Cirencester | Archive | 2002 | April | 04
From the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard, first published Thursday 4th Apr 2002.
ONE of the most exciting bands to emerge on the Roots and Folk scene for many years, Little Johnny England has been rocking the English tradition at many of the major British and European festivals and concerts.
In Hong Kong and the US the band played to crowds of more than 15,000 but members are equally at home working in an acoustic manner as well as in a major concert setting, and on Saturday, April 20 they will be performing at The Sundial Theatre at Cirencester College.
Named after a Northamptonshire children's song, the pedigree of band members is impressive. Gareth Turner (melodeons) built his reputation with the likes of the Albion Band and the Phil Beer Band. He comes from the Northamptonshire village of Moulton, with its strong Morris and melodeon tradition. He leads the band skillfully as instrumentalist, chief tunesmith and songwriter.
P J Wright (lead vocalist, slide and lead guitar) is one of the most respected slide guitarists in Britain, having worked for 20 years with the Steve Gibbons Band. He has been touring with the Dylan Project featuring Gibbons with Dave Pegg and Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention.
Guy Fletcher is an extremely talented multi-instrmentalist who plays the fiddle for Little Johnny England, the drums for cult dance band Tickled Pink and is one fifth of Dansual. Matt Davies (bass and backing vocals) and Edd Frost (drums) have been a team for over ten years, providing the foundation for the likes of Clarion and the Vicky Clayton Band.
With a debut CD under their belts, expect a night of beautiful traditional and original songs and blistering instrumentals.
If you would like the chance to win a pair of free tickets to the concert on April 20 or a copy of Little Johnny England's CD, answer the following questions and return the answers to Di Alexander, Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 74 Dyer Street, Cirencester, GL7 2PW to arrive no later than Wednesday, April 17.
1 From where does the band Little Johnny England get its name? 2 Who plays the melodeons?
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