The Bad Shepherds were an English

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

band, formed by the comedian Adrian Edmondson in 2008. They played

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...

songs with traditional folk instruments. The band primarily consisted of Edmondson (vocals,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

s, mandola) and Troy Donockley ( uilleann pipes, cittern, whistles, vocals).

History

After "accidentally" buying a mandolin, Edmondson taught himself to play a few chords and he began to play a few punk songs on it. After playing for two days with Donockley, a virtuoso uilleann pipes player and multi-instrumentalist, they had arranged eight songs. After some initial experimentation, they enlisted Dinan, winner of the All-Ireland Fiddle Championship, and the band was formed. Essentially a folk band, the band's repertoire is taken from punk and new wave hits from 1978 to 1985. They re-interpret songs, inserting traditional reels and

jig The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts o ...

s. After touring the United Kingdom during 2008, the Bad Shepherds released their debut album, ''Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Methera!'' (which translates from an ancient

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

n dialect as ''One, Two, Three, Four!'') in May 2009. The band released their second album, ''By Hook or By Crook'', with former

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

member

Tim Harries Tim Harries (born 1959) is a British bass player, who has played with various folk rock and jazz bands in his career. Biography Harries studied music at the University of York, graduating in 1981 before going on to study double bass with Tom ...

playing double bass, in 2010. The Bad Shepherds also headlined the first Looe Music Festival in 2011. At the start of 2013, after a year long hiatus the band announced they were getting back together to release a new album and undertake a 24-date UK tour, along with a six-date tour of Australia. Both of which were entitled ''Mud, Blood and Beer''. The album was released on 19 August 2013, and included both cover versions of punk and new wave tracks, plus their own material. Adrian Edmondson announced the band's end on his Facebook page on 31 October 2016.

Awards

The Bad Shepherds were nominated for the Best Live Act award at the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2012, the band won the Spiral Earth Award for best live act. The organisation celebrates a wide range of music, however their roots are mainly focused in the folk music genre.

Band members

Final line-up

* Adrian Edmondson – vocals, mandolin, mandola * Troy Donockley – uilleann pipes, cittern, whistles, vocals

Former

Terl Bryant Terl Bryant is an English musician. His early career saw him working with US singer/songwriter and filmmaker Steve Taylor and later was in the band of Peter Murphy, the lead singer for Bauhaus. During the 90s he went on to join influential fol ...

– percussion *Andy Dinan – fiddle *Carol Dawson – fiddle *Eimear Bradley – fiddle *Keith Angel – percussion *Mark Woolley – percussion *

Maartin Allcock Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer. Biography Born in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), E ...

– bass *Brad Lang – bass *

– bass

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Shepherds, The English folk musical groups Folk punk groups Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups disestablished in 2016