The Coal Porters were a British-American bluegrass band headquartered in London and led by

Sid Griffin Albert Sidney "Sid" Griffin (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist-mandolinist, bandleader, and author who lives in London, England. He led the Long Ryders band in the 1980s, founded the Coal Porters group in t ...

( mandolin, autoharp, harmonica and vocals) and Neil Robert Herd (guitar and vocals). The group disbanded in July 2018. The other members were Kerenza Peacock ( fiddle, vocals), Paul Fitzgerald ( banjo, vocals) and Andrew Stafford (bass, vocals). Griffin formed the group in Los Angeles in 1989 and then reorganised the band after moving to London.

Personnel

Sid Griffin was a founding member of

The Long Ryders The Long Ryders are an American alternative country and Paisley Underground band, principally active between 1982 and 1987, who have periodically regrouped for brief reunions (2004, 2009, 2014, 2016). In 2019 they released a new studio album � ...

and is the author of ''Shelter From The Storm: Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Years''; ''Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band and The Basement Tapes''; co-author of ''Bluegrass Guitar: Know the Players, Play the Music''; and ''Gram Parsons – A Music Biography''. He has contributed reviews and feature articles to ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'','' Q'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and appears every six weeks on BBC Radio 2 to discuss cultural changes on the ''Mark Radcliffe-Stuart Maconie Show''. Neil Robert Herd, in addition to his career as a musician, has performed as a comedian. He has also promoted many British comedy, film and music festivals. Kerenza Peacock has played fiddle with

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

on her recorded hits and also performed with

Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold ( né Leach, 19 March 1951),/nowiki>freight_trains.html" ;"title="freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains">freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains/nowiki> f ...

and

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...

. Andrew Stafford played bass and adds vocals. Paul Fitzgerald is something of a banjo legend in his native

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

History

Nine full-length albums and two EPs are credited to the Coal Porters. Their last release, ''No. 6'', appeared in September 2016 on the Prima label, distributed in the UK by Proper and in the USA by Burnside. Producer John Wood, best known for his work with Fairport Convention,

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

, Cat Stevens,

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

, Nick Drake, the

Incredible String Band The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially in the British ...

, Pink Floyd,

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...

and Squeeze, was at the controls at Strongroom Studios in London, with Simon Filiali co-credited for engineering. Wood mixed the release and Andy Miles and Simon Heyworth mastered the project at the Super Audio Mastering facility in Devon, UK. ''No. 6'' offers 9 tracks written by band members and a bluegrass rethinking of

The Only Ones The Only Ones were an English rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the mus ...

' Another Girl, Another Planet. Included among the tracks are Griffin's tribute to

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...

, The Day The Last Ramone Died, Herd's Save Me From The Storm and Peacock's Play A Tune. The other tracks are Shelter From The Storm, The Blind Bartender, Chopping The Garlic, Salad Days, Unhappy Anywhere, Train No. 10-0-5 and The Old Style Prison Break. The album title reflects the number of releases the Coal Porters have issued since shifting from their country-rock beginnings to alternative bluegrass. Their preceding album, ''Find The One'', from 2012, also offers 10 tracks written by various band members, as well as covers of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's Heroes and the Rolling Stones' Paint It, Black. Richard Thompson joins the Coal Porters on the song Hush U Babe/Burnham Thorpe, and famed BBC presenter

Brian Matthew Brian Matthew (17 September 1928 – 8 April 2017) was an English broadcaster who worked for the BBC for 63 years from 1954 until 2017. He was the host of '' Saturday Club'', among other programmes, and began presenting ''Sounds of the 60s'' in ...

provides a guest introduction to Griffin's Ask Me Again. Among the other tracks are Red-Eyed & Blue, Brand New Home, The BetseyTrotwood, Gospel Shore and You Only Miss Her When She's Gone. ''Durango'', the Coal Porters' 2010 compact disc, also appeared on the Prima label. Ed Stasium recorded the 12-track CD in Durango, Colorado, the Southern Colorado town for which the album is named. Songs include No More Chains, Roadkill Breakdown featuring Tim O'Brien as guest mandolinist, and

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. Biography Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interest ...

's Moonlight Midnight, with Rowan joining the Coal Porters for the session. Their preceding CD, ''Turn The Water On, Boy!'' (2008), received four-star reviews in ''Mojo'', ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', ''The Sunday Times'', ''Maverick'' and ''Word'' magazines. The dozen-track album features original songs by Griffin, Herd and other band members, as well as a bluegrass revamping of the Long Ryders' Final Wild Son, a cover of former

Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

member Gene Clark's Silver Raven and a guest appearance by another member of the Byrds,

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With freque ...

, who plays mandolin on a tribute to

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

. Earlier bluegrass-style Coal Porters' albums are ''How Dark This Earth Will Shine'' (2004), with

Peter Case Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance. Biography Early career Case was born in Buffalo, New York, B ...

and

Amy Rigby Amy Rigby (born Amelia McMahon, January 27, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled ...

as guests, and the live ''Chris Hillman Tribute Concerts'' (2001), featuring run-ups of songs from Hillman's career with the Byrds, the

Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

, Manassas and Desert Rose. The evolution to bluegrass from

country-rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

occurred after Griffin produced Lindisfarne's ''Here Comes The Neighborhood'' album in 1998. Inspired by that band's acoustic instrumentation, he and Herd worked up bluegrass versions of their Coal Porters' (and occasional Long Ryders') repertoire and debuted them successfully at a London charity event for Children in Need at Royal Festival Hall. The band's earlier country-rock albums are the following: the live ''Gram Parsons Tribute Concert'' (1999), ''EP Roulette'' (1998), ''Los London'' (1995), ''Land of Hope and Crosby'' (1994) and the initial EP ''Rebels Without Applause'' (1991). Griffin formed The Coal Porters in 1989 following the demise of

. The Coal Porters, like their predecessors, initially demonstrated strong Byrds and Gram Parsons influences, playing

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

and country-rock songs written by Griffin with occasional collaborators. Before the band's initial line-up fell into place, a number of Griffin's musician friends made appearances at early gigs and performed on first recordings, including drummer

Greg Sowders Gregory Michael Sowders (born March 17, 1960) is an American drummer and music publisher. He is a founding member of alternative country and Paisley Underground band the Long Ryders, and Senior Vice President and Head of A&R at Warner Chappell Mu ...

from The Long Ryders and Billy Bremner of

Rockpile Rockpile was a British rock and roll band of the late 1970s and early 1980s, noted for their strong pub rock, rockabilly and power pop influences, and as a foundational influence on new wave. The band consisted of Dave Edmunds (vocals, g ...

. By 1991, the band had solidified with Griffin on lead vocals and guitar, Chris Buessem lead guitar, Ian Thomson bass, Billy Block drums and Andy Kaulkin keyboards. Tracks featuring this line-up appeared on the EP ''Rebels Without Applause'', ''Land of Hope and Crosby'' and ''Los London''. By then Griffin and Thomson had relocated to the United Kingdom, while Block opted for a career in Nashville and Kaulkin moved to the business side of music to run Epitaph Records and found the ANTI- label. Subsequent UK members have included Kevin Morris ( Dr. Feelgood), John Bennett ( High Llamas), Ian Gibbons (

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

), and Rob Childs (

Otis Lee Crenshaw Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a Sketch comedy, sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of Television in the Unite ...

Discography

* ''Rebels Without Applause'' (1991) * ''Land of Hope and Crosby'' (1994) * ''Los London'' (1995) * ''EP Roulette'' (1998) * ''Gram Parsons Tribute Concert'' (1999) * ''Chris Hillman Tribute Concert'' (2001) * ''How Dark This Earth Will Shine'' (2004) * ''Turn the Water On, Boy'' (2008) * ''Durango'' (2010) * ''Find The One'' (2012) * ''No. 6'' (2016)

Videos

* ''Gram Parsons Tribute Concert'' (1999)
The Day The Last Ramone Died
– The Coal Porters (Official Video)

Personnel

History

Discography

Videos

References

Related links