 Shelley
headed for Berlin at the beginning of 1977 to add the club circuit
-- Go-In, Steve Club, Folk Pub -- to her performance rounds on
the Internationale Folklore scene. She had been playing clubs
and small concerts all over the former West Germany, thanks to
the support of the wonderful Hildegard Döbner and her Folk
Club Witten near Dortmund. There, she traded tunes with Julian
Dawson, Edison Way, Lydie Auvray and others. In Berlin, Shelley
was soon singing harmony with the various Hagelberger songwriters
and performing their songs, a relationship that continues today.
That first winter, Tom Cunningham brought Henry Hirsch (keyboards)
and Stephen Miller (bass) over from New York for a gig at the
Folk Pub. It was love at first sight -- Shelley and Steve stuck
like krazy glue and were married in 1980. They are still making
beautiful music together, with Steve playing dobro or his new
Gretsch Tennessee Rose.
Guess
which band at the Wintergarten, partying like it’s 1979.
 Ever
since she and Steve left a suitcase in Berlin to try life in Toronto
in 1984, Shelley has performed and recorded only occasionally,
with highlights such as John Vaughan's CD "Me & Whiskey,"
the Hagelberger 2000 revues in Berlin & Cracow, and club dates
in Vermont with Bob Williams. Will she get to sing on the next
Dobrology? Perhaps a petition is called for. Stay tuned…
Shelley
is still following Dr. Robert’s example, completing a PhD
in Book History and Print Culture at the University of Toronto,
having resumed in 2000 the undergraduate degree that got interrupted
when she was irresistibly drawn to Berlin to become a Hagelberger.
Only a couple of years to go, and then she promises to sort through
the live recordings of the Berlin gigs, old and new, and to record
some additional titles for a CD of her own. In the meantime, I
think someone in Australia is selling his copy of “Funky
Fever” on the Internet.
Looking
forward to seeing you again in Berlin as soon as possible!
"May
your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay ..... forever young."
Thanks,
Aureliano!
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