Oysterband albums - a fan's view
With thanks to Simon Mathieson
Research and opinions all his own!
FREEDOM AND RAIN (1990) - with June Tabor
THE SHOUTING END OF LIFE (1995)
RAGGED KINGDOM (2011) - with June Tabor
STEP OUTSIDE
Produced by Clive Gregson
Cooking Vinyl 1986 (COOK CD 001)
1. HAL-AN-TOW
2. FLATLANDS
3. ANOTHER QUIET NIGHT IN ENGLAND
4. ASHES TO ASHES
5. MOLLY BOND
6. BULLY IN THE ALLEY
7. THE DAY THAT THE SHIP GOES DOWN
8. GAOL SONG
9. THE OLD DANCE
10. BOLD RILEY
11. LIBERTY HALL
Step Outside was released in 1986 on Cooking Vinyl and represented the first ‘official’ album by The Oyster Band. It was produced by Clive Gregson and features John, Alan, Ian, Ian Kearey and Russell Lax. It was recorded at Cold Storage in Brixton, London.
The tracks were a mixture of traditional and self penned with songs like Hal-an-Tow, Another Quiet Night in England and Molly Bond still in the set lists over 35 years later.
A reworking of Liberty Hall appears on the CD version of the album and this was from an earlier album of the same name, released in 1985. It has been described as a song that marked a turning point for the band in terms of writing their own lyrics but also for adding drums. John and Ian wrote Liberty Hall. Alan did a version of it in lockdown that is on You Tube and is well worth a listen.
It’s a wonderful album and saw the band take a big step forward and outside the more narrow confines of folk music. The opening track, a rocky Hal—an-Tow, made a lot of people sit up and take notice.
Around the time of the album release, the band were touring almost continuously across Europe and the world. This included British Council gigs in places like Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.
There are some tracks that don’t get played any more but for me (other than those mentioned above) Flatlands, Gaol Song and The Old Dance are still a great listen. It’s a great album and I like putting on my vinyl copy on a Sunday afternoon.
WIDE BLUE YONDER
Produced by Clive Gregson
Cooking Vinyl 1987 (COOK CD 006)
1. THE GENERALS ARE BORN AGAIN
2. THE EARLY DAYS OF A BETTER NATION
3. PIGSTY BILLY
4. OXFORD GIRL
5. THE ROSE OF ENGLAND Nick Lowe
6. HAL-AN-TOW
7. FLATLANDS
8. THE LOST AND FOUND
9. ANOTHER QUIET NIGHT IN ENGLAND
10. COAL CREEK MINE
11. BETWEEN THE WARS Billy Bragg
12. THE LAKES OF COOL FLYNN
13. FOLLOWING IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS
14. A CARELESS LIFE
1987 saw the follow up to Step Outside being released. Wide Blue Yonder featured the same line up as the debut album and was also released on Cooking Vinyl. It would be Ian Kearey’s last album with the band.
Clive Gregson was again the producer and the album features Christine Collister on vocals (The Oxford Girl) and Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian Pipes (The Lost and Found). Gregson also plays keyboard on the album.
It had an original release but an expanded CD version was added with extra tracks from Step Outside. It also had two different covers depending which version it was and where it was released.
There are three cover versions on the album and it was the first place to hear the recorded versions of now long time favourites The Oxford Girl, The Lost and Found and The Lakes of Cool Flynn.
There’s a strong war theme through the album with The Generals are Born Again opening the album, one of the covers being Billy Bragg’s Between the Wars and mention of war in A Careless Life.
A release of The Lost and Found was made on single and EP. The single had the B side A Change is Gonna Come from Cambridge Folk Festival in 1988. The EP had this Sam Cooke cover on it along with live versions, from the same festival, of Between the Wars (with The Generals are Born Again as an intro) and McLeod’s Reel. The front cover is a great live photo of the band.
1987 also saw the release of a collaboration with Leon Rosselson and Billy Bragg. The single was The Ballad of a Spycatcher and this was written by Rosselson. It was in response to the banning of Peter Wright’s ‘Spycatcher’ book and had lyrics that went close to the mark, as it was illegal to quote from the book.
A review I found from the web for Wide Blue Yonder states:
‘The Oyster Band's second album, 1987's WIDE BLUE YONDER already finds the British folk-rockers moving away from the more traditional sound of their full-length debut, STEP OUTSIDE. This is particularly notable in this expanded CD reissue, which includes several tracks from that first album, including the traditional "Hal-an-Tow" and the band's own "Another Quiet Night in England." On many of the tunes from the original vinyl version, there's a sharply political viewpoint, in both the originals and the well-chosen covers. The scathing "The Generals Are Born Again" is one of John Jones and Ian Telfer's most pointed attacks, and versions of Billy Bragg's Depression-era lament "Between the Wars" and Nick Lowe's uncharacteristically somber anti-Falklands War tale "The Rose of England" give the songs an even greater bite than the originals had possessed. The soaring "The Early Days of a Better Nation" is a highlight not only of this album, but of the Oyster Band's entire career.’
A really great album in my view with some favourites of mine like Early Days of a Better Nation.
RIDE
Produced by Dave Young
Cooking Vinyl 1989 (COOK CD 020)
1. NEW YORK GIRLS
2. GAMBLERS (WE DO NOT DO THAT ANY MORE)
3. POLISH PLAIN
4. TOO LATE NOW
5. TINCANS
6. HEAVEN TO CALCUTTA
7. THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR
8. MY DOG (KNOWS WHERE THE BONES ARE HID)
9. THE SINS OF A FAMILY P F Sloan
10. TAKE ME DOWN
11. CHEEKBONE CITY
12. LOVE VIGILANTES Gilbert / Hook / Morris / Sumner
Released in 1989 on Cooking Vinyl again, Ride was the first album with Chopper in the line up. It was the also the first not produced by Clive Gregson. Dave Young took on the production and the album was recorded at Crouch Hill in London.
It was the first album where the band was called ‘Oyster Band’ without ‘The’ as a prefix. They hadn’t yet merged the two words.
I’ve loved listening to it this week. It’s got power, drive and some great songs. There’s an element of folk dance still in the music, but with a ferocity that is infectious (the last two minutes of Cheekbone City for example). There’s great squeezebox and fiddle work over the driving drums, bass and guitar.
It features a notable cover version of New Order’s Love Vigilantes and, on the CD version, is a cover of P F Sloan’s 1965 song Sins of a Family. The CD version also has My Dog (Knows where the Bones are Hid). The album has only one traditional song which is New York Girls.
Love Vigilantes and New York Girls were singles from the album. The former had an EP release as well on pink vinyl with a live cover of I Fought the Law on it.
Interestingly there are no songs from Ride that feature in recent set lists but Love Vigilantes had featured for a while. Maybe the only album where that is the case?
Alan Prosser did a lockdown version of Gamblers. Polish Plain and Love Vigilantes did both make it onto the Trawler compilation album.
1989 saw the band do a first USA tour and also they had their, I believe, only performance at Glastonbury on the Acoustic Stage. There are some links to reviews of two US shows, with some comments from JJ, here:
Chicago Tribune
In the February of 1989 the band played the Festival of Political Songs in East Berlin alongside Billy Bragg and Michelle Shocked, amongst others. There was a lot of touring in the East of Europe at this time by the band, inspiring the track on the album Polish Plain. The Festival of Political Songs was founded by the group Oktoberklub and took place in East Berlin every February from 1970–1990 as an official event of the Free German Youth.
There’s a fascinating interview from Transmission with JJ and Ian that sees them talking about the new album, crossing over into rock, sexiness, danger and the challenges they embraced at this moment in the band’s life. It also features the New York Girls video shot in New York.
Video for Love Vigilantes made by an artist friend of the band:
LITTLE ROCK TO LEIPZIG
Produced by Oyster Band
Cooking Vinyl 1990 (COOK CD 032)
1. JAIL SONG TWO
2. THE OXFORD GIRL
3. [GONNA] DO WHAT I HAVE TO DO Phil Ochs
4. TOO LATE NOW
5. GALOPEDE Trad. arr. Jones / Kearey / Lax / Prosser / Telfer
6. RED BARN STOMP Trad. arr. Cooper / Jones / Lax / Prosser / Telfer
7. I FOUGHT THE LAW Sonny Curtis
8. COAL NOT DOLE
9. NEW YORK GIRLS
10. JOHNNY MICKEY BARRY'S / SALMON TAILS DOWN THE WATER Trad. arr. Cooper / Jones / Lax / Prosser / Telfer
In March 1990, the part live and part studio album Little Rock to Leipzig was released. It was the first of two albums released that year.
The album title recognised the wide range of places the band had played, with many others written on the front and back cover. Places included Agra, Calcutta and Wolverhampton. The rear cover featured some photos of the band on tour in Canada.
It was another Cooking Vinyl release and it asked to be filed under ‘Rock / Pop’. A sign of the band looking to break out of the folk tag they had been given.
The A side consists of studio recordings and produced by the Band or Dave Young. The B side are live recordings from Hackney Empire (New Year’s Eve 1989) and Westgate Hall, Canterbury (December 1989).
There’s a cover of the Phil Ochs song Gonna do what I have to do and Kay Sutcliffe’s beautiful lament Coal Not Dole. I think I’ve heard that it was the only song she wrote. There is also a cover of I Fought the Law, by Sonny Curtis.
On the album, it may be the only recorded version of JJ dance calling as he takes dancers through the Cornish Six Hand Reel and the band play two tunes. There are two other tunes on the record with Galopede and Red Barn Stomp - the latter being a band composition.
Later in the same year, the band played at Reading Festival with their profile having been raised with successful albums and years of heavy touring.
The album also contains Jail Song Two and a fantastic live version of it appears on the compilation album This House Will Stand.
FREEDOM AND RAIN
Produced by John Ravenhall
Cooking Vinyl 1990 (COOK CD 031)
1. MISSISSIPPI SUMMER Si Kahn
2. LULLABY OF LONDON Shane McGowan
3. NIGHT COMES IN Richard Thompson
4. VALENTINE'S DAY IS OVER Billy Bragg
5. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES Lou Reed
6. DIVES AND LAZARUS Trad. arr. Cooper / Jones / Lax / Prosser / Telfer
7. DARK EYED SAILOR Trad. arr. Cooper / Jones / Lax / Prosser / Telfer
8. PAIN OR PARADISE John Tams
9. SUSIE CLELLAND Trad. arr. Cooper / Jones / Lax / Prosser / Telfer
10. FINISTERRE Ian Telfer
IThe second release of 1990 for the band was Freedom and Rain. This was a collaboration with the singer June Tabor and has gone down as one of the great folk albums. It was released in September 1990 and produced by the band and John Ravenhall. It was recorded at The Yard in Southall, West London.
The album is a mixture of traditional songs and covers, plus the wonderful Ian Telfer composition Finisterre. Covers are from acts as varied as Si Kahn, Billy Bragg, Richard Thompson and The Velvet Underground.
It was the last album that featured Russell Lax on drums and he left the band shortly after, with Lee Partis joining for the gigs and tours in support of the album.
The band and June had known each other for a while, coming into contact across the UK folk scene and hitting it off. June had combined being a librarian and running a restaurant, with being a singer. An article from the Chicago Tribune in 1991 talks more about the collaboration:
There was a big US tour in 1991 to support the album and there are two additional recordings that relate to that. One is a tour sampler that has three tracks from Freedom and Rain, three from Little Rock to Leipzig and then two from a John Peel session on the BBC in December 1990 with the band and June. Those two tracks are All Along the Watchtower and White Rabbit. The front cover of this release has only four members of the band and June, without a drummer. Lee Partis, well known to Chopper, would join soon as a permanent member.
Also available, recorded from the sound desk, was a live recording (possibly unofficial) of the Minneapolis show in 1991 and featuring the band with and without June. The support act on the night were the Judybats and they feature on the final track Star of the County Down. There’s an online download available and some CD artwork with a photo of the band from much later.
June and the band played Tonder festival in 1990 and there are nine minutes of footage available on YouTube. This has on it Brown Eyed Son, by Kimberley Rew and recorded by Katrina and the Waves, which seems to have been played live often but never recorded. It’s also on a Cambridge Folk Festival recording from around the same time.
There’s also YouTube audio of the two tracks from the John Peel session on a Freedom and Rain Tour sampler:
There was talk of a follow-up album, even in 1990 / 91, but it would take another 21 years for it to arrive as Ragged Kingdom.
DESERTERS
Produced by John Ravenhall
Cooking Vinyl 1992 (COOK CD 041)
1. ALL THAT WAY FOR THIS
2. THE DESERTER
3. ANGELS OF THE RIVER
4. WE COULD LEAVE RIGHT NOW
5. ELENA'S SHOES
6. GRANITE YEARS
7. DIAMOND FOR A DIME
8. NEVER LEFT
9. SHIP SETS SAIL
10. FIDDLE OR A GUN
11. BELLS OF RHYMNEY I Davies / P Seeger
IAs the 90’s got under way in earnest, the band recorded and then released Deserters. It came out in March 1992 and was the first recording with Lee Partis on drums. The five piece that recorded this album would be the consistent line up until 2008.
The album was produced by John Ravenhall and recorded in London. Tomas Lynch (Pipes) and Rory McLeod (Harmonica) are both featured as guest musicians. Both are well known folk musicians in their own right, of course.
The band name was almost one word at this stage - although there’s maybe a small space between the two words still.
This was the album that first featured the Running Man logo, something that has featured ever since as a logo on T-shirts and the like, or as the band’s own record label name.
The album contained such classics as All That Way for This, Granite Years and The Deserter. The only track not written by the band was Bells of Rhymney. These four tracks continue to be highlights of any live show by the band and so does We Could Leave Right Now.
It also has some less well known but still excellent tracks. Elena’s Shoes, Diamond for a Dime and Ship Sets Sail are all excellent. The latter contains one of my favourite lyrics: ‘Nothing much you taught us turned out useful in the end. Maybe the world was bigger then and easier to mend.’
It was the first album I bought and I went to Our Price in Reading with my birthday present vouchers to get it. It’s a brilliant album that got me hooked.
Fiddle or a Gun was released as a single from the album and there was a promo cassette released as a 4 track sampler. There was also a promo single of All That Way for This.
Granite Years got a single release in Spain and Germany. The Spanish version was a new version featuring Celtas Cortos.
The German release was a remix of the original track by Pat Collier and featured three extra tracks: Star of the County Down, Curragh of Kildare and Hangman Cry. All three were later to be available on some other compilation recordings.
1992 saw the band play in places including Berlin, Vienna, the USA for their fourth tour there, Spain and the Festival d'été de Québec, Canada (with Michael Faubert on the bill).
1992 also saw the German release of a VHS video of the band. I think this is a live recording from Hannover in May 1992 and two tracks from it are on YouTube:
"Don’t be afraid"
HOLY BANDITS
Produced by Al Scott
Cooking Vinyl 1993 (COOK CD 058)
1. WHEN I'M UP I CAN'T GET DOWN
2. THE ROAD TO SANTIAGO
3. I LOOK FOR YOU
4. GONE WEST
5. WE SHALL COME HOME
6. CRY, CRY
7. HERE'S TO YOU
8. MOVING ON
9. RAMBLING IRISHMAN
10. A FIRE IS BURNING
11. BLOOD WEDDING
IIf Deserters had grabbed modest attention when it was released, Holy Bandits really made people sit up and listen. It has become, perhaps, the best known of the band’s releases and has featured high in ‘best album’ type polls over the years.
It has high energy from the start. When I’m up I Can’t Get Down kicks the album off and the power continues through the next three songs, culminating with the force of Gone West before We Shall Come Home changes the pace ever so slightly.
Moving On and the traditional Rambling Irishman are, perhaps, the gentlest moments with the latter featuring Jackie Sheridan on vocals. She had provided backing vocals for The Levellers around the time of their Levelling the Land release. Sarah Allen, from The Barely Works, BigJig and Flook, is the only other guest musician, playing the whistles on Road to Santiago.
A Fire is Burning and Blood Wedding bring the album to a mighty finish.
It was recorded and mixed at The Windings, Clwyd, Wrexham, Wales. A residential studio that James, Oasis, Mansun and The Charlatans all recorded at; a popular place in the 90’s with all kinds of bands.
Al Scott was the producer and this kicked off a collaboration with him that is still going strong. Al had produced John Peel sessions, worked at Monty Python’s studio, worked on the film ‘Meaning of Life’ and worked with many artists. He was also the producer of ‘Levelling the Land’.
Tim Porter was the engineer for the album and was becoming strongly attached to the band as he was their touring engineer over many years - and is still behind the desk now.
Ben Stone is credited with the illustrations for the artwork. He also created T-shirt designs and F-word (the pre-internet band newsletter) covers. He now has a highly regarded tattoo studio in Derby and one or two of the band have tattoos by him.
There were 2 different covers for the album depending on where it was released. The UK version showed JJ, Lee and Chopper playing out on the street, possibly in Spain, in front of a small crowd. The release in the US had the Celtic Dogs logo, that featured on many band T-shirts, around the Running Man logo. A third cover was created when the album got a vinyl release in 2017 to coincide with the 25th anniversary tour of the album. This was the band relaxed on a couple of sofas and had originally been printed in one of the F-word newsletters - possibly the one that came inside the Here I Stand album.
Cry, Cry and Gone West were both released as singles from the album. Cry, Cry had Blood Wedding, Bells of Rhymney and Hangman Cry as additional tracks on it. Gone West had the tracks After London, Star of the County Down and Curragh of Kildare on it.
There was a Spanish-only release in the same year when a compilation album called Celtic Junkies came out. There was a single also released in Spain and it was the track Love Vigilantes, the opening song on Celtic Junkies.
The band played Womad in Morecambe and Cambridge Folk Festival in 1993. The latter was featured on Anglian news and a clip appears on YouTube with a few words from JJ. There were tour dates in the UK, Spain and Germany in the autumn of the same year. The band played on New Year’s Eve at Hackney Empire to see in 1994.
The Canadian band, Great Big Sea, covered When I’m Up on their 1997 album called Play (an album well worth hearing). The song was released as a single in May 1997. It peaked at No. 13 on the Canadian RPM adult contemporary chart and at No. 6 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles. The other cover on that album was It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) by R.E.M.
A video of Here’s to You from the Hultsfredsfestivalen in Sweden in 1994 is also on YouTube and shows some of the energy then and brought to festival shows around this time.
The next album release in the UK was the ‘best of’ that was titled Trawler. This came out in 1994 and had two new tracks alongside many others from previous albums. These were 20th April and One Green Hill - both live favourites.
"You can put your trust in me…."
THE SHOUTING END OF LIFE
Produced by Pat Collier
Cooking Vinyl 1995 (COOK CD 091)
1. WE'LL BE THERE
2. BLOOD-RED ROSES
3. JAM TOMORROW
4. BY NORTHERN LIGHT
5. THE SHOUTING END OF LIFE
6. LONG DARK STREET
7. OUR LADY OF THE BOTTLES
8. EVERYWHERE I GO
9. PUT OUT THE LIGHTS
10. VOICES
11. DON'T SLIT YOUR WRISTS FOR ME
12. THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN Leon Rosselson
IThe Shouting End of life came roaring out in 1995 and was firmly at the rock end of folk-rock. It was produced by Pat Collier and recorded at Angelshare Studios in North Wales, apart from The World Turned Upside Down. This was, instead, recorded by Alaric Neville in London.
The album opens with the call to arms that is We’ll Be There, with the loud, almost punk, Jam Tomorrow, The Shouting End of Life and Leon Rosselson’s The World Turned Upside Down all keeping the album bouncing along.
Quieter moments come from Blood Red Roses, By Northern Light and Put Out the Lights. These three tracks became more acoustic over time, both on subsequent compilation albums or in live sets. It’s fascinating to hear how they started out here.
There are no traditional tracks on the album and just the one cover.
There were four guests on the album. Sarah Allen played whistles, Kathryn Tickell played Northumbrian pipes and there was trumpet from Christian Batchelor. Both Sarah and Kathryn had appeared on earlier albums as well. Chris was also known as ‘Expensive Mustapha’ as a regular additional member of the world music group 3 Mustaphas 3. Chopper had been a member of this group and went by the name of Oussack Mustapha. There was a 30 years of Froots magazine event in 2010 and 3 Mustaphas 3 played.
Linda Duggan shared lead vocals with JJ on Don’t Slit Your Wrists for Me. Linda had been a backing singer for bands as diverse as D:Ream, The Paul Weller Movement and Culture Club. She also performed under the alias Colein.
Kelvin Tonner was engineer on the album and he designed and built the Studios at Ewloe Castle, Flintshire. He upgraded the 350-year-old site over almost six months and it was complete during 1993/94. It wasn't long before major artists began using Angelshare to record and mix whole albums as well as EP's and Singles. Kelvin worked as either Engineer (sometimes Producer) on almost every session that came there during 94-96, including being engineer on this album. Artists include John Martyn, Reef, Mansun, and The Farm. Angelshare Studios was considered a very creative environment for many artists.
Long Dark Street got a single release in Europe with three rare tracks on the same CD single. These were Sticks and Stones, Hallelujah and the tune The Sailor’s Bonnet. The same three tracks were also on the single release of a radio edit, again in Europe, of Everywhere I Go in 1996. All three are worth a listen, with The Sailor’s Bonnet being on the compilation album This House Will Stand.
The Canadian release of the album, on True North Records, has an extra track. This was a cover of the Bruce Cockburn song Lovers in a Dangerous Time. The extra track was recorded and added to smooth the decision to release in Canada. There was also a Bulgarian cassette release. (Simon has uploaded Lovers in a Dangerous Time here on a private link).
The album and the attitude behind it was heavily influenced by the anti-road-building protests that were prevalent in the early and mid-90’s. It was also happening during the latter days of a long Conservative period in office, with the hope of New Labour in the background. The album photography, by Bleddyn Butcher and Alex McNaughton, features some of these - such as from the M11 link road. Notable protests also featured at Twyford Down in Hampshire and, slightly later, in Newbury where Swampy became a household name. All three of these roads got built, making the line ‘we’ve got to use this power while we can’ even more poignant (from the track Voices).
The album had a tour to support it. The UK had dates in October, November and December. Support came from Seven Little Sisters on most dates, Wolfstone in London and Wolverhampton and Rock, Salt and Nails in Cambridge. November also saw the band on a big tour of Germany with dates in Sweden and Denmark as well.
The band also featured at some of the free music festivals that sprung up in the mid 90’s, including the Heineken Music Big Top that toured a few cities around this time.
There was a TV appearance by the band on Absolut Live from Bremen, Germany. I believe this to be from 3rd April 1996. Bands such as Ash and The Stranglers were also guests on this programme over the years. This appearance is featured in four parts on YouTube and is a fantastic watch - helped by a lovely audience. It has more of the feel of a gig than a TV recording.
Part 1 - Shouting End of Life, World Turned Upside Down (Ian on Mandolin), One Green Hill, JJ and Chopper interview.
Part 2 - We’ll Be There, Put Out the Lights, 20th April.
Part 3 - Granite Years, Blood Wedding.
Part 4 - Another Quiet Night in England, The Star Of County Down (walk off stage as finale).
In 1996 there was a special release on the band’s own record label, Running Man Records. It was called Alive and Shouting and was announced as: ‘This special live recording is available only through The F-Word and at Oysterband shows; it's not for sale in shops. It is a strictly limited edition and is not obtainable after the end of 1996.’ It’s a very fine recording of two gigs in Scandinavia (Stockholm and Aarhus) at the end of 1995 and early 1996.
"Everywhere I go, I hear what’s going on….“
DEEP DARK OCEAN
Produced by Oysterband and Al Scott
Cooking Vinyl 1997 (COOK CD 128)
1. SAIL ON BY
2. LITTLE BROTHER
3. ONLY WHEN YOU CALL
4. NATIVE SON
5. NOT LIKE JORDAN
6. NORTH STAR Ray Cooper / Alan Prosser - Bug Music Ltd 1997
7. MILFORD HAVEN
8. THE STORY
9. BE MY LUCK
10. NO REASON TO CRY
11. DRUNKARD'S WALTZ Rev Hammer
IOysterband released their next album in 1997, leaving behind the rock driven political songs of the previous record. Deep Dark Ocean was introspective, more acoustic and far more personal than political.
The instrumental track North Star and a couple of other small musical motifs showed an exploration of different instruments and ideas on this record. This would be continued into the next album as well.
12 string guitar, mandolin, octave mandola and concertina all featured on the album. Al Scott added some of these as guest musician and he was joint producer of the album along with the band.
The album was recorded in Brighton and at The Windings in Wales (where Holy Bandits had been recorded). It was mixed at the Brighton home of The Levellers, The Metway.
It was the last album released on Cooking Vinyl, ten years after Step Outside had been the first. Cooking Vinyl was set up in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and distribution manager Pete Lawrence, who initially ran the business as a part-time venture out of a spare room in Goldschmidt's house in Stockwell, South London. One of the highlights of the 90s was the Cooking Vinyl Sampler releases that featured new acts and new tracks from across the label, often leading listeners to become lifelong fans of artists as a result of picking up one of these. Oysterband were, of course, a feature on some of these.
There were no traditional tracks on the album and one cover: a version of Rev Hammer’s Drunkard’s Waltz, from his Bishop of Buffalo album (also on Cooking Vinyl), was the last full track on the album.
The album also featured a song that JJ was requested to write about autism. This was Little Brother and follows the opening track Sail on By. This opener gives vivid images of young love by the sea, a wistful reminder of days gone by, as well as mention of the mysterious Cat McCluskey.
Native Son, Milford Haven and Be My Luck from this album all still make it to live sets.
After Drunkard’s Waltz there is a hidden track with a partial version of Native Son in Welsh. These days JJ tends to open a live version of this song with some of it in Welsh, before the song gets its full playing in English.
In 2012 the band posted a video of Not Like Jordan being played on a ferry to Salt Spring Island in BC, Canada, when on tour there.
Sail on By was released as a single in the UK with Be My Luck on the CD Single as well. Remixes (by Harry and Boff from Chumbawamba) of Jam Tomorrow and One Green Hill were also on this release. These two remixes had originally been issued on Running Man Records on limited edition green vinyl in 1996.
The band had been forging closer links with Chumbawamba around this time. A joint track featured on the B-side of several versions of the Tubthumping single and this track was Farewell to the Crown.
Both bands are known for their political views and songs. The release of Deep Dark Ocean came in the same year that Tony Blair became Prime Minister and New Labour ended 18 years of Conservative Government. The hope that May 1997 gave to many people wasn’t necessarily lived up to, and the band gave a nod to this in their album sleeve notes with the line: ‘yes we voted Labour but we didn’t inhale’.
The band played an early winter tour of Germany and Glastonbury Festival in 1997 and embarked on a tour to support the album. This was captured in the limited edition live album release of Alive and Acoustic in 1998. This, like Alive and Shouting, was only available from the band for a time-limited period. They both capture the magic and feeling of Oysterband gigs at this time.
There is a live video available of the band playing One Green Hill at the Fleadh in London in 1998. It was shown on VH1 and features some of the band with their new bleach blond hair:
They also played the Hurricane rock festival in Germany in 1998, with quite the line up alongside them.
Alan Prosser had released his solo album Hall Place in 1996. Chopper and Lee both play on the album. It’s a great listen and has songs by Alan and Ian (He Feels No Pain) and Alan, Ian and JJ (That Melancholy Way) amongst the traditional and Alan’s own tracks. There are also some fascinating sleeve notes. This was the first of several solo projects and collaborations with other artists that Alan has released so far.
‘It was all for love, the crazy things I've done.’
HERE I STAND
Produced by Alaric Neville and Oysterband
Running Man Records 1999 (RUNMAN CD 101 / OMM2023)
1. ON THE EDGE
2. THIS IS THE VOICE
3. IN YOUR EYES
4. STREET OF DREAMS
5. WAYS OF HOLDING ON
6. A TIME OF HER OWN
7. AFTER RAIN
8. I KNOW IT'S MINE
9. SOMEONE YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN
10. KANTELE Cooper / Prosser
11. SHE'S MOVED ON
12. AND AS FOR YOU
13. CELLO DROP Holst, arr. Cooper / Partis / Prosser
14. JUMP THROUGH THE FIRE
15. THIS TOWN
16. A LAST GLASS Cooper / Prosser / Telfer
Running Man Records had its first full release with Here I Stand on 3rd August 1999. As the 20th century drew to a close, the album came full of great songs, interesting tunes, new instruments and a whole host of guest musicians.
The album was all original songs with the only cover being an arrangement of a Gustav Holst piece that the band called Cello Drop.
The album was recorded in a number of places between May 1998 and February 1999, including ‘various front rooms, back rooms, hotel rooms, sheds, dog houses etc.’ Alaric Neville (live sound engineer at the time) and the band are credited as the producers. Alaric is a very experienced sound engineer, producer and manager who worked with the band (and had been in a band himself). He also worked with Chumbawamba. He currently heads up Phipps NBC.
The guest musicians on the album were:
Alaric Neville, as well as co-producing, played electric guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, percussion, melodeon, and vocals across the album.
Chumbawamba, frequent collaborators, provided vocals, trumpet and shouting on This is the Voice.
Great Big Sea, wonderful Newfoundland band who had covered When I’m Up and played as support on a German tour, provided vocals on After Rain and This Town, bodhrán on Cello Drop and whistle on This Town.
Rowan Gödel made her first appearance with the band, having been heard singing in Brighton, but by no means the last. Much loved and missed. She sang vocals on Street of Dreams.
Steáfán Hannigan, renowned pipes and whistle player, was on the whistle on This Town.
Yulia Kuszta, a Ukrainian singer based in Manchester, did the vocals on Ways of Holding On.
Gino Lupari, from the Irish band Four Men and a Dog, was on bodhrán on In Your Eyes.
Wild Slim Mustapha played bouzouki on In Your Eyes and boogaliser on This Town.
On the Edge and Street of Dreams were released as singles in Germany. This is the Voice was released as a UK single with the rare tracks False Knight on the Road and Funny Time of Life as B-sides. The latter song being written by Chopper and the first sign, perhaps, of his later solo work.
A limited edition single of Ways of Holding On (Waiting for the Sun) was released with Emma Härdelin, from the bands Garmarna and Triakel, for a Swedish tour with Garmarna in spring of 2000. It was also a great addition on the compilation album This House Will Stand.
An early version of the album came complete with an edition of the band’s newsletter, the F-word, contained within it. This featured some fascinating writing by the band members with a background to the album from Ben Stone (F-word editor), a guide to the songs from JJ, an introduction to the guest musicians from Chopper, thoughts on recording technology from Alan, an interview with Lee, and a study of the Celtic music phenomenon by Ian.
In that piece by Ian he writes about Oysterband as: ‘awkward, unclassifiable, not exactly a pop band, not exactly a folk band, not exactly a dance band, not exactly Celtic, not exactly English, not exactly tasteful;’ and goes on to say ‘But still kicking, still meaning it, still changing, still here.’ As true now as it was then.
The F-Word had a photo of the band on the middle pages and that was the shot that would be the cover of the Holy Bandits vinyl release.
The drawings of the band in the album artwork by Geoff Read are a great feature and complement the music well.
The band were again at Cambridge Folk Festival in 1999 and were captured performing This is the Voice, followed by an interview with Billy Bragg. In it, JJ talks about folk as the ‘new underground’ after punk and we get to see Ian’s calf tattoo…
Also available on You Tube is a 2009 version of On The Edge from the Annual Roots and Blues Festival in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. It’s apparently an awesome festival and this version has a rare lead vocals moment by Ian.
One of my favourite parts of the album is the following verse from In My Time, which I have always thought was a little bit of self reflection by the band (but I could be wrong):
“we followed an unlikely star
never thought we'd get this far
now we don't know where we are
but hey we're hanging on”
Before the next new album, Cooking Vinyl put out the Granite Years compilation in 2000. This covered the period of the band’s albums on that label, 1986-1997, and was a great collection of tracks from that period.
‘Leave me here on the street of dreams.’
RISE ABOVE
Produced by Al Scott
Running Man 2002 (OMM2032)
1. THE SOUL'S ELECTRIC
2. UNCOMMERCIAL SONG
3. IF YOU CAN'T BE GOOD
4. EVERYBODY'S LEAVING HOME
5. MY MOUTH
6. SHOUTING ABOUT JERUSALEM
7. BLACKWATERSIDE
8. RISE ABOVE
9. WAYFARING
10. BRIGHT MORNING STAR
2002 saw the release of Rise Above and its striking barcode image. Described by the band as ‘a ruthlessly concise 10-track album with no verbal or musical self-indulgence’, it’s folk-rock at its finest - in just over 38 minutes (some 20 minutes shorter than Here I Stand). The more acoustic tinge of the previous two albums had gone and there was the notable addition of uilleann pipes.
The album was released by Westpark Music, under licence from Running Man. Westpark Music is a German label based in Cologne. It is known for concentrating on folk, folk-rock and singer-songwriter styles. Rise Above was produced by Al Scott.
There were two traditional tracks on the album in Blackwaterside and Bright Morning Star. Both have featured in live sets and are always well received. The other tracks are all original and Lee gets more of a writing/arranging credit than on previous albums.
The album artwork specifically called out the line from The Soul’s Electric by putting it on the back of the inlay booklet. The line being ‘is your love worth fighting for?’
James O’Grady is the pipes player on the album and toured with the band around this period. James has played music from the age of 8 and learned the Uilleann Pipes from Tommy Keane, at the London Irish Centre. He took part and won many All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil competitions in his youth. He has performed extensively and with acts including Sin-e and Cara Dillon.
Benji Kirkpatrick adds bouzouki and guitar on the record. Benji is a well-known singer and musician, who also also plays mandolin and tenor banjo. He has been a member of Bellowhead and performed with Seth Lakeman, Steeleye Span and on JJ’s solo work and as part of his trio band. He also has his own solo work.
The growing bond with Rowan Godel saw her feature on vocals on the album. JJ said about her: “simply one of the best singers I have ever worked with.”
Matt Savage, from The Levellers, plays keyboards and Nuala Friedman plays accordion.
Rise Above and The Soul’s Electric were both released as singles in Spain in 2003, although the concept of the ‘single’ was falling away in general at this time and these would be some of the last issued.
The band played Fairport Convention’s Cropredy Festival in 2002, in the rain, and various tracks were captured from the audience and are on YouTube. This one, Everybody’s Leaving Home is from Rise Above.
A popular track from the album is Uncommercial Song (‘we’ve had a few of those’ JJ often jokes) and a version of this is available from Folk im Schlosshof in Bonfeld, Germany in June 2010.
This was a busy and creative period for the band as they reached their 25th (who’s counting?) anniversary. The 25 EP was released in 2003, with 7 great tracks on it including a cover of old live favourite Road to Nowhere, to coincide with the 25th anniversary show at the Forum in London. This epic celebration was then released on DVD in 2005. From that show and from Rise Above, here is a brilliant version of If You Can’t Be Good Be Lucky.
The DVD also had some great interviews with fans outside the venue and some behind the scenes footage with the band and crew. It’s available on YouTube in full.
In the behind-the-scenes footage there’s a short song by Alan which mentions the band only missing two shows in 25 years and some interesting comments from JJ about them being a really ambitious band. Ian is on camera describing what he thinks is the Oysterband secret: ‘we never quite agree and we never quite terminally fall out’.
In 2003 the band were honoured by receiving the "Good Tradition" award at the BBC Folk Awards, and in 2005 were voted "Best Group".
The 25th anniversary must have prompted some reflection and a compilation of 16 tracks from the very early albums was released in 2004. This was called Before the Flood and had a limited release through the band online or at gigs. The original versions of Liberty Hall and The Lakes Of Cool Flynn were on it as well as other regarded tracks such as Think of England. Alongside this release was also a second limited CD release of the 1984 album 20 Golden Tie Slackeners, plus two added tracks.
The band also released another album in 2004. This was Big Session Vol 1 and followed the hugely successful Big Session tours in 2001 and 2003. These featured established and upcoming artists including Blair Dunlop, Rose Kemp, James O’Grady, Cara Dillon, The Handsome Family, Eliza Carthy, Ben Ivitsky, Jim Moray and Show of Hands. June Tabor was also part of the Big Session, once again adding her incredible singing. A review of the London show in 2003 is available from Folk World.
This all led to the first Big Session festival 2005. This was held in and around Leicester's De Montfort Hall until 2010. For 2011 it took over a stage at the Levellers Beautiful Days festival in Devon on the Saturday, while in 2012 it moved to Catton Hall near Walton Upon-Trent. After the 2012 festival it went on hiatus until 2014 when it was held at Buxton Opera House. These festivals are very fondly remembered and always had incredible, eclectic line ups, as well as varied sets from the band themselves.
Rise Above has tracks that still form part of live sets, such as Uncommercial Song, and also showcased the ability of the band to put together beautiful harmonies, as they did on Bright Morning Star. This track is also very well thought of and is always well received when sung live. The version at the end of the 25th anniversary show with everyone, the band and guests, singing it together, is one of the great Oysterband moments.
‘you’d think a smile could last forever’ “
MEET YOU THERE
Westpark Music 2007 (Westpark Music 87141)
1. OVER THE WATER
2. HERE COMES THE FLOOD
3. WHERE THE WORLD DIVIDES
4. WALKING DOWN THE ROAD WITH YOU
5. BURY ME STANDING
6. EVERYTHING MUST GO
7. CONTROL
8. THE BOY'S STILL RUNNING
9. SOMEONE SOMEWHERE
10. JUST ONE LIFE
11. DANCING AS FAST AS I CAN
In the year that the iPhone was launched, Oysterband gave the world something better with Meet You There. It was released, five years after Rise Above, to widespread critical acclaim in April 2007 and was produced, once again, by Al Scott. Al was also credited as playing on the album as a member of the band.
It was recorded in Titley Village Hall (Herefordshire), The Premises in London, The Metway in Brighton and the Love Shack in Sweden. It was released on Westpark Music.
This was the last album with Lee on drums and he left to pursue his passion of counselling in prisons - but still manages to make some special appearances with the band. Dil Davies joined on drums to replace him and was touring with the band in 2008.
Guest musicians on the record were Genevieve Applebee on vocals and Kirsty Martin with vocals and the choral arrangement for Dancing As Fast I Can. This last, wonderful track, was sung with the Hullabaloo Community Quire and The Marine Parade Marching Band joined in on snare drum.
Judith Burrows took the photos that make a stunning album artwork. These were shot around the evocative Dungeness on the Kent marshes. There’s more on Judith’s excellent work to be found hereand here.
Vocally, lyrically and musically this is one of the most complete albums. The years preceding it had been busy for the band with the Big Session, 25th anniversary and various tours. This must have added to the creative flow in the band, with time to craft something special, and this was something recognised at the time.
“Meet You There is the most consistent thing we've done as a grown-up band”, Ian Telfer said. "It has what I like to think of as Oyster trademarks - a folk ear for a great vocal tune, strong lyrics, wry politics, and a sort of deep-down musicality that can afford to take itself fairly lightly. It's essentially acoustic, essentially folk-based I suppose. But we try to put it over with big dynamics and a sense of musical theatre."
There are the well-known tracks Here Comes the Flood, Where the World Divides and Walking Down the Road with You but the album is full of great songs.
Control is a blistering romp through the state of the world and asking the eternally valid question ‘Why should you have control of everything?’
Just One Life has lines revisited from the opening of A Careless Life, which was on Wide Blue Yonder.
Dancing As Fast As I Can ends the record in soaring style with the choir lifting it like no Oysterband track before it. It was a song that the band had the lyrics for but couldn’t quite make it work for a while but it triumphed on this album.
A review of the album from The Guardian called them an ‘exceptional band’.
There were two singles from the album in Germany with Here Comes the Flood and Everything Must Go both released in 2007.
There was an acoustic ‘Voices’ tour in early 2007 and then a bigger tour to promote the album in the UK and Europe. Some details about this can be read here.
The band played Cambridge Folk Festival and Towersey Festival in 2007. There was also a Big Session Festival and someone captured some of each song from the band’s headlining set here.
From the Salmon Arms Roots and Blues festival in 2009 is this version of Here Comes The Flood, with JJ and Chopper coming down off the stage as became customary when this was played live.
To mark the band’s 30th anniversary, the Oxford Girl and Other Stories was released in 2008. This was an acoustic reworking of 14 songs from across the years, plus some new tracks such as What Wondrous Love Is This. It also gave a new, surprising version of When I’m Up I Can’t Get Down which was filmed at The Barley Mow in Brighton.
A snapshot of the gigs in 2008 can be found in this review.
Before Meet You There was released, there had been the CD Northern Light in 2006. This was an acoustic show recorded live at Skraaen, Aalborg, on 5 & 6 September 1998 and was available by mail-order, from the website and at gigs. It replaced the earlier Alive And Acoustic.
"You can trust in the power of music"
RAGGED KINGDOM
Produced by Al Scott
Topic Records 2011 (TSCD 585)
1. BONNY BUNCH OF ROSES
2. THAT WAS MY VEIL John Parish / Polly Jean Harvey
3. SON DAVID
4. LOVE WILL TEAR US APART Curtis / Hook / Morris / Sumner
5. (WHEN I WAS NO BUT) SWEET SIXTEEN
6. JUDAS (WAS A RED HEADED MAN)
7. IF MY LOVE LOVES ME
8. THE HILLS OF SHILOH Shel Silverstein / Jim Friedman
9. FOUNTAINS FLOWING
10. THE LEAVES OF LIFE
11. SEVEN CURSES Bob Dylan
12. THE DARK END OF THE STREET Chips Moman / Dan Penn
21 years after they released Freedom and Rain, the band picked up their collaboration with June Tabor and released Ragged Kingdom on 19th September 2011 on Topic Records. It contained 7 traditional songs and 5 covers by artists as diverse as Joy Division, PJ Harvey and Bob Dylan.
This was the last recording with Chopper as part of the band and the first with Dil Davies on drums.
Chopper said at the time: ”I would like to announce that I am leaving Oysterband to pursue a career as a solo singer songwriter. After many years of constant touring and recording, it is not easy to leave the friends, the fans and the life I have known. We have shared a lot of ups and downs and have grown together to be more like a family than a band. However, since the release of my solo album 'Tales of Love War and Death by Hanging' a couple of years ago, I knew that a door had been opened for me and another, more challenging path lay waiting. I have to sing. The experience of being a part of Oysterband has been a wonderful one, as has been the warmth and energy of the fans we have played to along the way. This has been by far the best group I have ever played with and probably will remain so. Oysterband have plenty of albums to make and tours to play yet, I wish them well and thank them for being who they are.’
His last show with the band was on 23rd February 2013 in Treorchy, Wales, which was also the last date of the highly successful Ragged Kingdom tour.
Alan wrote on Facebook at the time: ‘It's going to be quite poignant in a way, dear reader ... that these coming gigs with June will also be the last chance to see Chopper in action with the band. I've known and played with him for over twenty years, I don't remember exactly how many … maybe some of you do ? … Anyway, I remember the excitement in Longport when he came to audition and he turned up in a black leather jacket and red scarf, looking like something out of Clockwork Orange, and he was toting a cello! He was the first musician to join us from outside of our tight knit community; the small pond that was Whitstable Folk Club, and he came from darkest London, for heaven's sake … a romantic figure …! All these years later and he's decided to go solo and play more in Europe, specifically Scandinavia and Germany (well … for a start …). I think that the taste of independence when he'd finished his first, and very fine, solo CD, allowed him a view beyond Oysterband into a wider sea of possibilities. Who can blame him for wanting to go? Not I! Not any of us! And though it's going to mean some hard work for JJ, Ian, Dil and me, we all wish him the best of luck in his new adventure. Making "Ragged Kingdom" wasn't all plain sailing. So much selection - over a hundred songs were considered, many suggested by friends and acquaintances … you maybe … So many arrangements - I know Chopper and myself sent blizzards of instrumental and backing vocal ideas to a long suffering Al Scott during the later stages of construction. And not a little personality clashing (my lips are almost sealed) with occasional walk outs and huffs … so … although the resulting album was "glorious" (not my word) it was like the view from a mountain top after an arduous climb. We're not wanting to climb another peak yet. Maybe just the odd foothill … and having made it to the top of the hill, we're not in a hurry to come down … But man must eat. And so the cycle continues. So, regardless of what the future may hold for Oysterband, we're set to really enjoy these last few gigs with Chop and June … 'twould be nice if you could join us, dear reader … after all, the sands of time flow ever faster and when it's gone, it's gone.’
Dil started playing in 1982 at school, and was in a band before he had a drum kit. An internet site reveals that he has been playing ever since with a very wide range of artists and has many albums, TV appearances and international tours under his belt. His extremely varied CV includes: PJ Proby, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Dogs D'Amour, Pete Brown (Cream songwriter), Sharkboy, McDermotts Two Hours (with The Levellers), Kevin Morris (Dr Feelgood), The Mike Ross Band, and Jo Harman. In 2010 he co-founded Porter & Davies Ltd with Oysterband friend and tech supremo Tim Porter and they continue to run the business, making patented tactile monitoring systems, successfully today.
Back to the album and it was warmly received with Robin Denselow of The Guardian giving it a 5 star review. The album went on to top the fRoots magazine year end poll as best album of 2011.
The packaging for the album was beautiful and contained some notes that sum up the approach to the tracks on it:
We have long been fascinated the by mystery, magic and mayhem in traditional song. But the impulse to tell strange stories never goes away: we are indebted to the creators and carriers of all these songs.
Asked about the collaboration with June and how it works, Ian explained in an interview: “‘The spark is we really feel we do something together which is different from what we do as separate acts. There is something in the combination of June’s exquisite dark voice with the supple energy of Oysterband that greatly pleases us. June comes to recording fantastically well prepared: every nuance of meaning and feeling considered in advance and plotted in her mind. Then she stands in the studio and delivers one perfect take, like an act of Chinese calligraphy. Or maybe Chinese cooking: the work is all in the preparation. We deliberately left some of the tracks just a little raw: the current zeitgeist definitely favours sounding ‘real’, and that’s just fine by us.’
Ragged Kingdom was recorded first at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth and then at Metway Studios, Brighton, with Oysters’ regular producer Al Scott, February to April 2011. The packaging concept and photography was by Judith Burrows who had worked on Meet You There with the band.
“What unites the material on Ragged Kingdom”, Telfer continues, “is finding the story in the song, and the exact drama in the story: pop songs are often story songs too, and we tried to find things where the story wasn’t banal, which had some shading in them. Love Will Tear Us Apart is a great lyric, and so is The Dark End Of The Street.”
A promotional video was released with JJ and June talking about the album. In it JJ talks about the influence of Velvet Underground and Joy Division.
Ragged Kingdom gained the band three more BBC Folk Awards (Best Album, Best Group and Best Trad Track, plus Folk Singer of the Year for June). It also led to the band with June being featured on BBC TV's Later with Jools Holland.
Alongside the photography for the album, Judith Burrows also filmed a couple of tracks at the Union Chapel. ‘(When I Was No But) Sweet Sixteen’ was one of those.
As the tour headed to its end in 2013, there was a date at Buxton Opera House on 22nd February where White Rabbit was played and June does a lovely introduction. This was Chopper’s penultimate gig.
Alaric Neville’s brewery produced some very fine Ragged Kingdom Ale to complement the album. This was first brewed in the 1860s and was recreated by Phipps for the Big Session festival in 2012.
There was to be, so far at least, one more tour with June and this was the Fire and Fleet tour in 2019. A CD was produced for this as a tour memento with some new tracks, such as the traditional False True Love, and some live versions including Molly Bond and White Rabbit.
Before Ragged Kingdom both JJ and Chopper released solo albums in 2009 and 2010 respectively. JJ’s was Rising Road and featured a number of guests playing with him including Rowan Godel, Benji Kirkpatrick, Seth Lakeman, Dil Davies, Alan Prosser, Al Scott and former Oyster Band member Ian Kearey. Chopper’s was the aforementioned Tales of Love, War and Death by Hanging.
]Alan Prosser had also released two more albums in the previous years with Makerfield coming out in 2003 and his collaboration with Lucy Randall and Brendan Power coming out in 2006. This latter album, entitled Nomads - Cellar Sessions, featured a version of Walking Down the Road With You.
"Love, love will tear us apart again"
DIAMONDS ON THE WATER
Produced by Al Scott
Navigator Records 2014 (Navigator087)
1. A CLOWN'S HEART
2. A RIVER RUNS
3. SPIRIT OF DUST
4. LAY YOUR DREAMS DOWN GENTLY
5. DIAMONDS ON THE WATER
6. THE WILDERNESS
7. PALACE OF MEMORY
8. ONCE I HAD A SWEETHEART
9. NO ORDINARY GIRL
10. CALL YOU FRIEND
11. STEAL AWAY
12. LIKE A SWIMMER IN THE OCEAN
After Ragged Kingdom the band released Diamonds On The Water in February 2014. This release was on Navigator Records, a label that was formed in 2008 as part of Proper Music. The recording was again made at Metway Studios in Brighton and Al Scott was the producer.
Rowan Godel added her stunning vocals. Lindsey Oliver, part of JJ’s Ramblers, played double bass. There was a horn section with Eira Owen on french horn, Sarah Leeves on euphonium and it was arranged by Peter Davison, who also played trumpet. Lee made a return to an Oysterband record, adding vocals.
The album has one traditional track on it which is the beautiful ‘I Once Had a Sweetheart’. This was a song Alan was keen to record. He apparently heard it performed so badly one night he went straight home and rearranged it!
The record also features the wonderful songs ‘A Clown’s Heart’, ‘A River Runs’ and ‘The Wilderness’. All three of these featuring references to the band themselves.
This was the first new collection of original songs in seven years. "It was time", said Ian at the time, "to get back to some of the other things we do best - make new music and get out there on the road."
JJ said, “After Ragged Kingdom, which was a kind of re-immersion in traditional songs it seemed so important to us to get back to working on our song-writing skills in the light of that. We’ve loved every bit of the collaborative projects – which include the Big Session Festival too, of course – but writing is a vital part of our growth and continuity as a band. And if we can give a little back to the folk tradition, so much the better”.
The album received a great review from Folk Radio UK.
There’s a film of a studio session for the title track here.
The Black Sheep, Bearded Theory, Cambridge and Wickham festivals were all played in 2014. It was the year of the Tonder festival 40th anniversary and it saw the band on the line up, with Alan Doyle from Great Big Sea joining them on ‘When I’m Up I Can’t Get Down’ followed by JJ and Ian joining his band on ‘Native Son’.
‘Like a Swimmer in the Ocean’ ends the album and has been used as the final song of the night at live shows, often with the band filing off stage and leaving the songs with the audience. A brilliant version of this was captured by folkingdotcom at the Southdowns Folk Festival in 2014.
A few songs from that Tonder Festival in 2014 feature here.
The band played an acoustic set for the Mark Radcliffe Folk programme on BBC Radio 2 and this was also available as four songs to download. Pictures from that recording are here.
A new compilation album was released in 2016 and was titled This House Will Stand. This was the ‘best of’ from 1998 to 2015 and features some of the best songs, some unreleased demos and alternative versions, along with some unreleased tracks.
The band released the politically charged ‘My Country Too’ in 2017 and this is best described in this Band on the Wall article.
Topic Records celebrated 80 years in 2019 and the band were invited to add a track to a celebratory album that was released. This was the traditional track ‘Seven Gypsies’.
JJ released his second solo album in 2015. "Never Stop Moving", said JJ at the time, "is the album I have been making alongside Diamonds on the Water over the past three years, inspired in no small part by my walking tours across the length and breadth of the country. Hopefully it reveals my fascination for the hidden villages and voices of this beautiful, curious and contradictory country and the haunting stories that exist beneath the surface. Inevitably my own story, having been diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of last year, became intertwined with it and following a really creative period, what I always thought of as my English folk, country album of big songs from small stories has become an expression of my own revival and celebration of being alive. I wanted there to be a mood of gentle uplift on the album, even in the darker stories and, when the song 'Never Stop Moving' arrived late, it seemed to capture my own feeling of being a survivor and became the title.’
There’ll be diamonds on the water, music in the air’
READ THE SKY
Produced by Al Scott
Running Man Records 2022
1. BORN UNDER THE SAME SUN
2. THE CORNER OF THE ROOM
3. ROLL AWAY - Knowles
4. WONDERS ARE PASSING
5. FLY OR FALL
6. MY SON
7. HUNGRY FOR THAT WATER
8. STAR OF THE SEA
9. STREAMS OF INNOCENCE
10. THE TIME IS NOW
The album was released on 4th March 2022, eight years after the previous new studio record. Those eight years contained, of course, a period of strange times, with the pandemic leading to lockdowns and other ways that we all had to adjust our lives to. There were only a couple of gigs in this period, including singing along in face masks (when allowed), and then the band made a video announcing some post- Covid news.
This album was their 14th studio release, including both collaborations with June Tabor. It was released on Running Man Records and was produced, apart from one track, by Al Scott. ‘Hungry for that Water’ was produced by Alan Prosser. Alan also provides some rare lead vocals on that song. It was recorded in the familiar surroundings, for the band, of Rockfield Studios and The Metway.
The title captures the feel of the album well and the artwork is stunning. ‘Read the Sky’ is also part of the lyric from ‘After Rain’ on the Here I Stand album. That line being: ‘and all my life I’ll read the sky’.
The front cover was based on a photo by Zoltan Tasi, a Kent based photographer and graphic designer. More of his work can be found here.
The line up on the album included, of course, JJ, Ian, Alan, Al Scott and Adrian Oxaal, but the position of drummer for the band had changed between Diamonds on the Water and this record.
Pete Flood, formerly of Bellowhead, became drummer from 2016 to 2021. He picked up the sticks for a tour in Canada when Dil Davies was unavailable, with Dil still doing the summer festivals in 2016. Pete is credited as playing percussion on ‘Wonders are Passing’ on this album but also added many great moments to live shows during his time. His playing on ‘A Fire is Burning’ was always fantastic.
The band undertook a 40th anniversary tour in 2017, playing Holy Bandits in full in one half of the evening, with ‘A Fire is Burning’ being a real highlight. These dates were a celebration of the band and all that had been played, sung, danced and drunk over those years. Lee returned on some gigs for this tour, including Union Chapel in London.
When Pete decided to focus on his other love of ecology, Sean Randle joined the band and is drummer on all the other tracks on Read The Sky. Sean has a degree in Fine Arts but has made music a passion of his over the years. ‘I have been a music educator for over 25 years in schools, workshops and from my home studio. My work as a professional musician has taken me around the world and into many studios as a session musician. Whilst living in Northern Ireland, I set up and ran a music school, ran a choir and composition workshops for young people.’
Adrian Oxaal continued to provide the distinctive cello parts that have become part of the Oysters' sound. He had been playing with the band since 2012, adding guitar on some tracks as well. Adrian is best known as being lead guitarist with James, over two stints, but has also featured for Sharkboy and other acts. He also teaches music in the Brighton area where he is based.
Read The Sky is a fine album, heralded as one of the band’s best by reviewers, with some real highlights including ‘Corner of the Room’, ‘The Time is Now’ and ‘Wonders are Passing’. These last two looking at the environmental impacts of climate change, strong political statements for these times.
‘My Son’ is an intriguing lyric, with the song written by JJ and Al Scott, and could well be a sequel to ‘Fiddle or a Gun’ from Deserters.
The band released a video of ‘Corner of the Room’ with some live footage.
The only cover on the album is ‘Roll Away’ and was captured here at Wickham Festival in 2022. ‘Roll Away’ was written by Davey Knowles and one of his versions of the song is with Back Door Slam.
One of the album highlights for me is the Jones/Prosser track ‘Fly or Fall’. It has echoes of ‘Palace of Memories’ from Diamonds on the Water. The live version, captured here in Canterbury in 2022, is slightly different to the album version.
At the end of the summer of 2021, the band had to postpone their planned Autumn tour to the spring of 2022 due to JJ having inflamed tissue around his vocal cords, possibly caused by singing live again after the enforced break of the pandemic. Work with a voice specialist was successful and JJ was back to full, fine voice for the revised dates.
A live review from At The Barrier captures the 2022 gigs well - this one being from Manchester in May 2022.
On that tour and as mentioned in the review above, Alan did a solo song which was ‘Wide River to Cross’ by Buddy and Julie Miller. It was well received each night. Buddy Miller’s version is here.
There was another Oysters 3 tour in the spring of 2023 and plenty of band gigs to support the latest album in the UK, Denmark, Germany and Spain.
There’s a whisper of tomorrow in the roaring of today
