BIOGRAPHY
Paul Bristow
I was born on 20th July 1958 in Ruislip, Middlesex.
Unfortunately, the early part of my life was relatively uneventful until
that warm July day in 1975 when my parents Denis and Pamela began a
new hobby; Square Dancing! I started dancing at Up-To-The-Centre later
that same year. I confess that initially I was far more interested in
the Club Caller's sister-in-law (an attractive, blue eyed, dark haired
temptress, who very soon had ensnared me into a life of happiness, security
and relative stability, etc.). In 1976 I picked up a microphone and
set myself on a course from which there was to be no escape, Calling!
Once bitten, all signs of shyness soon disappeared,
I found myself travelling far and wide, with my family and my girlfriend
(soon to be fiancée, soon to be wife), seizing any and every
opportunity to Call. In 1977 Jim Ive plucked me from obscurity and offered
me my first Job as a Club Caller, for Rockin' 8s.
During 1978 I became Club Caller for Up-To-The-Centre,
following Ron Hepden's departure to the sunnier climes of Basingstoke.
My One-Nite-Stand bookings increased to cover almost all my Saturdays
and most of my Fridays (with the odd Sunday or mid-week for good measure).
Hazel and I were married on 16th May 1981 at Pinner
Parish Church. The building was straining at the seams to contain all
the Dancers who came to bear witness to our union. To this day Hazel
still reminds me that our honeymoon included a Dance in South Devon,
a demonstration outside a cinema in Golders Green and - on the final
Saturday - a Dance at Hastings. The Tuesday after we returned from our
Honeymoon I started Calling for a new club - the Chalfont Grand Squares
(well, after all, the Honeymoon was over!).
As we set about setting up home together my life took
on several new directions, apart from those usually associated with
newly weds, my Calling career discovered new frontiers. Europe! I Called
at the Windmill Dance in Holland in 1982 and since then have been a
regular visitor to Europe. By 1983 my Saturday bookings had almost all
transferred from One-Nite-Stands to club Dances and weekend festivals.
It was also during 1983 that I received my first invitation to Call
in Scandinavia at the Swedish National Convention of 1985 in Katrineholm.
Following the birth of my two daughters; Verity in
1987 and Cherish in 1989, I became more of a lone traveller. At one
stage Hazel accompanied me to all my bookings but as a mother, with
two little girls (and me) to look after, her attendance at Dances has
become a regrettably rare occurrence.
Since 1985 I have been invited to Call at all the British
National Conventions and was involved with the planning and the Calling
at the B.A.A.S.D.C.'s 50th Birthday Dance in March 2003. I have also
Called at National Conventions in Sweden (four times) and Denmark (three
times) as well as at the European Jamboree held in Canterbury in 1986
and the International Plus Advanced and Challenge Convention (IPAC)
in 1997.
In 1992 I was invited to tour Australia and New Zealand
and in 1994 I became the first European Caller ever to be featured at
an Australian National Convention, in Canberra (in fact it was only
the third occasion that they had used an invited guest Caller to compliment
the considerable wealth of Calling talent that is indigenous to the
Antipodes). During this trip I was also featured at the only Square
Dance ever held at Parliament House (the Australian equivalent to our
Houses of Parliament). I have been featured twice on the APAC (the Australian
equivalent of the IPAC) in 1997 and 1998. I have now enjoyed travelling
to Australia - by invitation - on a total of six separate occasions;
three times to tour various states and three times to call at a single
weekend event!
In August 1997 I had the honour to appear on the first
Pan European Square Dance Convention, at Hocheim in Germany, which brought
together Dancers from all countries in the European Union and the greater
European region. In June 2000 I was again one of the featured Callers
at the second of these events when it was held in Helsingborg. In 2002
I represented the U.K., for the third time, at the Pan European Square
Dance Convention in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I have also Called, by invitation, at many special
Dances in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Denmark,
Norway, Australia the Czech Republic and New Zealand.
I have Called at three American National conventions
one Canadian National convention and at a number of clubs in the USA;
including in 1996 a week at Copecrest, Georgia with Tony Oxendine and
- in 2003 - the Rivco Festival in Palm Springs, California, alongside
Jerry Story, Larry Letson, Johnny Preston and Bronc Wise.
I am an accredited member of the Square Dance Callers
Club of Great Britain, on whose Council I served as Public Relations
Officer from 1978 and as Vice President from 1980 till 1987. I am currently
the Training Director of the S.D.C.C.G.B., responsible for co-ordinating
a team of regional Caller-Trainers in the U.K. and for managing the
Caller-Training and Caller Accreditation process.
I joined Callerlab, the "International Association
of Callers and Teachers" in 1983. I am presently a full and accredited
member and I have served on the Mainstream, Plus, Mainstream Quarterly,
Plus Quarterly , Target 2000 committees and the Extended Applications
ad-hoc Committee. At present, I am the Vice Chairman of the Plus committee
and am a member of the Applications Review Committee and the Program
Policy Committee.
In April 2000, having met the relevant criteria and
completed the necessary examinations and evaluations my application
for accreditation by the Executive Board of Governors of Callerlab,
was successful Callerlab, in turn bestowed upon me the extreme distinction
of the title of "Callerlab Accredited Caller Coach".
In 1986 I was privileged to receive an invitation to
become a Staff Caller for Sting Records, (well, I had to mention them
somewhere!). In April 2000 I became the owner and producer of Sting
and Snow Records. To date I have produced a total of 88 records; over
100 pieces of music for Square Dancing; of these I have recorded my
own vocals for thirty-two records as well as two guest vocals one for
Global Music Productions and one for Seven Cs.
As a consequence of my connections with Sting and Snow,
I have had the opportunity to be involved in all stages of the production
of music. From selecting the tunes and re-arranging them into Square
Dance records to working with some of the best musicians and studio
engineers in the world to produce a top quality, much respected and
well renowned library of excellent music for use in our wonderful activity.
To date I have travelled to Nashville on four occasions and intend to
return each year to keep the labels stocked up with good music.
At present I am very fortunate to be able to Call regularly
for Black Arrows 2001 (Advanced), Chalfont Grand Squares (Plus) and
Rockin' 8s (Plus). In the past I have had the privilege to be the club
Caller for Up-To-The-Centre, Bushey Hoedowners, Ruislip Rollaways, and
Wyvern Wheelers.
As you will see from the above, Square Dancing has
been a significant factor in my life for the last twenty-nine years.
Judging from my calendars for future years this situation seems destined
to continue. I am not complaining!
Courtesy of Sting Productions
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