“I’m a middle-aged middle-class singer-songwriter from South London. Sound familiar? Yes, I know – it’s another bloke-with-a-guitar,” so says Tim Eveleigh. And it’s true he’s been around forty odd years performing his own songs while juggling his day job and a sideline in comedy, but his music manages to push its head above the parapet. “I think my songs are slightly more varied than average.”
Eveleigh’s instrument of choice is usually piano rather than guitar, but as he himself says the latter is just that easier to lug around. It was at the ripe old age of ten that Eveleigh started to write songs, picking up the guitar thanks to his brother who restrung his own discarded instrument for his left-handed brother. Eveleigh trod the usual path of playing in school bands, but it wasn’t until he hit 30 that he started to take things a bit more seriously – building up a neat back catalogue.
The song that features on this third Living Within Our Means fundraiser comp, is ‘Overture’ which unsurprisingly is the opener for his 2022 album simply titled A Record. Tapping into the recent zeitgeist for trad folk, the song opens with a simple synthesised organ drone accompanied by Eveleigh’s simple and honest solo vocal. We’re nearly halfway through before the harmonic voices enter which takes the song up a notch, accompanied by simple one note piano motifs. This song is one of simplicity. There’s nothing complex or pretentious. It’s a subtle and melodious piece of songwriting with a pervasive and positive message.
Pick up A Record, here.
Or check out MEANS Vol.3, here.
Sarah Gregory
MEANS 