The Etchingham Steam Band were a folk group formed 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 ...

and Shirley Collins in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1974 after the

Albion Country Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the m ...

had disbanded in late 1973. They were named after village

Etchingham Etchingham is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex in southern England. The village is located approximately southeast of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent and northwest of Hastings, on the A265, half a mile west o ...

in Sussex where Hutchings and Shirley Collins, his then wife, were living. The band's name was a reference to their acoustic nature, formed during a time of power cuts in the mid-1970s that caused problems for any band using electrical instruments or amplification.

History

In 1973 Ashley Hutchings produced Shirley Collins' Adieu To Old England album. On this album, several musicians appeared who became members of the Etchingham Steam Band the next year. Mouth organist Terry Potter accompanied Collins on ''The Chiner's Song''; both Terry Potter and accordionist Ian Holder also performed the instrumental dance tune ''Portsmouth'' on this album. The complete five-piece lineup of the Etchingham Steam Band toured Europe in 1974 and 1975, including gigs at

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

Folk Festival,

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Folk Festival, the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Swiss canton Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. Lenzburg and the neigh ...

Folk Festival and in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Guest performers were former

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...

musicians

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he i ...

and

Simon Nicol Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the ...

, then

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 ...

member Peter Knight, dance caller Eddie Upton and concertina players Will Duke and Mel Dean. The band dissolved in late 1975 when Hutchings formed the

Albion Dance Band The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the m ...

. Two medleys including dance tunes and harvest-home toasts, ''Sheep-Shearing/Buttered Peas'' and ''Mistress's Health/Lumps Of Plum Pudding/Sherborne Jig/Spaniard's Cry'', were recorded in 1974 in Sound Techniques Studios, London. The studio recording of ''Mistress's Health/Lumps Of Plum Pudding/Sherborne Jig/Spaniard's Cry'' was released on Shirley Collins' 1974 compilation LP A Favourite Garland. However, the band never released a complete album during its existence. Various recordings, mostly audience recording of live concerts, were compiled and released on CD in 1995 by

Fledg'ling Records Fledg'ling Records is a British independent record label founded in 1991. The label has re-released some albums previously issued by Hokey Pokey Records which was also run by the Fledg'ling founder—David Suff. David Suff having been half o ...

; this CD also includes the studio recording of ''Sheep-Shearing/Buttered Peas''.

Line-up

– acoustic bass guitar, vocals,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

* Shirley Collins – vocals, hobby horse *Ian Holder –

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

*Vic Gammon – vocals, concertina, melodeon,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

*Terry Potter – mouth organ

Documented repertoire

* Adderbury

Wassail Wassail (, , most likely from Old Norse ''"ves heill"'') is a beverage made from hot mulled cider, ale, or wine and spices, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and salutation ei ...

Song * Atholl Highlanders *Black Joker *Bonny Kate *Buttered Peas * Coast of High Barbaree *Come All You Little Streamers *The Devil And The Farmer *Fair Maid Of

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

(The London Vintner Overreached) *Gaol Song *Grandfather's Dance *Grandmother's Dance * Greensleeves *Hard Times Of Old England * Horn Fair *Jovial Tinker *Leapfrog *The Little Gipsy Girl (The Gipsy's Wedding Day) *Lumps of

Plum Pudding Christmas pudding is sweet dried-fruit pudding traditionally served as part of Christmas dinner in Britain and other countries to which the tradition has been exported. It has its origins in medieval England, with early recipes making use of d ...

*Mistress's Health *The New Rigged Ship *Orange in Bloom *Sheep-Shearing *Shepherd O Shepherd * Sherborne Jig *Shooting *Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away *Spaniards Cry * Sussex Carol *Up To The Rigs Of London Town *We Poor Labouring Men *Young Collins

Discography

*''The Etchingham Steam Band'' (recorded 1974-1975, published in 1995 by

)

References

Ashley Hutchings English folk musical groups Musical groups established in 1974 Steam Band {{UK-band-stub