Fray’d Knot
1967-69 – (Cardiff) lead vocalist and organist in the rock and soul band “Stopwatch”. Residency at the Stork Club, Tiger Bay.
1977 – won first prize in the Melody Maker’s National Rock/Folk Contest.
1992-3 (Tamworth) Keyboard player and programmer in the hi-tec duo “The Heat” with David Fitzgerald.
1998 Rediscovered the guitar and began performing on the Midlands folk scene.
Thereafter released a number of CDs. Busy playing music the rest of the time.
Fraser (Guitar, Vocal, and StompBox) & Toots (Accordion) play foot-tapping, finger-snapping, cat-swinging, scat-singing, bunny hugging songs from the 2O’s, 30’s and 40’s (think Fats Waller, Louis Jordan & friends), together with a huge repertoire of their own songs, acoustic folk, and jazzy ragtime blues.
John’s photographic skills have made him a welcome sight at many a club and festival.
His poetic skills are what we seek from him in his guise as a performer, however, and he will not fail to entertain.
Steve and Julie Wigley are a duo from Derbyshire. Julie is the songwriter and they perform many of her songs, along with songs by some of their favourite songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot, Hugh Williams and Ralph McTell.
Twice finalists in BBC Song for Lincolnshire, they are sure to have something to please you.
Guaranteed to persuade you into a party mood with much foot tapping and banter, Band on the Rum are acknowledged performers of traditional shanties and other songs of the sea.
Usually unaccompanied, the band knows how to belt out stirring shanties or soothe with easy on the ear nautical songs. Occasional humorous or moving songs on other subjects are also in Band on the Rum’s repertoire.
Dave first started writing songs in the early 1970s and was influenced by the writing of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Roy Harper and Jeremy Taylor.
Julia has always loved folk clubs but did not sing in public until she had passed her 50th birthday, but is now regarded as a fine singer, whose voice has gained a lot of depth over the last 10 years with experience – she also plays English concertina.
As a solo artist, after many years of playing a wide repertoire of covers up and down the country, in bars, pubs, restaurants etc (which she still does), Maria has decided to concentrate more on writing and performing her own songs again. She is just as comfortable playing in a noisy bar as she is a quiet Folk club, where she’ll happily perform her own and Traditional folk songs.
Formed in November 2014, they are Flossy McDougall, Geoff Veasey and John Kearney. Flossy sang and recorded previously in Pennyroyal along with Linda Dickson and Sue Dixon. Geoff sang and recorded previously with Black Parrot Seaside. John is a respected singer/songwriter originally from Cork, with a previous background in pretty well everything from Punk to Country. Flossy plays a bit of guitar and John plays rather a lot. All three like colourful stage clothes.
Tuppence are Pete McParland and Phil Benson.
Pete performs regularly, and with acclaim, at numerous folk clubs in the Midlands. Songs from the 60s and 70s are his forte, but he wanders into other areas, too, with great success.
Phil has been involved in folk since the 60s, albeit with a 20-year break from active involvement.
Together, they cover all sorts, and, with a combined more than 140 years behind them, they have plenty of experience.