolate
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A Ringstead musician, who decided to cheer up his live music-loving neighbour with a daily mini-concert based on the alphabet, will complete his third cycle of A to Z songs, tomorrow (Wednesday, June 3).

Bob Fisher had started the alphabet music marathon on March 13 to entertain his friend Roger Kinsey who had been told to shield in preparation for a life-saving operation.

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As the lockdown took hold, Bob's daily garden gigs had to stop as he too was told to self-isolate due to him living with Parkinson's disease, but carried on virtually, producing a song a day and emailed it.

Bob said: "When I started it was going to be a bit of a practice for me because I was going to hold a fundraising gig with me singing 60 songs to mark my 60th birthday in October.

"It's turned out to be a bit of therapy for me. My voice is absolutely fine but my right hand can be a problem because of Parkinson's but I have been able to adapt."

Along the alphabetical journey, Bob has sung mainly folk and blues songs mixing lesser-known traditional tunes with original work by his band Ock'n'Dough and even a chart topper by ZZ Top for the tricky final letter of the alphabet.

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As well as solo work, Bob has been using his home studio to record multiple instruments and has worked with other musicians.

Bob FisherBob Fisher
Bob Fisher

Bob, managing director for computer software company Fisher Smith, said: "With working from home it's become quite time consuming but I haven't done any twice yet. The next time round will only be loosely based on an A to Z and one of the best things has been collaborating with other musicians.

"Strike the Bell was recorded with my wife Dace and sons Kristaps and Maris, Sharp Dressed Man was with Dace and Ock’n’Dough bandmate Robin Hillman, which was real fun to do, and Georgia on my Mind was done with my childhood friend Glyn Winsall and his son George. It is quite special."

Neighbour Roger and his wife Chris have been thrilled at their daily dose of live music.

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Roger said: "I'm over the moon with what Bob is doing. I'm not a musician but I support local music wherever I can.

Roger KinseyRoger Kinsey
Roger Kinsey

"Every day Bob sends me the song and I do some research on it. I'm learning so much about the songs - the history is fascinating and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. I have put them on Facebook sites and some of them have had 1000's of views.

"I'm determined to put together a record of the songs and send them to Cecil Sharp House [the English Folk Dance and Song Society] in London where they keep a folk archive."

Roger is now hoping that his major surgery to treat his abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) - a bulge in a major blood vessel - will happen soon.

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The 74-year-old added: "Bob's songs have kept me sane and give me something to look forward to."

Bob hopes to carry on his music marathon until at least his 100th song and has decided to raise funds for Parkinson's UK using his musical talents.

He added: "This is going to be a great record of me as a musician.

"Recording all these songs has taught me that with a little 'out of the box thinking' I can find ways to play songs taking my limitations into account and then not beat myself up about it."

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To donate to Bob's 60th birthday fundraiser for Parkinson's UK click here.

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