Katie Spencer

Katie brings a ray of sunshine to Loudhailer Acoustic as soon as she walks through the door. A young emerging songwriter, singer and guitarist with a fabulous voice and set full of heartfelt original songs, Katie’s soulful performances are terrific. We are delighted that Katie has written a special song, and can’t wait to hear her singing it at the HullSongs launch in November. Read Katie’s story and lyrics below…

When holidaying in England the most common phrase thrown at you is: “So, where do you call home?” Once Hull is mentioned a series of statements are issued, such as “someone has to”, or “ah, that place at the end of the line?” But I have always struggled with the idea that the M62 is a dead end. Why is Hull viewed as the finish of something, rather than the beginning?

Living in an East Hull village for the majority of my life, and travelling into Hull to visit my Grandma weekly meant that Hull has always been somewhere that excites me: the epicentre of the area. Walking along Newland Avenue, you’re thrown into cultural individuality at its purest. Longhill Estate (my Grandma’s home for more than 60 years) proved to me that the greatest, fun-filled memories are made whilst surrounded by a council built lego-land, where the ice-cream van (or the “man screaming” van as my 2-year-old self liked to call it) can always be heard on hot afternoons.

My Grandma was a woman of strong will and possessed a positive mentality. And originally when Rich & Lou got in touch about writing a song for Hull, my immediate inspiration was to collect my memories of my Grandma and put them into a song. However, after further daydreaming my two thoughts of Hull as a dead-end, and of my Grandma collided.

When she passed away, a poem was left behind: “Death is Nothing At All”, Henry Scott Holland. To me this is a poem of achievement and improvement, and most importantly the belief that energy can constantly be renewed and replenished. It immediately correlated with Hull as a city: “It is the same that it ever was. There is absolute unbroken continuity.”

We are more than the end of a line – as is life. Why can’t we be the start of something?” Katie Spencer 2015

East Coast Railroad
It’s a pre-Raphaelite dream
All you have to do is wave your eyes
Over the scene
Don’t be afraid
For the East Coast Railroad
Carries on
Don’t be afraid

People say we’ve slipped away
Way out, past the Humber Bay
Out of sight
Don’t be afraid
For the East Coast Railroad
Carries on
Don’t be afraid

She’s not out of mind
She is not, will never be
The end of a line
Don’t be afraid
For the East Coast Railroad
Carries on
Don’t be afraid