Blowzabella
| Blowzabella | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Website | blowzabella |
| Members |
Andy Cutting Jo Freya Paul James Gregory Jolivet Dave Shepherd Barn Stradling Jon Swayne |
| Past members |
Dave Armitage Nigel Eaton Chris Gunstone Ian Luff Bill O'Toole Sam Palmer Dave Roberts Cliff Stapleton |
Blowzabella is an English band who play bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and an array of acoustic instruments to produce a driving, drone-based sound influenced by British and European traditional dance music. Many of their tunes have become standards in the modern folk repertoire. Bands who experiment with the boundaries of folk music often cite Blowzabella as a major influence.
Andy Cutting (diatonic button accordion)
Jo Freya (clarinet, saxophone vocals)
Paul James (bagpipes, saxophones)
Gregory Jolivet (hurdy-gurdy)
Dave Shepherd (fiddle)
Barn Stradling (bass guitar)
Jon Swayne (bagpipes, saxophones)
Blowzabella was formed in Whitechapel, east London in 1978 by Bill O'Toole (bagpipes, flutes) from Sydney and Jon Swayne (bagpipes, flutes) from Glastonbury, both students of musical instrument making at the London College of Furniture in London. The band's name was taken from an English jig (and bawdy drinking song), "Blowzabella My Bouncing Doxie", popular in the late 17th century and early 18th century. One of the founder members, Bill O'Toole discovered the tune while researching potential bagpipe repertoire in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. The name, with its combination of "blow" and "bella", summed up the band's sound.
The first line-up was Bill O'Toole, Jon Swayne, Chris Gunstone (bouzouki, tapan), Dave Armitage (melodeon, bombarde, percussion) and Sam Palmer (hurdy-gurdy). Juan Wijngaard (hurdy-gurdy, Flemish bagpipes) and Peter Lees (hammered dulcimer) played a few concerts with the band in the early days. In late 1979 Bill O'Toole returned to Australia and was replaced by Dave Roberts (melodeon, percussion).
In 1980 Dave Armitage left the band and Paul James (bagpipes, woodwind) and Cliff Stapleton (hurdy-gurdy) joined. The band recorded their first album Blowzabella in 1982 with Chris Gunstone, Paul James, Dave Roberts, Sam Palmer, Cliff Stapleton and Jon Swayne. Chris Gunstone left soon after and Dave Armitage rejoined the band for a brief period. In early 1983 Dave Shepherd (fiddle, five-string fiddle, viola d'amore) joined. He had previously played in bands with Dave Roberts and Paul James. The band recorded the album In Colour in 1983 with Dave Armitage, Paul James, Sam Palmer, Dave Roberts, Dave Shepherd, Cliff Stapleton and Jon Swayne and guests Max Johnson, Dave Mitchell, John Spires (of the Dead Sea Surfers) and Clash and Generation X drummer Terry Chimes. Later that year, after a tour that included a trip to play at Vancouver and Winnipeg folk festivals, Samuel Palmer left. In 1984 the band recorded album Tam Lin with Frankie Armstrong and Brian Pearson, and the album Bobbityshooty with Dave Armitage, Paul James, Dave Roberts, Dave Shepherd, Cliff Stapleton and Jon Swayne. In 1985 Dave Armitage and Cliff Stapleton left and Nigel Eaton (hurdy-gurdy) and Ian Luff (bass guitar, cittern, mandola, darabuka) joined the band and they recorded the album The Blowzabella Wall of Sound in 1986 with Nigel Eaton, Paul James, Ian Luff, Dave Roberts, Dave Shepherd and Jon Swayne.
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