Macclesfield expat and New York songwriter releases new album 'The Macclesfield Years'
A man from Macclesfield has released an album, longing for the town he used to live in.
Andy Plews is a Maxonian abroad, living in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
On August 17, he released his debut album The Macclesfield Years.
As well as professional New York musicians, the album also features another Macclesfield expat, being lifelong pal Pete Rawlinson.
Pete, who is now based in Aberdeen, Scotland, sings on three tracks on the seven-track album, with Andy featuring throughout.
The pair used to play in bands together in Macclesfield, but never put song to record, until now.
Macclesfield Nub News gave the album a spin, and spoke with Andy and Pete, to find out more.
"We've known each other for more than 60 years," said Andy.
"We met at Beech Lane Primary School, and then went to King's School.
"I lived on Poolend Close, Pete lived on Marlborough Drive."
"We had many of our first milestones in life together," recalled Pete.
"We both fell in love for the first time around the same time. The first time we got drunk together was in each other's company.
"We saw Led Zeppelin and The Who for the first time together. When we were 14, we went to our first rock concert Rod Stewart and the Faces at the Free Trade Hall 1972. [A venue where many great bands have been formed].
"We did play in a band at school called off the cuff. We had one terrible gig at Macc Cricket Club."
Back in the day, Pete was the singer, and Andy was the guitar player. And while Andy has honed his vocal chops since, he still let his old pal Pete sing lead vocals on some of the new album's tracks such as A Japanese Fable and The Hangman's Break.
"I was in the successful Macclesfield band Admiral Wolf and often played with Stephen Morris. A schoolmate later of greater fame than me," Andy explained.
"It didn't get me into Joy Division though [laughs]," joked Pete.
Since the album has come out, a music video for the track Macclesfield, I Miss You, which features shots of Macclesfield shot through a nostalgic filter, has got over 1200 views on YouTube.
And it is thanks to this video, that their music has reunited the Macclesfield expats with old pals and acquaintances.
"We want to say a big thank you to the Macclesfield community, particularly on the Macclesfield Memories Facebook group. It has been absolutely brilliant," told Andy.
"We posted the music video on there and had 200 comments People who had lived near us when they were children reached out, and remembered us.
"We've heard from people we went to school with, people who remember when Pete was terrified by a Great Dane."
"'I had a crush on you' was one of the comments," chimed in Pete.
"It has been really well received. The song is a love letter to Macc, and people really got that."
The titular track namedrops places around Macclesfield, some that do not even exist anymore.
The gritty blues track mentions pubs like The Leathers Smithy and The Hanging Gate near Macclesfield Forest, and ones that do not exist anymore like The Old Kings Head.
The spire of St. Michael's Church also gets a mention, alongside Arighi Bianchi.
Why not listen to the album yourself, and see how many places mentioned you recognise?
"The album was recorded at the renowned Figure 8 Studios in Brooklyn," shared Andy.
"The reason it is called The Macclesfield Years is because we have a lot of affection for our hometown.
"Pete did his vocals up at a studio in Aberdeen, but we get together every year or so.
"I wanted to do this album, and was lucky to be connected with a bunch of younger people. It sort of sent it to a different level.
"As a result, when I listen to it, I'm like 'Wow, that's us'."
The album is a breezy 23 minutes long.
In a true rock n' roll style, Andy recorded the vocals for the first track on the album 10 Advil Day despite having just recovered from bronchitis.
It gives the opener a unique feel, and has received 1600 streams on Spotify.
"I am now embarking on a second album to try and bring the same standard to that," Andy added.
"A couple of the best songs we have are not on this album.
"By January, we will have another one out."
The Macclesfield Years was released on ASC Records, which is the record label of Andy's brother and renowned jazz musician Steve Plews.
Steve will play on the next album, alongside Andy and Pete, to have a third Maxonian on the same record.
"This collaboration has all just happened since we retired," revealed Pete.
"I was a geologist. I was going to focus on golf in my retirement, but my golf game is just awful.
"So I actually took some singing lessons, and Andy who has always been a guitarist, further developed his guitarist skills in retirement and very belatedly turned into a very good songwriter."
"I used to work as a reporter in Surrey, I then worked in PR for United Airlines. I moved there in 1998," recalled Andy.
"I lived in Chicago, and worked for them right through 9/11, and then moved to a financial services company in New York. Now I just do music."
Both performers have young sounding voices for their age, but that doesn't mean the album doesn't lack the gumption of a modern blues album.
Influences include Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.
The Macclesfield Years can be streamed ON THIS LINK.
You can also watch the video for The Macclesfield Years, at the top of this article, and tracks are interspersed throughout the piece. Just click the 'play button' to listen.
For more information about Andy please head HERE.
If you like music news stories from Macclesfield, why not click HERE for another one?
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