Magpie Lane is an English
folk group, based in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
The musicians of Magpie Lane first came together in the winter of 1992–93 to record ''The Oxford Ramble'', a collection of songs and tunes from, or about,
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
. Originally conceived as a one-off recording project, the success of ''The Oxford Ramble'' and early concerts and appearances in Oxford and further afield led to the release of a second CD, ''Speed the Plough'', a year later.
Further recordings followed, celebrating seasonal folk customs of the British Isles: a collection of traditional Festive songs and tunes in ''
Wassail: a Country Christmas''; and ''
Jack-in-the-Green,'' which celebrates customs around
May Day and
Midsummer
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer, taking place on or near the date of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the longest Daytime, day of the year. The name "midsummer" mainly refers to summer solstice festivals of Eu ...
. In 2000, the band were asked to record a companion album for ''A Taste of Ale'', a book by the author and folksong scholar,
Roy Palmer. This album was one of two to feature
Benji Kirkpatrick on vocals and string instruments.
The band have continued to release albums and perform regularly in concerts, folk clubs and festivals in the UK. In 2018, they released their 10th studio album, ''The 25th'', the title of which plays on its Christmastime theme as well as being in celebration of the band's 25th anniversary. It was released in December, to coincide with the band's 25th annual Christmas concert at the
Holywell Music Room.
The band takes its name from
Magpie Lane, a street in central Oxford, and the title of the tune that opens their first album, ''The Oxford Ramble''.
Personnel
Source:
Current Line-up
* Ian Giles (vocals, percussion)
* Andy Turner (vocals,
anglo-concertina,
one-row melodeon)
* Mat Green (
fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
, vocals)
* Sophie Thurman ('cello, vocals)
* Jon Fletcher (vocals,
bouzouki, guitar)
Former members
* Tom Bower (woodwind, vocals, percussion) - 1993–2000
* Isobel Dams (vocals, 'cello) - 1993–1994
* Joanne Acty (vocals) - 1993–1999
* Peter Acty (vocals, guitar,
mandola) - 1993–1999
* Di Whitehead ('cello, woodwind, vocals) - 1993–2000
*
Benji Kirkpatrick (bouzouki, guitar, vocals) - 1999–2004
* Marguerite Hutchinson (woodwind, vocals, bagpipes) - 2001–2008
Discography
Source:
*''The Oxford Ramble'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 1993)
* ''Speed the Plough'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 1994)
* ''Wassail: A Country Christmas'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 1995)
* ''Jack-in-the-Green'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 1998) BEJOCD-22
* ''A Taste of Ale'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 2000)
* ''Six for Gold'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 2002)
* ''Knock at the Knocker Ring at the Bell'' (Beautiful Jo Records, 2006)
*''The Robber Bird'' (Magpie Lane, 2011)
*''Three Quarter Time'' (Magpie Lane, 2017)
*''The 25th'' (Magpie Lane, 2018)
Footnotes
External links
Magpie Lane websiteMagpie Lane on Bandcamp
{{Authority control
English folk musical groups
Musical groups established in 1992