TONY
KINGSBURY RECOMMENDS
January
2008
I make no excuse for including the Bully Wee band in this column. It would be a funny old day if I didn't recommend them - Terry and I managed them and took them to national obscurity in a flash; we've been friends for the best part of 30 years; we sell their extant CDs from this site - because they are actually really rather good.
The band actually split up many years ago but for the last four or five years have been doing a short re-union tour adding bodies along the way. I saw them at the ever excellent Hitchin folk club. The picture above was from their 2007 performance at the club, the shirts were different this year but little else other than the added body - former BW, Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull member Martin Allcock sporting a fine acoustic bass guitar (I hesitate to mention his duo with other BW member Feargus Feeley called, by chance I'm sure, Allcock and Feeley!)
Anyway I digress. The line up was the aforementioned Allcock and Feeley, founder members Colin Reece and Jim Yardley, and Ian Cutler (currently often to be found in the company of the guvnor of the Strawbs Dave Cousins). The following night they were to be joined by Phil Beer from Show of Hands.
The most striking thing compared to my time working with the band was the apparent enthusiasm and enjoyment they were getting from playing, something not always there in the old days or at least it didn't always communicate itself. The material was some from the old days - Abba's Arrival for example, not sure why that works so well but it does - and even a new song. Was Feargus always such a good singer? I don't think so - maybe his time with the Dolores Keane Band helped there.
Sadly you've now missed the tour. Maybe some more dates in October 2008 but there is one in the summer at the Broadstairs Folk Festival. This maybe a re-union that lasts forever, just in case it doesn't look out for dates on either this site or the band's site:
July 07 August 07 September 07