Scrumpy and Western | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | 1960s, West Country |
Other topics | |
West Country English |
Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from England's West Country [1] that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. The name, taken from the title of the 1967 Scrumpy & Western EP by Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, refers to scrumpy, strongly alcoholic cider produced in the West Country; it is a play on the American genre of country and western music.
Styles vary by band or musician, and very few are known outside their native county. The main exceptions to this are the Wurzels (originally "Adge Cutler and the Wurzels"), a Somerset group who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart with "The Combine Harvester" in 1976. [2] [3] This followed an earlier UK hit single with "Drink Up Thy Zider", an unofficial West Country anthem, especially among supporters of Bristol City Football Club. This gained notoriety when the BBC refused to play its B-side song, "Twice Daily", due to concern about the unseemly subject matter (a shotgun wedding). [4] "Combine Harvester" itself was a reworded version of Melanie's "Brand New Key". Other songs borrowed the style and made fun of the themes of Country and Western, and other US and British popular music.
Other artists whose music is Scrumpy and Western in flavour include The Yetties [5] from the village of Yetminster in Dorset, The Golden Lion Light Orchestra from Worcestershire, Fred Wedlock, Who's Afear'd (also from Dorset), the Skimmity Hitchers (a group that includes former members of Who's Afear'd), [6] the Surfin Turnips (more punky folk), Trevor Crozier, [7] the Yokels (from Wiltshire), Shag Connors and the Carrot Crunchers, [8] and the Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra. [9]
Peter Frederick Wedlock was an English folk singer best known for his UK hit single "The Oldest Swinger in Town", which was covered by German comedian Karl Dall as "Der älteste Popper der Stadt". He performed at many venues in Britain and Europe, presented programmes for West Country TV and acted with the Bristol Old Vic, as well as undertaking after-dinner speaking engagements.
The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976.
Brendan Grace was an Irish comedian and singer. He was best known for his comedy schoolboy character 'Bottler', the 1995 film Moondance, and his 1996 appearance in the Irish TV sitcom Father Ted as Father Fintan Stack. His 1975 song "The Combine Harvester" was a number one hit in Ireland, and his 1982 release of "The Dutchman" is considered to be one of the most enduring versions of the song.
West Country English is a group of English language varieties and accents used by much of the native population of South West England, the area sometimes popularly known as the West Country.
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Bath and North East Somerset, England, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Bath, 10 miles (16 km) north-east of Wells, 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Frome, 12 miles (19 km) west of Trowbridge and 16 miles (26 km) south-east of Bristol. It has a population of around 13,000. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton Radstock, but is now a town council in its own right. It is also part of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.
Piddletrenthide is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It is sited by the small River Piddle in a valley on the dip slope of the Dorset Downs, 8 miles (13 km) north of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish—which includes the small village of Plush to the northeast—had 323 dwellings, 290 households and a population of 647.
Scrumpy is a type of cider originating in the West of England, particularly the West Country. Traditionally, the dialect term "scrumpy" was used to refer to what was otherwise called "rough", a harsh cider made from unselected apples.
Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. It is home to many types of music.
The Yetties were an English folk music group, who took their name from the Dorset village of Yetminster, their childhood home. In 1975, they released an album entitled The Yetties of Yetminster. The Yetties retired in 2011.
Pill is a village in North Somerset, England, situated on the southern bank of the Avon, about 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Bristol city centre. The village is the largest settlement in the civil parish of Pill and Easton-in-Gordano. The former hamlets of Lodway and Ham Green are now contiguous with Pill, and the village of Easton in Gordano is nearby. The parish extends northwest beyond the M5 motorway to include the Royal Portbury Dock.
"Remember Me"/"I Am a Cider Drinker" was a split single released by British Sea Power and The Wurzels. The 7" single features The Wurzels covering BSP's "Remember Me" and BSP covering The Wurzels' 1976 hit "I Am a Cider Drinker". The release was limited to 1,966 and only available on BSP's November 2005 tour or through their official website.
Alan John "Adge" Cutler was an English singer best known as the frontman of the comic folk band the Wurzels. Cutler was known for his songs, but also his dry, West Country humour, and gained the unofficial title of "The Bard of Avonmouth".
"A Pub with No Beer" is the title of a humorous country song made famous by country singers Slim Dusty and Bobbejaan Schoepen.
The Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra were an eccentric band of British musicians, who joined together in early 1968 to play a fusion of comedy, jazz, and folk music, in a unique style which has been compared with The Temperance Seven and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Much of their repertoire consisted of songs from the 1920s or 1930s. Other influences included music hall, blues and jug band music. Their eccentricity arose, not only from their characters and choice of music, but from an eclectic mix of instruments, some of them home-made, such as the 'egg-cupaphone' and the 'ballcockaphone' - a wind instrument in which the supply of air to the reed was controlled by a toilet cistern chain connected to a ballcock.
Pete Budd is a British singer who has fronted the Scrumpy and Western band The Wurzels since 1974. He was the vocalist on the number-one hit "The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976.
David M. Wintour was a British bass guitarist and session musician.
Scrumpy & Western EP was the second record released by Adge Cutler and The Wurzels, containing the two tracks from their original 1966 hit single, "Drink Up Thy Zider" and "Twice Daily", with two further tracks "Pill, Pill" and "Hark At 'Ee Jacko". The band's first single had reached number 45 in the UK Singles Chart, despite the B-side, "Twice Daily" being banned by the BBC for being too raunchy. The subsequent Scrumpy & Western EP, released the following year, did not achieve a chart placing, however it gave its name to whole new genre of music: Scrumpy and Western. All the tracks were recorded live by Bob Barratt at The Royal Oak Inn, Nailsea, on 2 November 1966.
Ant Henson is an English singer-songwriter, who released his first single, "I Love You And I Miss You" in 2010.
The Yetties of Yetminster is the eighth album by English folk music group The Yetties from the North Dorset village of Yetminster released in 1975 on the Argo Records (UK) label.
"The Combine Harvester" is a novelty song which was a number one hit for Brendan Grace in Ireland in 1975 and then also for The Wurzels in the UK in 1976. Written by Brendan O'Shaughnessy, the song is a parody of Melanie Safka's 1971 hit, "Brand New Key", with rustic lyrics replacing the original theme of roller-skating.