Barry Dransfield (born 1947 in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

), is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

fiddler A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Although in many ...

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. He has appeared as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

on numerous albums by other artists, and has released his own albums as well. ''The Rout of the Blues'' (1971) was voted ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' folk album of the year. His 1972 album for

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

simply called ''Barry Dransfield'' was voted the rarest folk album in ''Record Hunter'', worth approximately £400. Unlike most fiddlers (but like some Appalachian players) he is comfortable playing in the "off the chest" position, instead of under the chin. In 1969 Barry and his brother Robin Dransfield were invited by

Ashley Hutchings Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...

to join the group which would become

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 ...

, but turned the offer down. Together with his brother Robin, he was a member of a bluegrass/old-time band while still in his teens. Always innovative, he generally avoids electric instruments. The instrumental "Blacksmith", on ''Fiddler's Dream'', is a complex set of variations in Romantic Paganini style, with no obvious relation to the song "

Blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

", but ending with a double-tracked voice of Dransfield singing the opening line, "Oh, A Blacksmith Courted Me". ''Fiddler's Dream'' has been re-issued on Castle with many bonus tracks.

In films

Dransfield has composed music for several films for TV and the wide screen: ''S.O.S. Titanic'', ''Adelaide Harris'', ''Play Away'', ''Samson an Delilah'' (1985), ''Ballymena Opera House'' and ''The Wreck of the Julie Plante'' (1985). He acted the part of the blind fiddler in '' The Bounty'' (1984) (with

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

and

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

). In 1986, he changed career to become a so-called "Fiddle Doctor", repairing violins and cellos. In 1994, he joined the

UK tour.

Discography

* ''Rout of the Blues'' (1970) (with Robin Dransfield) * ''Lord of All I Behold'' (1971) (with Robin Dransfield) * '' Morris On'' (1972) (with

, Richard Thompson, John Kirkpatrick et al.) * ''Barry Dransfield'' (1972) * '' The Fiddler's Dream'' (1976) as a member of the band The Dransfields * ''Popular to Contrary Belief'' (1977) (with Robin Dransfield) * ''Bowin' and Scrapin (1978) * ''Be Your Own Man'' (1994) * ''Troubadours of British Folk, Vol. 1'' (1995) (anthology) * ''Wings Of TheSphinx'' (1996) * ''Up To Now'' (1997) (compilation with rarities and unreleased tracks) * ''Unruly'' (2005)

External links

Official website: Barry Dransfield
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dransfield, Barry Living people English fiddlers British male violinists British folk rock musicians 21st-century violinists 21st-century British male musicians The Albion Band members 1947 births Topic Records artists