Miranda Sykes (born 1978 in Spalding, Lincolnshire) is an English folk singer, double-bassist and guitarist who performs with Steve Knightley and Phil Beer in the acoustic roots/folk group Show of Hands. [1] As of 2019 she is undertaking solo performances while on maternity leave from the group. [2] She has recorded with Show of Hands and has also performed and recorded as a duo with mandolin player Rex Preston.
Sykes was born in Spalding to John and Penny Sykes and was brought up in Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire. [3] Hers was a musical family and she started playing double bass at the age of eight. [4] She was educated at schools in Pinchbeck and Spalding [3] and continued living in Lincolnshire until moving to Devon in 2007. She studied for a BTEC in pop music and completed it remotely while touring with a band. [5]
In 1999, aged 21, she joined the folk-rock band Pressgang as a bass guitarist and toured with them internationally. She performed with Robb Johnson on his 1999 album The Big Wheel, and toured with him and with fiddle and viola player Saskia Tomkins as a trio, releasing three albums together. Subsequently, she joined the band Firebrand, releasing the album Lost Lady Found in 2001. [5]
She toured with Bill Jones' band in 2001, and performed on the band's live album. She then toured with Jones in a trio with Sarah Wright (flute and bodhrán) and subsequently in a duo, featuring on Jones' 2003 CD Two Year Winter. [5]
Sykes toured with The Phil Beer Band from 2003 to 2013 and joined Show of Hands for their performances at summer festivals in 2004. [4] The live album As You Were was recorded during the tour and released in 2005. [5]
Encouraged by melodeon player Gareth Turner, she formed her own band, which included Imogen O’Rourke, Martin Fitzgibbon and Maartin Allcock, releasing an album in 2005. [5]
Sykes worked with John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Sarah Allen and Roy Dodds whilst recording Reg Meuross's album Short Stories in 2004. After touring with Meuross, a second album, Still, was released in 2006. [5]
Sykes toured with Martyn Joseph as a duo in 2007. Joseph's 2007 album, Vegas, featured songs from the tour, on which she played bass. [5]
After performing with Bath band The Scoville Units in 2009, Sykes met mandolin player Rex Preston. They toured as a duo for eight years and released three albums together. [5]
In 2015, Sykes (alongside her fellow Show of Hands band members Steve Knightley and Phil Beer), was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from the University of Plymouth, [6] [7] to commemorate "great distinction in [their] professional lives". [8]
She has toured solo shows to promote her solo albums Borrowed Places (2017) and Behind the Wall (2018). [3]
In 2001 she joined The Live Music Now! scheme, which enabled her to get involved in music therapy; she is now a trainer and mentor on the scheme. [5]
She and her husband Dan, who married in 2015, have a son Wilfrid, born in 2018. [2]
Phil Beer is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and one half of English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.
Beat About the Bush is the fourth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Originally released by Twah! Records in 1994, it was their debut studio album to be released on CD, following the discontinued cassette albums that are Show of Hands from 1987, Tall Ships from 1990 and Out of the Count from 1991. It was their only studio album on Twah! Records, and was subsequently re-released in 1999 on the duo's own label, Hands on Music.
Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. Joined by singer and double-bassist Miranda Sykes for a tour in 2004, Show of Hands continued to regularly perform as a trio with Sykes, as well as in their original format. In 2019 the line-up was further expanded by the addition of Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne.
Steve Knightley is an English singer, songwriter and acoustic musician. Since 1992 he has been one half of folk/roots duo Show of Hands along with Phil Beer. Knightley was named "Songwriter of the Nineties" by BBC Radio 6 Music in 2012.
Live is the first live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. After the duo had recorded three studio albums on cassette from 1987–1991, the last of these being Out for the Count, the duo set on recording a live album for their first Compact Disc release. They enlisted Mark Trim to engineer and produce a live album of the duo's performance at The Bull Hotel, Bridport, in the duo's native Devon. The album features all sixteen songs from the performance which featured numerous guest musicians, including the band's long-time collaborator Matt Clifford and Beer's sporadic collaborator Paul Downes.
Dark Fields is the sixth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands, released in 1997 on their own label Hands on Music. The album follows the duo's 1996 performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, a performance which raised their profile. A live album of the performance was released as Live at the Royal Albert Hall in August, becoming the band's best selling album. The duo followed the success with Dark Fields.
Country Life is the eleventh studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Released in 2003, it marks a departure for the band, with stronger socially and politically lyrics than the duo's previous albums, as well as showcasing the duo exploring a larger musical palette. Some of the album's lyrics concern rural issues which Knightley had taken to heart in previous years, including in the aftermath of their previous lyrical album Cold Frontier (2001). Prior to the release of Country Life, the duo had released an instrumental album named The Path. Both The Path and Country Life were released close together. The album was packaged in a lavish set which included a bonus disc of demo versions and other bonus material. The album's title track was also promoted by the band's first music video.
Covers is the eighth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. The album was released in 2000 by the duo's own label Hands on Music. The album exclusively features cover versions of thirteen songs by the duo, chosen and recorded to reflect the band's contemporary musical influences. As such, the album contains no Steve Knightley compositions. The album was recorded over two days in Chudleigh Town Hall, Devon, with producer Gerald O'Farrell, and features only "straight performances", with its songs being untouched by post-production or techniques such as overdubbing or double tracking, presenting a "live" sound. The album followed their limited edition release Folk Music (1998), which featured the band's versions of traditional folk songs, and was the duo's first array into creating an album of music without Knightley compositions.
Witness is the twelfth studio album by British folk duo Show of Hands. The album was recorded in January 2006 at Presshouse Studio, Colyton, Devon, and was produced by Simon Emmerson and Simon ‘Mass’ Massey from the Afro Celts, who helped to incorporate elements of traditional African, ambient and electronic dance music with the duo's characteristic folk style. It was the band's first album in twelve years to use a rhythm section. Lyrically, the album addresses communal and heritage values, and was described by the duo's lead singer Steve Knightley as a "cinematic style journey of the West Country." The album features unofficial third member Miranda Sykes on ten of its twelve tracks.
Tanx is a 1973 album by rock band T. Rex, the eighth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1968, and the fourth under the moniker T. Rex. It was released on 16 March by record label EMI. Tanx was a musical departure from previous works: still containing tracks in the vein of The Slider, singer and songwriter Marc Bolan showed his interest for soul music, funk and gospel. Female backing singers appeared on a few tracks. New instruments such as mellotron were used, played by producer Tony Visconti, allowing the T. Rex sound to evolve.
Daphne's Flight was a collaboration between five female vocalists, instrumentalists, and songwriters in the British folk and root music scene: Christine Collister, Melanie Harrold, Julie Matthews, Helen Watson and Chris While. The collaboration resulted in a well-reviewed album and a sell-out tour during the mid-1990s. The project helped to cement relationships between the members, raised their individual profiles nationally and internationally and has been seen as marking a turning point in the role of women within the English folk movement. Twenty years after the initial collaboration, Daphne's Flight returned with a new studio album and a live release, and toured extensively. In 2022, Christine Collister left the band for personal reasons and in stepped Miranda Sykes bringing a new element to the band with bass as well as vocals. Two tours followed and a new album, ‘Love is the Weapon of Choice’ released on the Fatcat record label.
As You Were is the fourth live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. Following the release of their acclaimed tenth studio album Country Life in 2003, which itself was promoted by a tour, the duo were named the "Best Live Act" at the 2004 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The live interest in the duo ultimately lead to a greater interest when the band announced their Autumn Tour 2004. The tour itself ran from November–December and included Miranda Sykes as a collaborator, her first collaboration with the duo. With the band's producer and engineer of the era Mick Dolan, the entire tour was recorded onto MiniDisc, with the duo subsequently ploughing through each concert recording the following day to identify the best performances and then collating and working through the "A list again" to find the best tracks to create the live album.
Arrogance Ignorance and Greed is the fourteenth studio album by English folk duo Show of Hands. Released in 2009 on the band's label Hands on Music, the album was produced by Stu Hanna of the English folk duo Megson, with additional production by Mark Tucker. The album followed an emotionally painful period for Steve Knightley where members of his family battled serious illnesses. This led to the album becoming particularly personal and darker than previous Show of Hands albums, aided by Hanna's direct and sharp production. The album also discusses several social and political concerns, and contains several collaborations with other musicians and vocalists.
Reg Meuross is an English singer and songwriter based in Somerset.
Covers 2 is the fourteenth studio album by British folk duo Show of Hands. An official collaboration with double bassist and vocalist Miranda Sykes, who had been the duo's unofficial third member for six years, it is the duo's second album of cover versions, following Covers (2000). The album was intended for "friends and fans" of the duo, and an attempt to record songs that the duo had played live for some time. The album was produced by Mark Tucker and recorded as a mostly "straightforward" recording with little overdubs or extra production work.
TwickFolk organises acoustic music events in and around Twickenham, south-west London. A registered charity, it is run, not for profit, by a small group of volunteers. It was established in January 1983 and is now one of the best known and most highly respected folk clubs in London and the South East of England.
Wake the Union is the sixteenth studio album by British folk duo Show of Hands. Although their fifteenth studio album, it is their eighth in their "canon" of studio albums. The release follows the successful Arrogance Ignorance and Greed (2009) and the limited edition albums Covers 2 (2010) and Backlog 2 (2011). Recorded and produced by Mark Tucker, the album takes a strong influence from both English and American folk music and was created as a "journey through of [the two countries'] landscapes united by a common tongue and musical heritage". The album again features their unofficial third member Miranda Sykes. The album was also described by Knightley as a direct continuation of Arrogance Ignorance and Greed, although critics saw it as very distinct in its own right. The album was also a 20th anniversary celebration for the duo.
Backlog 2 is the fifteenth studio album by Devonian folk duo Show of Hands. Following the release of their limited edition "back to basics" cover album Covers 2 (2010), which was intended for "fans and friends" and released in a limited edition manner in a way that would only appeal to fans and friends, the duo wanted to release an album with fan participation. As the duo had retired many of their older songs from live performances, they asked fans on their internet forum Longdogs to select twenty Show of Hands tracks from 1992–2003 that they would like to hear the duo perform and re-record.
Forgotten Kingdom is folk singer-songwriter Jim Causley's fifth studio album excluding his work with The Devil's Interval and Mawkin:Causley.
Storm Seeker is a German pirate-folk-metal band from Düsseldorf and Neuss. It was founded by the brothers Marius and Timo Bornfleth.