A free guided audio tour going through Hull's music history launched in late August - offering over 60 minutes of discovery into the musical talent to come from the city.
The tour, named Diamond Life, offers more than an hour's worth of narration and interviews, taking listeners through sites such as Humber Street, Old Town and Queen Victoria Square. Many huge names from the plethora of talent Hull has had throughout the decades lend their voice to the project, including Roland Gift, Cosey Fanni Tuttu and up-and-coming Jodie Langford.
I spent the morning following the route to get more in touch with the musical history of my city.
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Diamond Life is a collaboration between Hull City Council, Visit Hull & East Yorkshire and artist Mutiny. The tour has ten stops, starting in Queen Victoria Square and ending at Humber Dock Street - covering 60 years of history in (about) 60 minutes - narrated by Lucy Beaumont.
The trail starts at Victoria Square with the first of the 10 bright orange signposts - the colours make them quite hard to miss. Although its in a bit of an awkward position in close proximity to the crossing, the QR code scanned straight away.
Lynda Harrison introduced herself as a founding member of the Mandy and the Girlfriends in the mid-60s and talks about what it was like being in a girl group at the time. The tour is interwoven with other key milestones of local history - including the fishing industry. As the signposts headed towards the quay, Cosey Fanni Tutti taken to the microphone - and gave a vivid description of the walk in real-time.
As the walk headed deeper into Old Town, outside the Blue Bell pub, Eliza and Martin Cathy took the reigns to talk about how the pub started The Folk Union One club back in November 1963. Echos of the club are still felt today over 60 years on - just last week saw the return of the Hull Folk and Maritime Festival, which was born off the back of that meeting in '63.
Other voices include Ronald Gift who talks about life after moving to the city at 11 as well as some of the bands to come from the city. Meanwhile, Jodie Langford talks about what its like being a musician in the city today, as well as Paul Sarel of the Adelphi.
The tour ends at the Marina, with all the participants of the guide signing off what they think of Hull - I'm particularly fond of the "Hull is the fiver that you find in the pocket of an old jacket," line from Jodie.
The walk was a fun and modern addition to the growing trails around the city, but it doesn't end there. Everybody involved in the project has an extended interview - and these can be done where and whenever. It's definitely worth checking out - and can be found on the Reveal Hull website here.
