Adge Cutler John Morgan Brian Walker Tony Baylis Ken Scott Pete Shuttler Reg Quantrill John Macey Henry Davies Melt Kingston Jai Howe Terry Pascoe Mike Gwilliam Reg Chant Dave Wintour
The name of the band was dreamt up by founder Adge Cutler. It is short for mangelwurzel, a crop grown to feed livestock.[2]
The Wurzels' particular "genre" of music was named Scrumpy and Western after the group's first EP of the same name, issued early in 1967. Scrumpy is a name given to traditionally-made rough cider in southwest England.[3]
History
Adge Cutler and The Wurzels
A memorial statue of Adge Cutler stands outside the Royal Oak pub in Nailsea, where the band first recorded.
The Wurzels were formed in 1966[4] as a backing group for, and by, singer/songwriter Adge Cutler.[5] The first recordings were made live in the 'Royal Oak Inn', Nailsea, Somerset in December 1966.[6] With a strong Somerset accent, Cutler played on his West Country roots, singing many folk songs with local themes such as cider making (and drinking), farming, dung-spreading, local villages and industrial work songs, often with a comic slant.
During the latter half of the 1960s, the band became popular regionally, and the release of the single "Drink Up Thy Zider" in 1966 led to national fame and it reaching number 45 in the UK Singles Chart.[7] The B-side, "Twice Daily" was banned by the BBC for being too raunchy.[8]
A number of live albums were recorded at local pubs and clubs, filled with Cutler-penned favourites such as "Easton in Gordano", "The Champion Dung Spreader", and "Thee's Got'n Where Thee Cassn't Back'n, Hassn't?", together with songs written by others and some re-workings of popular folk songs of the time.[9]
Cutler's death marked a turning point in the history of the Wurzels. Deprived of the main song-writing talent, the remaining Wurzels recorded The Wurzels Are Scrumptious! in 1975, an album containing many favourites from the back catalogue, including a number of previously unrecorded Cutler-written songs. In order to continue the surviving band needed its own songs, and these mostly took the formula of re-written popular pop songs of the time with the lyrics changed to include the usual Wurzel themes (cider, farming, local villages, Cheddar cheese, etc.)
In 1976, the Wurzels released a cover version of "The Combine Harvester", a rework of the song "Brand New Key", by Melanie, which became a UK hit, topping the charts for 2 weeks.[1] The band quickly followed its success with the release of a number of similarly themed songs such as "I Am A Cider Drinker" (a rework of Paloma Blanca which was written by and had been a hit for the George Baker Selection and also covered by Jonathan King the year before) which got to number three in the UK chart,[11] and "Farmer Bill's Cowman" (a reworking of the Whistling Jack Smith instrumental "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman").
The Wurzels have never stopped performing, but record releases during the 1980s and 1990s were few— and included singles such as "I Hate JR" and "Sunny Weston-super-Mare". To help celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Eddie Stobart Ltd in 1995, the group signed to Cumbria record label Loose Records & Music, and recorded four new songs including the single "I Wanna Be An Eddie Stobart Driver" (released as a limited edition lorry-shaped disc). The interest in this record sparked off renewed interest in The Wurzels.[12]
The late 1990s saw the continuing of this revival of the fortunes for the surviving Wurzels, gaining a cult status amongst students and a resurgence in their popularity in their native West Country. Under the new management of The Stranglers manager Sil Willcox a number of CD releases followed, largely featuring re-recordings of older works, but also Never Mind The Bullocks, Ere's The Wurzels containing cover versions of contemporary British rock songs.[13] This album was recorded and produced by Louie Nicastro and George Allen.[14] The album title and cover were a spoof of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.
The Wurzels covered British Sea Power's "Remember Me", while British Sea Power covered The Wurzels' "I Am A Cider Drinker". The band also supported BSP at their gig at the London Forum in November. In 2004, The Wurzels appeared on Never Mind The Buzzcocks in that year's Christmas special, performing Christmas songs to Bill Bailey's team.[15] (Bailey is a Wurzels fan,[16] and stood and saluted upon hearing "Combine Harvester", later claiming that he had the tune on his doorbell at home). In 2005, the band released a limited edition split single with British Sea Power.[17]
In 2007, The Wurzels and Tony Blackburn re-released "I Am A Cider Drinker", with the royalties from the song going to the BUI Prostate Cancer Care Appeal in Bristol.[18]
The Wurzels continue to gig around the UK,[19] including playing at the Shalbourne Festival for nearly 11 years, although they pulled out of the 2007 Glastonbury Festival, having been scheduled to play the bandstand stage where they could not use their own sound engineers,[20] although they had played the same stage at the 2000 Glastonbury Festival. They were also one of the headliners at the 2007 Bristol Community Festival, and made a return to Glastonbury in 2008 (on a higher profile stage).
The Wurzels are also popular with supporters of Bristol City F.C. Their song "One for the Bristol City" is the official club anthem.[21] First released in 1976, a newly recorded version of this song reached number 66 in the UK chart in September 2007.[22] It was previously played at the final whistle at Ashton Gate if the home club won, and it is sung by fans along with other Wurzels songs "I Am A Cider Drinker" and “Drink Up Thy Zider”; the latter of which replaced “One For The Bristol City” as the song played following a win in 2010. The song has also been adopted by Bath City who, like Bristol City, played the track after home victories. The style of the band (Scrumpy and Western) also shared its name with Bristol City's previous mascot, Scrumpy the Robin, and the band regularly perform following final home games of the season.
In addition, the band have become popular among fans of Bristol Bears since their move to Ashton Gate - also regularly playing at the end of a season, and another of their tracks (“The Blackbird”) is sung in the dressing room following every game, should the Bears be victorious.
In December 2009, they released a new single, available by internet download only— a first for the band, entitled "Ode To Adge" - a tribute to the band's founder, Adge Cutler.
In June 2010, the Wurzels' released another single (a cover of the Kaiser Chiefs "Ruby") and as another first in the band's history, issued in preview form, together with a promotional film, on their YouTube channel. The original backing chorus refrain of aah aah aah was replaced by ooarr ooarr ooarr. The single was made available for general release only as an internet download (traditional hardcopies were made available as promo discs to radio stations). The same month the band released the album, A Load More Bullocks - timed to coincide with their appearance the previous Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival.[23] Their session took place on the Avalon stage.
In 2011, BBC Four started a series of repeats of the popular long-running programme Top of The Pops, starting with 1976 and a programme dedicated to that year. Two of the Wurzels, Budd and Banner were interviewed as part of that programme with their first performance on the programme (1976) being screened. In the same month, the BBC's The One Show included an item on the story of the "Combine Harvester" song, featuring further interviews with Budd and Banner and extracts from the 1976 promotional film.
In 2014, they released a new song "The Mendip Windfarm Song" inspired by a local protest about wind turbines being constructed near the Wurzel HQ in Laverton.[24]
In 2015, the Wurzels teamed up with the Farm Safety Foundation with a rewrite of "Combine Harvester", focussing on Farm Safety. The song was accompanied by a light-hearted video produced by students from Moreton Morrell College, drawing attention to the various dangers on the farm.[25][26]
In February 2016, the band performed at Camden Market in London. The day after, the BBC released never before seen footage of the band from 1967, with Adge Cutler larking around in Bristol City Centre.[27]
Prior to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, the Wurzels had played shows two to three times a week for nearly 50 years.[28]
The band were the subject of a Burst Radio celebration, 'The Wurzels: From A to Z', in November 2021.[29]
Current members
Tommy Banner is the longest serving Wurzel, having joined the band in November 1967. He is usually seen playing accordion, but has also played piano in the Wurzels' past. Hailing from Penicuik, his Scottish accent remains.[6]
Pete Budd is the familiar front-man of the post-Cutler band. Budd originally joined the Wurzels as a banjo player in 1972, and his distinctive West Country vocals made him an obvious replacement lead singer after Cutler's death. He continues to sing, and play banjo and guitar for the band, including in his repertoire a Mark Knopfler-esque guitar lead on their modern version of "I Wish I Was Back on the Farm", originally made famous by George Formby.[6]
Sedge Moore (Russ Crook), born and bred in Somerset, is the bass player.
Louie 'Gribble' Nicastro is also the producer of the band's recent releases and plays keyboards, or the 'Wurzelitzer' as the stage piano is more commonly known.
Dan 'Dribble' Lashbrook joined in July 2017. He is the band’s latest and youngest member and is the Wurzels' additional keyboard player. He lives in Somerset. Joe Tong who also lives in Somerset performs on keyboard at some of the band’s shows.
Wurzel history was made at Twickenham Stadium on 6 April 2019, when all six current band members appeared together for the first time and performed "I am a Cider Drinker" as part of The Clash rugby celebrations.[30]
Past members
Over the years many Wurzels have come and gone since Cutler first formed the group.[6]
The original Wurzels line-up to accompany Cutler recorded their first album (Adge Cutler and the Wurzels) in 1966 and consisted of Brian Walker, Reg Quantrill (Born 26 June 1934 in Bristol - died 7 June 2012 in Bristol),[31][32] John Macey and Reg Chant. Brian Walker left in 1967, soon after the band's first album was released. Their next offering Adge Cutler and the Wurzels' Family Album, was recorded with the remaining members – Reg Quantrill, John Macey and Reg Chant. 1967 saw a year of several changes – Reg Chant left the group, soon followed by John Macey. Their places were filled by Henry Davies and Tommy Banner. In this year the band also toured with accordionists Ken Scott and Pete Shuttler.[33]
The group's third album, Cutler of the West, was released in 1968 with a line-up featuring Cutler, Davies, Banner and Quantrill. Shortly afterwards they were joined by Melt Kingston for a short period, whilst Henry Davies went to work on other projects. Kingston left when Davies returned at the end of the year. Early in 1969, Davies left the group permanently and was replaced by Tony Baylis (Born 25 May 1935 in London - died 30 September 2020),[34][35] in time for the band's fourth album release Carry On Cutler, the line-up now being Cutler, Banner, Baylis and Quantrill.
By 1974, Quantrill had been replaced by Pete Budd (born Peter Budd, 18 July 1940, Brislington, Bristol), but following the death of Cutler the Wurzels were left to continue on their own – the future chart topping trio consisting of Banner, Budd and Baylis. The Wurzels obtained their first permanent drummer, John Morgan (born 21 April 1941, Lydney, Forest of Dean – died 17 December 2021, Gloucestershire Royal Hospital), in 1981 and the line-up then remained unchanged until Baylis left in 1983, as he was emigrating to New Zealand to become a chiropodist. Just before he left, Jai Howe played with the group for a short period, with Terry Pascoe also augmenting the line-up.
Early in 1984, Howe and Pascoe left the band and were replaced by Mike Gwilliam. For the next nine years The Wurzels consisted of Budd, Banner, Morgan and Gwilliam. In 1995, Gwilliam left and was replaced by Dave Wintour. This remained the shape of the band until 2002, when Wintour was replaced by Howe (who had played with the band in the early 1980s).
A temporary change in line-up occurred in November 2005, when long-term Wurzel Tommy Banner had to step away from performing whilst undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. His place was taken on by the band's production and sound engineer, Louie Nicastro, until Banner's health was restored and he was able to return in 2006. The death of Howe in 2007 left the band one man down — this led to Sedge Moore being recruited to give the line-up of Budd, Banner, Morgan and Moore.[6]
John Morgan, also known as 'Amos', was the oldest drummer in the land according to fellow band members, hailing from the Forest of Dean— preferring hot cocoa to cider and during 'live' gigs a claim was made that he was 85 years old: This is a long standing joke made during gigs. John was actually born in 1941 in Lydney, Glos. He died on 17 December 2021 in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital of COVID-19, aged 80, leaving only Budd, Banner and Moore as the surviving members. In tribute, Banner said: "We can't believe we shan't ever see you behind those drums again."[36]
Peter Frederick Wedlock was an English folk singer best known for his UK hit single "The Oldest Swinger in Town", which was covered by German comedian Karl Dall as "Der älteste Popper der Stadt". He performed at many venues in Britain and Europe, presented programmes for West Country TV and acted with the Bristol Old Vic, as well as undertaking after-dinner speaking engagements.
Nailsea is a town in North Somerset, England, 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Bristol, and 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Weston-super-Mare. The nearest village is Backwell, which lies south of Nailsea on the opposite side of the Bristol to Exeter railway line. Nailsea had a population of 15,630 in the 2011 Census.
West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of the West Country, an area found in the southwest of England.
Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. The name, taken from the title of the 1967 Scrumpy & Western EP by Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, refers to scrumpy, strongly alcoholic cider produced in the West Country; it is a play on the American genre of country and western music.
Thatchers Cider is a family-owned cider maker in Sandford, North Somerset, England.
Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. It is home to many types of music.
The Blue Aeroplanes are an English rock band from Bristol, the mainstays of which have been Gerard Langley, brother John Langley, and dancer Wojtek Dmochowski. All three had previously been members of the new wave "art band" Art Objects from 1978 to 1981.
"Remember Me"/"I Am a Cider Drinker" was a split single released by British Sea Power and The Wurzels. The 7" single features The Wurzels covering BSP's "Remember Me" and BSP covering The Wurzels' 1976 hit "I Am a Cider Drinker". The release was limited to 1,966 and only available on BSP's November 2005 tour or through their official website.
Alan John "Adge" Cutler was an English singer best known as the frontman of the comic folk band the Wurzels. Cutler was known for his songs, but also his dry, West Country humour, and gained the unofficial title of "The Bard of Avonmouth".
"The Pushbike Song" is a song originally recorded by Australian band The Mixtures and released in 1970. The single was a chart success, reaching numbers one and two in the Australian and UK charts respectively. It has subsequently been covered by various artists.
"Brand New Key" is a pop song written and sung by American folk music singer Melanie. Initially a track of Melanie's album Gather Me, produced by Melanie's husband Peter Schekeryk, it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its chorus. It was her greatest success, scoring No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart during December 1971 and January 1972. Billboard ranked it as the No. 9 song of 1972. It also scored No. 1 in Canada and Australia and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
Flipron are an English psychedelic pop band from Glastonbury, England, consisting of singer and songwriter Jesse Budd, pianist/organist Joe Atkinson, drummer Mike Chitty and bassist Tom Granville. They were signed to Tiny Dog Records in 2003.Their music has been likened to Tom Waits, Syd Barrett and The Kinks.
"Paloma Blanca", often called "Una Paloma Blanca", is a song written by Dutch musician George Baker and first recorded and released by his band, George Baker Selection. The single—the title track of the group's fifth album—was released in 1975 with "Dreamboat" as its B-side. The song was a hit throughout Europe, reaching No. 1 in Austria, Finland, Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, and it also topped the charts of New Zealand and South Africa.
Tommy Banner is a British musician, known for being the longest serving member of The Wurzels.
Peter Budd is an English singer who has fronted the Scrumpy and Western band The Wurzels since 1974. He was the vocalist on the number-one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976.
The Dreadnoughts are a Canadian 6-piece folk punk band from Vancouver. The band combines a wide range of European folk music with modern street punk. The band has seven full-length albums and three EPs on various labels, and has played around 500 shows in around 30 countries. They also used to perform before 2020 as a traditional polka band at polka festivals, under the name "Polka Time!". Their performance peak was in 2010, when 180 shows were played.
Scrumpy & Western EP was the second record released by Adge Cutler and The Wurzels, containing the two tracks from their original 1966 hit single, "Drink Up Thy Zider" and "Twice Daily", with two further tracks "Pill, Pill" and "Hark At 'Ee Jacko". The band's first single had reached number 45 in the UK Singles Chart, despite the B-side, "Twice Daily" being banned by the BBC for being too raunchy. The subsequent Scrumpy & Western EP, released the following year, did not achieve a chart placing, however it gave its name to whole new genre of music: Scrumpy and Western. All the tracks were recorded live by Bob Barratt at The Royal Oak Inn, Nailsea, on 2 November 1966.
This is a summary of 1974 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
"The Combine Harvester" is a novelty song which was a number one hit for Brendan Grace in Ireland in 1975 and then also for The Wurzels in the UK in 1976. Written by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, the song is a parody of Melanie Safka's 1971 hit, "Brand New Key", with rustic lyrics replacing the original theme of roller-skating.
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