Bob Hughes - My Old Man (The Rehearsal Sessions) (2026) [Hi-Res]

"My Old Man" is the 1976 private-press debut of English singer-songwriter and playwork theorist Bob Hughes, originally issued in fewer than 100 copies on the small Puddlebrook label. It was recorded in a single roughly twelve-hour session in August 1976 at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge, with a deliberately minimal setup: Hughes on vocals and acoustic guitar, Ron Turner on lead guitar, and Carmine "Chic" Cinque adding vocals. According to Turner, the modest recording budget meant mistakes were costly, so the record leans almost entirely on first takes.

The songs grew out of the East Anglian folk-club circuit — Hughes had performed as a duo with Tony Preston and played in the Cambridge group Maggie's Farm alongside Turner and Cinque before recording his own album. Musically, the record filters the American folk revival (Dylan, Johnny Cash) through a distinctly English, place-rooted sensibility: family, work, and everyday relationships recur throughout. The opener "Satori" nods to Kerouac's "Satori in Paris"; "Pierre Laval" turns toward politics; "High Clay Lands" draws on Suffolk history and childhood memory; and the title track, addressed to Hughes's late father, was singled out by the artist himself as his favourite on the record.

For its 50th anniversary in 2026, Seelie Court and Good Time Records reissued the album: a vinyl edition reproduces the original tracklist as a Record Store Day exclusive, while the double-CD and digital editions add a second disc of home rehearsal recordings made with the same trio, engineered informally with Cinque doubling as tape operator. The reissue was remastered by Mint Audio, with new liner notes by Michael Björn drawing on interviews with Ron Turner and input from Hughes's son, Rob. Bob Hughes died in 2022; alongside "My Old Man," he is remembered in the UK playwork field as the author of "Notes for Adventure Playworkers" (1975).

Tracklist:
1. Bob Hughes - Satori
2. Bob Hughes - Perre Laval
3. Bob Hughes - Drifting Away
4. Bob Hughes - Send Away My Passport
5. Bob Hughes - Ask For God
6. Bob Hughes - Dear Friend
7. Bob Hughes - Why Don't We Do It
8. Bob Hughes - You're Following Me
9. Bob Hughes - That's How Life Flows
10. Bob Hughes - My Old Man
11. Bob Hughes - Perre Laval (Unsuccessful First Take)
12. Bob Hughes - Ask For God (First Take)
13. Bob Hughes - Dear Friend (First Take)
14. Bob Hughes - You're Following Me (First Take)
15. Bob Hughes - My Old Man (First Take)