Oysterband (or The Oyster Band, as it used to be) are one of the few outfits still burning with the fire of punk, but managing to combine it with the ideals and knowledge of English folk music - a balancing act they've made into a fine art over the years. And they have deep roots in the U.K. folk scene, emerging from both the Whitstable Oyster Co. Ceilidh Band, which formed in 1975, and Fiddler's Dram, a group put together in 1973 by Dave Arbus, whose fiddle work had graced releases by East of Eden and the Who.
Prosser, Telfer, and Taylor were also in Fiddler's Dram, whose moment of fame arrived in 1979 with the British hit single "Day Trip to Bangor" - released after they'd split up. They reconvened for a last album when Kearey joined them. He also became part of the band's alter ego, the roots-oriented Oyster Ceilidh Band, as they'd now become. With Fiddler's Dram no longer extant, the members put their energies in the newly renamed Oyster Band in 1981, playing gigs around England and self-releasing albums on their own Pukka label.
The band returned in 2003 after the longest recording layoff of its career with Rise Above, which included eight originals and two English traditional numbers, and featured the work of Irish piper James O'Grady throughout.
In 1990, the band collaborated with renowned folk singer June Tabor for the album Freedom and Rain and a tour.
Current Lineup:
Chopper - bass guitar, cello, vocals
John Jones - melodeon, lead vocals
Alan Prosser - guitars, viola, vocals
Ian Telfer - fiddle, English concertina, vocals
Dil Davies - drums
http://www.oysterband.co.uk/
Prosser, Telfer, and Taylor were also in Fiddler's Dram, whose moment of fame arrived in 1979 with the British hit single "Day Trip to Bangor" - released after they'd split up. They reconvened for a last album when Kearey joined them. He also became part of the band's alter ego, the roots-oriented Oyster Ceilidh Band, as they'd now become. With Fiddler's Dram no longer extant, the members put their energies in the newly renamed Oyster Band in 1981, playing gigs around England and self-releasing albums on their own Pukka label.
The band returned in 2003 after the longest recording layoff of its career with Rise Above, which included eight originals and two English traditional numbers, and featured the work of Irish piper James O'Grady throughout.
In 1990, the band collaborated with renowned folk singer June Tabor for the album Freedom and Rain and a tour.
Current Lineup:
Chopper - bass guitar, cello, vocals
John Jones - melodeon, lead vocals
Alan Prosser - guitars, viola, vocals
Ian Telfer - fiddle, English concertina, vocals
Dil Davies - drums
http://www.oysterband.co.uk/
Folk Celtic British Folk rock English
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Past Events
- Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2023
- Beautiful Days 2023
- Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2021
- Southdowns Folk Festival 2019
- Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2019
- Towersey Festival 2019
- Ely Folk Festival 2019
- New Forest Folk Festival 2019
- Great British Folk Festival 2018
- Swanage Folk Festival 2018
- Bromyard Folk Festival 2018
- FolkEast 2018
- Beautiful Days 2018
- Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2018
- Derby Folk Festival 2017
- Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2017
- Wickham Festival 2017
- Cambridge Folk Festival 2017
- Cleckheaton Folk Festival 2017
- Great British Folk Festival 2016
- Bromyard Folk Festival 2016
- Moseley Folk Festival 2016
- Wickham Festival 2016
- Wirral Folk Festival 2016
- The Big Session 2016
- Cottingham Folk Festival 2015
- Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2015
- Village Pump Folk Festival 2015
- Ely Folk Festival 2015
- Sidmouth Folk Week 2014
- Cambridge Folk Festival 2014
- Bearded Theory 2014
- Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2013
- Solfest 2013
- Folk by the Oak 2013
- Glastonbury Festival 2013
- Beverley Folk Festival 2013
- Southwell Folk Festival 2013
- BunkFest 2012
- Wickham Festival 2012
- Rhythm Festival 2011
- Beautiful Days Festival 2011
- Gosport and Fareham Easter Festival 2011
- Great British Folk Festival 2010
- Larmer Tree Festival 2010