200px, Fred Wedlock Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from

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 ...

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. The name, taken from the title of the 1967 '' Scrumpy & Western EP'' by Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, refers to

scrumpy Scrumpy is a type of cider originating in the West of England, particularly the West Country. Traditionally, the dialect term "scrumpy" was used to refer to what was otherwise called "rough", a harsh cider made from unselected apples.Leeds, W. '' ...

, strongly alcoholic

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

produced in the West Country; it is a play on the American genre of country and western music. Styles vary by band or musician, and very few are known outside their native

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. The main exceptions to this are the Wurzels (originally "Adge Cutler and the Wurzels"), a

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

group who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart with " The Combine Harvester" in 1976. This followed an earlier UK hit single with "Drink Up Thy Zider", an unofficial West Country anthem, especially among supporters of Bristol City Football Club. This gained notoriety when the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

refused to play its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

song, "Twice Daily", due to concern about the unseemly subject matter (a

shotgun wedding A shotgun wedding is a wedding arranged in response to pregnancy resulting from premarital sex. The phrase comes from the figurative imagining that the relatives of the pregnant bride threaten the reluctant male groom with a shotgun in order to ...

). "Combine Harvester" itself was a reworded version of

Melanie Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek language, Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Brand New Key "Brand New Key" is a pop song written and sung by the American folk music singer Melanie. Initially a track of Melanie's album '' Gather Me'', produced by Melanie's husband Peter Schekeryk, it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its ...

". Other songs borrowed the style and made fun of the themes of

Country and Western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, or d ...

, and other US and British

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

. Other artists whose music is Scrumpy and Western in flavour include The Yetties from the village of

Yetminster Yetminster is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies south-west of Sherborne. It is sited on the River Wriggle, a tributary of the River Yeo, and is built almost entirely of honey-coloured limestone, which gives ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, The Golden Lion Light Orchestra from

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, Fred Wedlock, Who's Afear'd (also from Dorset), the Skimmity Hitchers (a group that includes former members of Who's Afear'd), the Surfin Turnips (more punky folk), Trevor Crozier, the Yokels (from

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

), Shag Connors and the Carrot Crunchers, and the Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrumpy And Western English styles of music Music in Somerset West Country

See also

References