Coope Boyes and Simpson was an English vocal

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

trio, formed around 1990. Their sound was rich and often had unusual vocal harmonies. The group comprised singers Barry Coope, Jim Boyes (formerly of

Swan Arcade Swan Arcade were a British folk music vocal music, vocal group formed in 1970. "A leading light of the British folk revival" they sang a wide variety of songs, including blues, pop and rock and roll, as well as traditional folk music, mostly pe ...

) and Lester Simpson, and almost all of their music was sung entirely

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, although they occasionally used accordion, guitar and drums very sparingly on recordings. They performed a mixture of both traditional folk songs (though often creatively arranged), hymns and carols, and their own original compositions. Most of their albums have been released on the No Masters label—the No Masters Co-operative is a recording and publishing company run by songwriters, singers and musicians based in the North of England. Much of their music was political in nature, but they also performed sacred music, and released two albums consisting of

Christmas carols Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

and hymns, which receive extensive airplay on Classic FM around Christmas time from DJ

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. In addition to the three vocalists, the nature of the line up was somewhat fluid, with additional singers joining in as required. Their Christmas recordings are sometimes accredited to 'Voices at the Door', while the trio was also part of the occasional supergroup Blue Murder along with members of

Waterson–Carthy Waterson:Carthy were an English folk group originally comprising Norma Waterson on vocals, her husband Martin Carthy on guitar and vocals and their daughter Eliza Carthy on fiddle and vocals. History The group had a repertoire of predominantly ...

and

The Watersons The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies. They have been called the "most famous f ...

. In December 2014 two members of the trio, Coope and Simpson toured with

Jo Freya Jo Freya (born 4 December 1960) is an English saxophonist, clarinettist and singer. She was born Jo Fraser, but changed her name to Jo Freya as a condition of joining the actors' union Equity (trade union), Equity, which does not allow two of its ...

and Fi Fraser with a show of Christmas songs. Together they produced the album "Hark Hark" on No Masters Cooperative Ltd. In 2014 they issued ''In Flanders Fields'' on No Masters, a 2-CD album as "a homage to the music and song of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, having been involved with the

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since 1993". The album includes recordings of wartime songs and their own compositions. They also contributed tracks to 'original' compilation albums—e.g. new recordings to which different artists contribute songs, and frequently work with spoken word and performance artists as part of experimental collaborations. Since 2005 they frequently collaborated with label mates

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, contributing vocals on their albums '' A Singsong and a Scrap'', ''

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! Live'' and ''

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''. In 2016 it was announced that they would be making their final tour in 2017. The trio gave its last performance in October that year, as part of the 2017 Derby Folk Festival. Barry Coope died after a short illness on 6 November 2021.

Discography

;Albums * ''Funny Old World'' (1993) * ''We're Here Because We're Here'' (1995) (with Willem Vermandere and Norbert Detaeye) (live) * ''Falling Slowly'' (1996) * ''Passchendaele Suite'' (1996) (with Panta Rhei) * ''Hindsight'' (1998) * ''A Garland of Carols'' (1998) * ''Christmas Truce / Kerstbestand'' (1999) (with Wak Maar Proper) * ''Where You Belong'' (1999) * ''What We Sing Is What We Are'' (compilation) (1999) * ''Twenty-four Seven'' (2003) * ''Fire and Sleet and Candlelight'' (2003) (with

, Fi Fraser and Georgina Boyes) * ''Triple Echo'' (2005) * ''Private Peaceful: The Concert'' (2006) (with

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo ('' né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as '' War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelli ...

) (live) * ''Voices at the Door: Midwinter Songs and Carols'' (2006) (with

, Fi Fraser and Georgina Boyes) * ''as if...'' (2010) * ''On Angel Wings'' (with

) (2012) * ''Hark Hark'': (Coope & Simpson with Jo Freya, Fi Fraser) Released: 1 December 2014, No Masters Cooperative Ltd * ''In Flanders Fields'' Released: 4 August 2014, No Masters * ''CODA'' Released: 2016, No Masters ;Contributing artist * ''The Rough Guide to One Voice: Vocal Music from Around the World'' (1997,

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competi ...

) * ''

The Rough Guide to English Roots Music ''The Rough Guide to English Roots Music'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1998. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the album features mainly English folk, with some tracks covering other cultures from ...

'' (1998, World Music Network) * '' No One Stands Alone'' (as part of Blue Murder) 2003 Topic

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1990 establishments in England 2017 disestablishments in England English folk musical groups Blue Murder (folk group) members Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 2017