The High Level Ranters are a Northumbrian traditional musical group founded in 1964, best known for being one of the first bands in the revival of the

Northumbrian smallpipes The Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown bagpipes from North East England, where they have been an important factor in the local musical culture for more than 250 years. The family of the Duke of N ...

Name and history

The name was chosen as a combination of the location of the Bridge Folk Club at the north end of the High Level Bridge in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, where they all played, and from the Cheviot Ranters, a famous Northumberland dance band operating in the

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

area from about 1953 to 1996. The High Level Ranters have been playing traditional music and song from

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

for nearly 40 years, becoming one of the most influential groups of the

British folk revival The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of folk music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century. It is particul ...

. For many years they were the only group featuring the Northumbrian smallpipes in their performances, and are thus responsible for introducing many of today's pipers to this unique instrument. They have also introduced many of today's musicians to the distinctive traditional music in the North East, and have done so with a unique enthusiasm of performance. Performers such as The High Level Ranters brought Northumbrian folk to national and international audiences. The band were featured twice, live in session, by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

- first on 18 October 1972, recorded at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

, Northumberland Avenue in London and later, on 3 July 1974, recorded at the

BBC Newcastle BBC Radio Newcastle is the BBC's local radio station serving Newcastle upon Tyne, the neighbouring metropolitan boroughs, Northumberland and north east County Durham. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from BBC stud ...

studio."PEEL SESSIONS - High Level Ranters"
Bbc.co.uk The band continues to tour and may be booked through their official website.

Band members

Between 1969 and 1979 the band consisted of

Alistair Anderson The High Level Ranters are a Northumbrian traditional musical group founded in 1964, best known for being one of the first bands in the revival of the Northumbrian smallpipes. Name and history The name was chosen as a combination of the locat ...

, Tommy Gilfellon,

Johnny Handle The High Level Ranters are a Northumbrian traditional musical group founded in 1964, best known for being one of the first bands in the revival of the Northumbrian smallpipes. Name and history The name was chosen as a combination of the locat ...

and Colin Ross. Since 1980 the line-up has been Jim Hall, Johnny Handle and Colin Ross. At various times and for various recordings

Forster Charlton John Forster Charlton (1915–1989), was an English traditional musician, originally from near Hexham, Northumberland, who later settled in Gateshead. He at first played fiddle, but later also took up the Northumbrian smallpipes. He was a major fi ...

, John Doonan, Pete Wood and

Lou Killen Louisa "Lou" Jo Killen (born Louis Killen; 10 January 1934 – 9 August 2013) was an English folk singer from Gateshead, Tyneside, who also played the English concertina. Killen formed one of Britain's first folk clubs in 1958 in Newcastle upon ...

have also been band members.

Discography

High Level Ranters (1966-1979)

*''Northumberland for Ever'', 1968 (

Topic Topic, topics, TOPIC, topical, or topicality may refer to: Topic / Topics * Topić, a Slavic surname * ''Topics'' (Aristotle), a work by Aristotle * Topic (chocolate bar), a brand of confectionery bar * Topic (DJ), German musician * Topic (g ...

12TS186) *''The Lads of Northumbria'', 1969 (Trailer LER 2007) *''Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinnie'', 1970 (Trailer LER 2020) *''High Level'', 1971 (Trailer LER 2030) *''A Mile to Ride'', 1973 (Trailer LER 2037) *''The Bonny Pit Laddie'', 1975 (Topic 2-12TS271/2) (With

Harry Boardman Harry Boardman (1930–1987) was an English folk singer who was born in Failsworth, Lancashire. He sang both unaccompanied and accompanying himself on the Anglo concertina or banjo. "Boardman has specialised in the lore, songs and dialect poe ...

and

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Roy ...

) *''Ranting Lads'', 1976 (Topic 12TS297) *''English Sporting Ballads'', 1976 (Broadside BRO 128) (with

Martyn Wyndham-Read Arnold Martyn Wyndham-Read (born 23 August 1942, Crawley, Sussex, England) is an English folk singer, who was a collector and singer of Australian folk music. He lived and worked in Australia from 1958 to 1967 and was subsequently a regular v ...

) *''Four in a Bar'', 1979 (Topic 12TS388)

"New" High Level Ranters (1980-2004)

*''The New High Level Ranters'', 1982 (Topic 12TS425) *''Border Spirit'', 1983 (Topic 12TS434) *''Gateshead Revisited'', 1987 (Common Ground CGR 005)

Compilation albums with tracks from the High Level Ranters

*''

The Iron Muse : ''A book of poetry of the same name by John Curtis Underwood was published in 1910 by G. P. Putnam's Sons as The Knickerbocker Press.'' ''The Iron Muse (A Panorama of Industrial Folk Song)'' is the title of two albums released by Topic Records, ...

'', 1993 CD Compilation (Topic TSCD465) *''

Three Score and Ten ''Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People'' is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label. The album consists of a hardback book containing the seven CDs and a paper ...

'', 2009

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...

70 year anniversary boxed set includes ''Aa’m Glad The Strike’s Done'' from ''The Bonny Pit Laddie'' as track sixteen on the sixth CD.

References

External links

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:High Level Ranters, The Celtic music groups English folk musical groups Musical groups established in 1964 Northumbrian music Topic Records artists