Celtic Rock

Bagpipes are one of those instruments I wanted to learn but never got round to. Many years ago every Easter we took the local kids away on a boating trip. The places to moor up our boats each eveing were limited. I really wanted to play the bagpipes so I could drive the other boats further away. One year we had Ann who sung to them, and she was pretty successful in making space.

Rawlins Cross were a band I saw in the 1990s, and the bagpipes were loud enough not to need an amplifier! Colleen is one of my favourite numbers by them.

Horslips - Loudest

Horslips are one of the loudest bands I heard back in the early 1970s. They are an Irish rock band with electric mandolin and Uilleann pipes and prove that fusion worlds with tradtional instruments are viable rather than just guitars and drums.

acoustic groove

As a kid there was a tv show called "Take Three Girls" and the title music was by this group Pentangle. They were quite phenomenal musicians Jacqui McShee, vocals; John Renbourn, guitar; Bert Jansch, guitar; Danny Thompson, double bass. Thompson and both guitarists became successful solo or group artists. Check out their solo instrumentals in these two songs.They show you don't need a lot of equipment or technology to make a great groove and song.

Who knows where the time goes

One of my friends from the neighbourhood where I grew up introduced me to Fairport Convention, now a legendary band in the Folk Rock movement in England. They were formed in Muswell Hill not far from where I grew up. Sandy Denny sadly passed away but the others are still kicking around though pretty old in the tooth now. Her voice has a haunting, lingering quality and I still remember her performances. Where has time gone?