Coope Boyes and Simpson was an English vocal folk trio, formed around 1990. Their sound was rich and often had unusual vocal harmonies. Coope Boyes and Simpson (16669954437)

The group comprised singers Barry Coope, Jim Boyes (formerly of

Swan Arcade Swan Arcade were a British folk music vocal group formed in 1970. "A leading light of the British folk revival" they sang a wide variety of songs, including blues, pop and rock and roll, as well as traditional folk music, mostly performed a cap ...

) and Lester Simpson, and almost all of their music was sung entirely

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

, although they occasionally used accordion, guitar and drums very sparingly on recordings. They performed a mixture of both traditional folk songs (though often creatively arranged), hymns and carols, and their own original compositions. Most of their albums have been released on the

No Masters No Masters is a British record label, based in the north of England, specialising in folk with a political edge. The label was founded in 1990 by John Tams and Jim Boyes. Originally working as singer, John Tams is now famous as an actor in the ...

label—the No Masters Co-operative is a recording and publishing company run by songwriters, singers and musicians based in the North of England. Much of their music was political in nature, but they also performed sacred music, and released two albums consisting of Christmas carols and hymns, which receive extensive airplay on Classic FM around Christmas time from DJ

Natalie Wheen Natalie Wheen (born 1947) is an English writer and radio broadcasting, radio presenter, broadcasting on the BBC and on Classic FM (UK), Classic FM. Wheen, born in Shanghai, was a presenter of BBC Radio 4's arts programme ''Kaleidoscope (UK radio ...

. In addition to the three vocalists, the nature of the line up was somewhat fluid, with additional singers joining in as required. Their Christmas recordings are sometimes accredited to 'Voices at the Door', while the trio was also part of the occasional

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Blue Murder along with members of Waterson–Carthy and The Watersons. In December 2014 two members of the trio, Coope and Simpson toured with

Jo Freya Jo Freya (born 4 December 1960) is an English saxophonist, clarinettist and singer. She was born Jo Fraser, but changed her name to Jo Freya as a condition of joining the actors' union Equity, which does not allow two of its members to share the s ...

and Fi Fraser with a show of Christmas songs. Together they produced the album "Hark Hark" on No Masters Cooperative Ltd. In 2014 they issued ''In Flanders Fields'' on No Masters, a 2-CD album as "a homage to the music and song of World War I, having been involved with the In Flanders Fields Museum since 1993". The album includes recordings of wartime songs and their own compositions. They also contributed tracks to 'original' compilation albums—e.g. new recordings to which different artists contribute songs, and frequently work with spoken word and performance artists as part of experimental collaborations. Since 2005 they frequently collaborated with label mates

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

, contributing vocals on their albums ''

A Singsong and a Scrap ''A Singsong and a Scrap'' is the 12th studio album by Chumbawamba released in 2005. It shows more folk influence than their previous album '' Un'' and features guest appearances from folk musicians such as Coope Boyes and Simpson, Andy Cutting a ...

'', '' Get On With It! Live'' and '' The Boy Bands Have Won''. In 2016 it was announced that they would be making their final tour in 2017. The trio gave its last performance in October that year, as part of the 2017 Derby Folk Festival. Coope died after a short illness on 6 November 2021.

Discography

;Albums * ''Funny Old World'' (1993) * ''We're Here Because We're Here'' (1995) (with Willem Vermandere and Norbert Detaeye) (live) * ''Falling Slowly'' (1996) * ''Passchendaele Suite'' (1996) (with Panta Rhei) * ''Hindsight'' (1998) * ''A Garland of Carols'' (1998) * ''Christmas Truce / Kerstbestand'' (1999) (with Wak Maar Proper) * ''Where You Belong'' (1999) * ''What We Sing Is What We Are'' (compilation) (1999) * ''Twenty-four Seven'' (2003) * ''Fire and Sleet and Candlelight'' (2003) (with

, Fi Fraser and Georgina Boyes) * ''Triple Echo'' (2005) * ''Private Peaceful: The Concert'' (2006) (with Michael Morpurgo) (live) * ''Voices at the Door: Midwinter Songs and Carols'' (2006) (with

, Fi Fraser and Georgina Boyes) * ''as if...'' (2010) * ''On Angel Wings'' (with Michael Morpurgo) (2012) * ''Hark Hark'': (Coope & Simpson with Jo Freya, Fi Fraser) Released: 1 December 2014, No Masters Cooperative Ltd * ''In Flanders Fields'' Released: 4 August 2014, No Masters * ''CODA'' Released: 2016, No Masters ;Contributing artist * ''The Rough Guide to One Voice: Vocal Music from Around the World'' (1997, World Music Network) * '' The Rough Guide to English Roots Music'' (1998, World Music Network) * '' No One Stands Alone'' (as part of Blue Murder) 2003 Topic

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1990 establishments in England 2017 disestablishments in England English folk musical groups Blue Murder (folk group) members Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 2017