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Past Stuff! |
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| Photo: Tim Parkinson | Photo: Tim Parkinson |
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Past Stuff! |
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| Photo: Tim Parkinson | Photo: Tim Parkinson |
Chris was a founder member of this ceilidh/folk rock band in the late 1970s. Siobhan joined them as lead singer in 1983, following the release of their album, Fridge in the Fast Lane (which featured guest performances from Cathy Lesurf, Ian Telfer and John Adams). The Cluster of Nuts Band performed regularly in the south of England, and their many festival appearances included Sidmouth, Bracknell, Farnham Folk Day, Towersey and Wadebridge.
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The band split in 1986, but reformed for occasional performances in February 2007. There are some pictures here.
Southampton-based electric barn dance band, which developed from the novelty band Krazy Kat County Country Cousins. The Nork Trellis Band was formed in the late 1980s by Chris & Siobhan, for a bit of ‘light relief’ after the hard-working Cluster of Nuts Band. The band featured Chris on fiddle and mandolin, and calling the dances, with Siobhan singing and playing the odd bit of hammered dulcimer, triangle and tambourine!
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| The Nork Trellis Band | The Country Cousins |
Chris joined this well-established and popular Hampshire band (not to be confused with the American band of the same name) in 1988. Siobhan joined as lead singer later, and they both appeared on the band’s third album, One Foot in the Water. Although primarily playing for dances, The New St George also did concert work, and appeared at many festivals over the years. The band called it a day in 1997, but its various members are still extremely active on the music scene. Guitarist Arnie Cottrell has recently released his second solo CD, Crazy Train.
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| The New St George, 1991 (Photograph: Steve Shrimpton) | Chris & Arnie, Solent Folk Festival 2004 |
In 1994 the four members of The New St George were joined by ex-member Pete Harris to form the Midnight Flyers. Over the following three years they carved out an enviable reputation through gigs on the local music scene and made regular appearances at Southampton's Talking Heads. The band performed songs and instrumental pieces in a variety of musical styles, both acoustic and electric; the underlying theme was North American "Roots" music. Their repertoire included punchy R'n'B numbers, Cajun two-steps and waltzes, old time fiddle tunes, blues, folk and country ballads and everything in between.
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| The Midnight Flyers. Photograph: Steve Shrimpton |
Chris and Siobhan were long-time members of this Southampton-based dance team, from its inception in 1989. Siobhan was already a keen ‘Appalachian clogger’; Chris was initially dragged along (reluctantly) to provide fiddle accompaniment, and ended up a permanent member of Loose Screws' dedicated band of musicians! The team released an album, Unclogged, in 1996, which featured a selection of American 'old timey' tunes and songs.
Loose Screws' many festival bookings included: Trowbridge, Romsey Beggars Fair, Rochester Sweeps, Wimborne, Whitchurch, Bridport, Christchurch, South Petherton, Gosport, Fair Oak and Winchester. They also made an appearance on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast in its early days, dancing live on a traffic island during the morning rush hour (!) and were featured on Meridian Television with Fred Dineage.
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For more about Loose Screws click here |
While living in Southampton, Chris was invited to contribute music to productions by the Maskers Theatre Company, including: 'The Canterbury Tales', 'The Servant of Two Masters', and 'The Rover' (in which he was joined by Siobhan), and two theatre productions by A Motley Crew: 'Fair Maid of the West' and 'The Shaughraun'. As members of The New St George, Chris and Siobhan provided music for a production of 'Lark Rise' in Wimborne, Dorset.
