Brass Monkey are an English
folk band from the 1980s, who reunited in the late 1990s. They were innovative in their use of a
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
section which was atypical for English folk music.
The band originally consisted of
Martin Carthy
Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...
(vocals, guitar,
mandolin),
John Kirkpatrick (vocals,
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
,
concertina),
Howard Evans (trumpet), Roger Williams (
trombone), Martin Brinsford (harmonica, percussion, saxophone).
Carthy was a well established musician at their formation, having been a member of
Steeleye Span and
The Watersons, as well as leading a successful solo career. Kirkpatrick had also played with Steeleye Span for a time, and worked with Carthy in the
Albion Country Band. The two formed an occasional trio with Evans after all three appeared on Carthy's albums ''
Because It's There'' (1979) and ''
Out of the Cut'' (1982). Brass Monkey was formed with the addition of Williams and Brinsford after initially being billed as The Martin Carthy Band.
In 1984, after recording their first album, Williams was replaced by Richard Cheetham (born 29 January 1957, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire).
The band recorded the two albums ''Brass Monkey'' (1983) and ''See How it Runs'' (1986).
Both primarily consisted of traditional songs and tunes and were later re-issued on a single CD under the title ''The Complete Brass Monkey'' (1993). They also guested on
Loudon Wainwright III's 1986 album ''
More Love Songs''.
Unable to reconcile the schedules of its various members, the band reluctantly broke up in 1987.
In 1997, the group reunited for a tour, and soon recorded a third album, ''Sound and Rumour''. This was followed by ''Going and Staying'' in 2001 on which both Williams and Cheetham appeared and ''Flame of Fire'' in 2004, which reverted to the original line-up.
Despite Evans' death,
in 2006 the band decided to continue, initially with a four-piece line-up who debuted with a short set at a
Watersons family show at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
on 12 May 2007 before a short UK tour later in the same year and sporadic live shows during 2008. Later in 2008, the band recruited Paul Archibald as their new trumpet player and debuted their new lineup at the Electric Theatre in Guildford on 15 March 2009. This line-up released a new CD ''Head of Steam'' on 20 April 2009.
Discography
All released on
Topic Records unless otherwise noted.
* ''Brass Monkey'' (1983)
* ''See How It Runs'' (1986)
* ''The Complete Brass Monkey'' (1993) (compilation of the first two albums)
* ''Sound and Rumour'' (1999)
* ''Going and Staying'' (2001)
* ''Flame of Fire'' (2004)
* ''The Definitive Collection'' (2005, Highpoint) (compilation)
* ''Head of Steam'' (2009)
* ''Brass Monkey The Best of Live – 30th Anniversary Celebration'' (2013, Park)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brass Monkey
English folk musical groups
Topic Records artists