The Newcranes are a British

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...

band, formed in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, England. They are frequently compared to the

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populis ...

and other contemporary folk-rock groups such as The Men They Couldn't Hang. The Newcranes quickly became a popular band on the early 1990s touring circuit. They signed with French label Musidisc Records and recorded their debut album, ''Frontline'', which garnered critical acclaim and won the band many followers. They subsequently supported The Mission, Stiff Little Fingers,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and The Saw Doctors, and went on to release several more EPs. The band disbanded in 1996 after several line-up changes. In 2018, the principal songwriter Mark Simpson, along with bass player Bob Rushton and drummer Marcus Carter decided to reignite the band after a campaign by fans. They recruited Jonny Wallis and Julian Butt and, on March 2019, they played a well-received reunion show at The Venue in Derby. The band have gone on to play festivals throughout the UK including Bearded Theory, Wickham Festival and Boomtown.
In 2022 Marcus Carter decided to leave the band to concentrate on other projects, Giles Henshaw took his place as the master of the beat.

Line-up

Current: * Mark Simpson: Guitars, Vocals, Mandolin, Harmonica * Bob Rushton: Bass, Vocals * Giles Henshaw: Drums, * Jonny Wallis: Vocals, Mandolin, Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar * Julian Butt: Accordion
Previous: * Wolodymyr "Wolly" Dyszkant: Vocals, Mandolin, Acoustic guitar (now living in Australia) * Micky Nesteruk: Accordion, Backing Vocals * David Petty: Bass Guitar (Crown of Thorns) * Steve Cosgrove: Drums and Percussion (Frontline) * Chris Lilley: Drums (Crown of Thorns) * Ray Buckley: Electric Guitar, Bass, Vocals (Big Bad World) * Ken 'Kenny' Lavish: Accordion, Bass (Big Bad World) * John Leonard: Accordion, Guitar (now with Ferocious Dog) * Wayne Banks, now with Blaze * Rick Millband: Drums; (now living in Australia) *Marcus Carter: Drums

Discography

''See you next Tuesday'' (2022)
CD Album.
Recorded and produced during the covid-19 pandemic by The Newcranes #Theme #Turpentine #Box of Shadows #Too Good With A Gun #Don't Drag My Body Down #Man's Inhumanity #Natures Love #Frontline #Crown Of Thorns ''Frontline'' (1992).
CD Mini Album.
12" Mini Album. Musidisc 109841/MU210.
Produced by Philip Tennant.
Prelude to Frontline based on Zapowit (The Final Testament) by

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...

. #Frontline. #Box of Shadows. #Nature’s Love. #Theme. #Turpentine. #Man’s Inhumanity. ''Don’t Drag my Body Down''. (1993).
12" Single. Vinyl Urinyl 12UV001.
CD Single. Vinyl Urinyl CU001.
Produced by Philip Tennant. #Don’t Drag My Body Down. #West of the City. #Too Good with a Gun. ''Crown of Thorns'' (1994).
Produced by Pat Collier.
12" Single. Red Records. RED121. #Crown of Thorns. #Back in the Old Country. #You Can’t Have it All. ''Big Bad World'' (1991).
Produced by The Newcranes with Pete Stewart.
12" Single. Vinyl Urinal. VU9155. #Big Bad World. #Natures Love. #West Of The City. ''Various Artists: Boo! Ere Cop a Load of This'' (1992).
Compilation Album Musidisc CD 110062. * Turpentine & Natures Love. Also Wolly's ''Travelling in Sound'' (1989).
12" Album. Reel Run Records. SRT 9KL 2334.
Produced by Joe King. #Brighter Weather (3:05). #Sounds of Change (4:30). #I See You (3:00). #Josephina (3:25). #Can Someone Explain (5:30). #Mandonleen (3.05) ''Traditional Ukrainian''. #At The End of the Day (2:50). #To Be With You Once Again (4:45). #Time To Go (4:20). #The Ride, The Trap (5:15).

References

External links

Official websiteThe Newcranes
on Last.fm
DyMyr homepage
(archived)
BBC Derby interview with Wolodymyr DyszkantBBC Derby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcranes, The Folk punk groups