Reviews of Harmonica Lewinsky

Phil arrived in plenty of time before the start of the event. He played a great set of music and interacted well with everyone attending the event. Would highly recommend.

Harmonica Lewinsky, half musician, half comedian, can't be filed easily under any one genre. There are no "rawk" anthems or jangly pop toons to guide you to a familiar sense of comfy numbness you may well be used to in your local music venue.

Instead, you get a proper show. Someone - that's Phil Leiwy, crazy alchemist of alter-ego Lewinsky - has taken it upon himself to create a crisp set of upbeat, rhythmic gems played on guitar (choppy, jazzy, mellow), vocals (smooth, welcoming) and of course, a boxload of harmonicas (swanky, tuneful, engaging). But words alone seem unable to explain why, after a HL gig, you go home feeling as if you have been crane-lifted out of a ditch... If you haven't seen HL play, go and see for yourself, and let the performance into your life.

Careful listening really helps: the lyrics to many of Phil's songs - including Gordon Brown (to the tune of the Stranglers' "Golden Brown") - are wry, clever and occasionally rude. Lovers of X-Factor stability or other social brainwashing techniques may leave feeling confused.

Before seeing this show I had heard many rumours about Harmonica Lewinsky, whose background was shrouded in mystery, although I believe he learned his harmonica skills in the Deep South in the deltas of Harrow on the Hill under the tutelage of Blind Les Battersby. But, it was a very different character to the one I expected who performed at the posh Victoria pub in Highgate!

Mr Lewinsky, looking like a cross between a rabbi and one-half of Chas 'n Dave (I'm not sure which half) appeared in cloth cap and braces and presented a highly original selection of songs, some of which rarely see the light of day.

There were no predictable “Brown Eyed Girls” or “Mustang Sally’s” here: instead - a veritable feast of the unexpected - as we witnessed one man, his guitar and his trusty harps.

When was the last time you heard a pub act kick off his set with Chas 'n Dave's “The Sideboard Song” and follow it with the Theme to “Top Cat” and then offerings of cheery, chirpy Cockney ditties including “Waiting At The Church,” “Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner”, “Show Me The Way To Go Home” and Tommy Steele's “What A Mouth”?

I’m guessing the answer to that question is ‘rarely’ (if ever) but the fun didn't stop there. Mr Harmonica Man is a really great entertainer and demonstrated, with great finesse, his harmonica technique on - wait for it - the Shadows' “Apache”! It was quite a feat playing the melody on the harp while strumming his guitar.

‘Harmy’, as he is known to his close friends (or 'Self-Harmy‘ to others) also tackled in the first half the theme to "The Flintstones"; Elvis Costello's catchy “Watching The Detectives” and the Cockney knees-up “I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts”.

Harmy was back in terrific Pearly King form for the second half starting with “Any Old Iron” followed by a touch of the Formbys with “Leaning On A Lamppost” after which he did a ‘Donegan’ with a riotous version of “My Old Man's A Dustman” complete with enthusiastic audience participation.

Mr Lewinsky has a great sense of humour, which he constantly shares with the Victoria regulars. "Here's another Cockney classic sung by a Welsh man", quipped Harmy before diving into “Delilah.”

Other gems included the theme tune to ‘Match Of The Day’ (played on two harmonicas); a very funny and risque interpretation of Mike Jerome's “Sling Yer Hook”; a great version of the Small Faces' mod anthem “Lazy Sunday”; and a yahoo rendition of the old country favourite “Riders In The Sky”.

After many encores Mr Lewinsky packed away his cap and braces and headed off to the Deep South (of London) for some pie and mash. The Victoria would do well to snap up Harmy for some more gigs before he hop-foots it down the Strand for a residency at the Old Bull and Bush!

Harmie brought his full Cockney repertoire to the cavernous Cavalier pub in Whetstone and he had to fight his way through the crowds to get to the stage, arriving with his guitar, a collection of harmonicas, his cloth cap and braces and a mug of jellied eels.

This was a real Cockney knees-up evening for the regulars, who included in their midst the Pearly King and Queen of Purley, or was it Finchley?

Kicking off with Chas 'n Dave's raucous toe-tapper, "The Sideboard Song" the cheeky chappie tackled a lovely bunch of Cockney ditties, including Tommy Steele's showstopper, "What A Mouth"; an entertaining version of the old Billy Cotton (now there was a good old Cockney) number, "The Marrow Song"; and the singalong tunes, "Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner", "Show Me The Way To Go Home", "Meet Me At The Church" and the tasty, "Hot Meat Pie, Saveloys And Trotters".

Highlights of the first set were Harmie's harmonica-led rendition of the Shadows' classic instrumental, "Apache" and, following a request from a punter, a countryfied version of "What Made Milwaukee Famous", which was part made famous by Rod Stewart.

The lovable Cockney character was in humorous form too calling for 'security' when a man approached him for a request, and in telling the audience: "As this is Whetstone I thought we ought to do a song about infidelity," before launching into Gene Pitney's, "24 Hours From Tulsa", complete with harp solo.

The second set brought more Cockney treats with Bernard Cribbins' "Right Said Fred"; Mike Jerome's clever, "Sling Yer Hook" and Chas and Dave's weepie, "Ain't No Pleasing You".

The audience were loving Harmie by now, but soon he had to battle his way through the masses again to get to the Harmie-mobile and a trip home to the Old Kent Road.

Thanks Phil A great evening at Tring Conservative Club the joint was really having a cockney knees up, with everyone enjoying themselves can recommend this act to any venue well done

ust recently, the wife and I settled down to watch Harmonica Lewinsky at the Owlsworld tent at the Rickmansworth Canal Festival.

Ha ha; bloody hell :-D Now, *there's* someone successfully mining the music hall/rockney/Americana/Tottenham-to-Hemel mash-up seam, with a guitar, a box of harmonicas and a flat cap his only tools; there’s not many of his kind left these days. Top marks also for his stage persona—that of a man so used to hostile audiences that's he's willing to create one for himself if necessary :-D—which made for an inordinately entertaining hour. The wife and I even danced a bit: we were meant to do a conga, but instead we did a messy foxtrot to “My Old Man’s a Dustman” because, when in Rome, you’ve got to have a right old proper cockney knees up. Or something.

Very enjoyable indeed.

Brilliant night at the Brewery Tap. (Long may it survive).

And long may Harmonica Lewinsky and his musical colleagues survive.

Chas and Dave's Margate had the whole pub rockin' and almost rollin,

The mixture of Cockney and Elvis (Costello and Presley) went down a treat.

A great night was had by all.

This was the second occasion it's been my pleasure to watch Harmonica Lewinsky at the Green Dragon and certainly won't be the last. The venue itself is a good old-fashioned local that, unlike many in the area, hasn't been gentrified but is cosy, friendly and intimate. The trio were absolutely brilliant, put smiles on the faces of everyone present and there was much foot-tapping and singing-along. I look forward to the next time.

We hosted a pie & mash night in our restaurant & we wanted something authentic but at the same time not too loud.

Harmonica lewinsky was PERFECT for what we wanted. He got everyone up & singing, provided singing sheets so everyone could join in. He looked the part, sounded the part. We couldn't of asked for anything more- So much so we have booked in another pie & mash night along with Harmonica Lewinsky again as it was one of the best evenings we have held in our pub.

After a few hours checking out the Lord Mayor's show, the missus and I headed to the Hoop & Grapes in the heart of London City for an hour or two of cockney singalong courtesy of Harmonica Lewinsky. It was the first time we'd seen him holding court for a while, and I'm pleased to report he's still got it: saveloys, trotters, marrows, no bananas, you name it.

Sterling stuff

Since l was little I remember my nan taking me to the pub to watch the live bands and enjoying all of it and it's been so long since I've seen anything on the same level so watching at the cross lances on remembrance Sunday 2019 it was like going back in time. This band is amazing friendly and bring out all the originals that I didn't even realise I have missed. So thank you. Stephanie 34 Hounslow.

This was Phil's third visit to the Hammer as Harmonica Lewinsky. He never fails to entertain the locals with his cockney act and great humour. As the landlord of the Hammer I can honestly say this guy is amazing and really great value...so much so we have booked Phil to return again for St. Georges day celebrations on Sunday 26th april.

Armed with a whole case of Blues Harps and one or two trusty Guitars, Harmonica always provides a brilliant few hours of musical entertainment. He's become a firm favourite in the Cole household and we aren't ashamed to say we've become groupies, following him across London to venues just like this. He seems to have an almost infinite amount of songs in his repertoire, ranging from Cockney classics to Country ballads and lots more besides. Your feet begin to tap the moment he starts his set and by the end you've normally ground a hole into the pub carpet! Thoroughly recommended!

Brilliant time singing along with Harmonica Lewinsky and his enormous repertoire?

I had a German friend with me who had never experienced the delights of a good old Cockney Sing-along. She loved it and joined in with the rest of us singing. (Once I’d Googled the Lyrics!) Great Fun!

Looking forward to his next gig ?

What a great afternoon spent with Phil Harmonica Lewinsky, it exceeded my expectation. Loved his wit and humour. It was fantastic singing along with all the old cockney songs & Chas n Dave's. .. such a great atmosphere and fun... so uplifting that it even carried me through Monday too just thinking about it and I couldn't get some of the songs out of my head all day Monday ... Rabbit Rabbit... Been to Margate.. and .. I'm Henry 8th I am... !!! . Will definately be going along to another gig again soon. Nice one Harmonica Lewinsky and lovely friend pub too.

What a cheeky knees up finish to St. George's Day.

Everybody loved Harmonica Lewinsky at his best, entertaining and involving everybody in the pub. Roll on next year!

Many Thanks to you Phil from all at The Magnet. Cheers

A great evening of amazing music with talented musicians and singers. Great sing-a-long and dancing too. Vast selection of songs Everyone enjoyed themselves. Harmonika Lewinsky has a natural wit and humour and gets the audience involved . Will be booking him again soon for sure, Thank you for a great night.