Campfire presents Paul ‘Kermit’ Leveridge from Black Grape

ditto is hosting a very special Campfire in January 2014 to celebrate the series’ fifth year. We’re inviting every previous storyteller back to The Lighthouse to share a glass of champagne and a bite to eat, marking four fantastic years of storytelling.

January’s Campfire will include a talk by Paul ‘Kermit’ Leveridge. Kermit is the original British b-boy, a Ruthless Rap Assassin whose rhymes were hailed by Roots Manuva as the 'the roots of grime'. He scored a number one album in the UK charts with Black Grape, the band he formed alongside ex-Happy Monday frontman, Shaun Ryder.

Ruthless Rap Assassin’s music was funky and eclectic, using various instrumentation and samples. They were one of the most successful groups to emerge from Manchester in the 1990’s, following in the footsteps of The Stone Roses, New Order and The Charlatans. Black Grape’s debut album, ‘It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah,’ rocketed straight to number one in 1995.

After touring the world to critical acclaim, smoking crack with gang bangers in Compton, and crossing the near-fatal abyss of heroin addiction, Kermit returns as a poet with a lightning lyrical wit that's still as killer as ever.
He’ll be taking us through his extraordinary and exhilarating experiences, soundtracked by unforgettable anthems.

After the talk, writer and record selector Gavin Kendrick will be performing a one-hour set, taking us through some of Kermit’s musical influences: tracing a path through jazz-funk, electrofunk, hip hop and his Black Grape material.
Gavin is resident DJ at the Southport Weekender in Minehead, SuncéBeat festival in Croatia, and Ronnie Scott’s in London. He also hosts Dusk, a blog about deep, rare and beautiful music.

Last but by no means least, the ditto doors will be displaying photographs from Brian Cannon’s astonishing exhibition "Northern Soul - a photographic journey”. Brian is a British graphic designer, art director, photographer, band manager and music video director.

He has been creating music-related imagery professionally since 1988. Notable past clients include Oasis and The Verve, for whom he produced all of their record sleeves in the 1990's. He intends to document Britain’s Northern Soul music scene today in a geographically diverse, fly on the wall manner.

Join us for a very special night on the 16th January at The Lighthouse: