Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Fiddler's Dram


Another LP from the bootsale on Sunday. Their one and only hit "A Day Trip To Bangor" has surfaced on a couple of folk/novelty compilations and I was keen to see what else they had done. Mostly ordinairy folk rock from the 70's that reminds me of Steeleye Span and The Yetties etc.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about them-

"Fiddler's Dram were a British folk band of the late 1970s. They were mainly known for their hit single Day Trip to Bangor (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 members of Fiddler's Dram were:
Cathy Lesurf - vocals, bodhran
Alan Prosser - guitar, fiddle, bowed psaltery, bones
Chris Taylor - bouzouki, harmonica, appalachian dulcimer, mandola, tenor banjo
Ian Telfer - fiddle, bowed psaltery

They met at the University of Kent at Canterbury and were residents at Duke's Folk Club in Whitstable. With other club members including John Jones and Ian Kearey, they formed the Oyster Ceilidh Band c.1976, with Cathy Lesurf singing and later assuming the role of caller at dances.
Bassoon-player Will Ward had joined the Oyster Ceilidh Band by 1978, and became the fifth member of Fiddler's Dram on their eponymous second LP, recorded hurriedly to follow up on their unexpected success in the singles chart. The band were unable to achieve subsequent success however - in the words of Ian Telfer Day Trip To Bangor was "the kind of success you don't easily recover from. Fiddler's Dram did one more tour then gratefully took the money (and the gold discs) and ran".
Day Trip To Bangor was actually inspired after 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 easier it was used ahead of Rhyl. This caused an outcry from Councillors and businesses in Rhyl who complained that the publicity would have boosted the resort's tourist ecomony.
The Oyster Ceilidh Band continued as both a dance and concert band however, changing their name c.1982 to Oysterband. Cathy Lesurf subsequently left the Oysters for a spell with the Albion Band."


Fiddler's Dram - Mama's Ill

Fiddler's Dram - Johnny John

Fiddler's Dram - Fedora


These SendSpace files are available for seven days or until exhausted.

5 comments:

Howlin' Hobbit said...

Hmmmm... SendSpace now wants you to fill out a form (including contact info) for some "free plasma TV" thing in order to get to the files.

Wastedpapiers said...

Sorry to hear about that HH. I will look into it and change the files if need be. Anybody else having the same problem?

Howlin' Hobbit said...

It seems like if you just close down the window it opens and start fresh (i.e. click your link again) you can get in.

I'm about to d/l the third song here.

Thanks for your great music finds!

HH

Big Al Davies said...

These are great Michael, I always liked Day Trip to Bangor, I remember hearing it on a radio as we walked over Llanbradach mountain after a jazz woodbine.

Wastedpapiers said...

Glad it brought back some happy memories for you Al!
I like the fact that it was really about Rhyl but Bangor sounded better!