Fiddler's Dram

Fiddler's Dram were a British folk band of the late 1970s. They are mainly known for their hit single, "Daytrip to Bangor (Didn't We Have a Lovely Time)" (1979), although the sound of this record was not representative of the acoustic songs and tunes they had been performing for several years at folk clubs and festivals.

The full-time members of Fiddler's Dram were drawn from the Oyster Ceilidh Band and were:

later joined by

Dave Arbus, violinist with East of Eden, was a founder member but left long before the band achieved success.

The full-time members of the band were drawn from a group of musicians at the University of Kent at Canterbury and members of Duke's Folk Club in Whitstable. Jamming sessions in a Canterbury squat often took place with additional club members given the opportunity to take part in these sessions and sometimes at local performances. The band had an enthusiastic local following and played regularly at local clubs and bars in and around the Canterbury area, with the open nature of the band's ever-changing part-time line-up contributing to the band's popularity. With other various club members, including John Jones and Ian Kearey, the full-time members of the band formed the Oyster Ceilidh Band in about 1976, with Cathy Lesurf singing and later assuming the role of caller at dances.

The first Fiddler's Dram album To See the Play was released on the Dingles label in 1978. It featured acoustic arrangements of mainly British traditional songs and tunes, but also included live favourite "Daytrip to Bangor", written by Whitstable Folk Club regular Debbie Cook. Dingles' David Foister suggested that this track be released as a single. It was re-recorded at a faster tempo than on the original LP, and with the acoustic instruments augmented by other instruments including bass guitar, synthesiser and drums.

It has been claimed that "Daytrip To Bangor" was actually inspired by a day trip to Rhyl (a seaside resort 35 miles east of Bangor, North Wales), but because Bangor had an extra syllable and slipped off the tongue more easily, it was used instead of Rhyl. This caused an outcry from councillors and businesses in Rhyl who complained that the publicity would have boosted the resort's tourist economy. Songwriter Cook has unconditionally denied this, however Cook, when interviewed for the BBC Radio 4 documentary, broadcast on 29 September 2011, said the song was "absolutely yes" about the Bangor in Wales. She said "I was so ignorant at the time that I didn't know that any other Bangor existed, so it was categorically this Bangor, and it was Bangor because it scanned and for no other reason than that. And it was the only place I knew along the north Wales coast." In the documentary, when interviewer Jonathan Maitland reminded Cook that there was a furore about the song really being about Rhyl, Cook laughed and called it "a great piece of nonsense".

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