The OYSTER BAND

BIOGRAPHY:

English folk band originally formed in and around Canterbury in a squat near the university by John Jones (vocals / squeezeboxes), Alan Prosser (guitars / mandolin / vocals, ex-Fiddler's Dram), Falkirk born Ian Telfer (fiddle / concertina, ex-Fiddler's Dram), Ian Kearey & Russell Lax (drums) during the mid-1980's. At that time folk-rock, whatever that was, had long since withered and died and the Oyster Band, angry and loud yet still eminently tuneful, were way out on a limb. They became the first act to sign to new label, Cooking Vinyl, and released their debut album, "Step Outside" in 1986.
At every turn since, they've steadfastly followed their own instincts, gloriously disregarding irrelevancies such as image, make-believe musical boundaries and media flavours of the month. Their own writing took a leap on 1987's "Wide Blue Yonder", which included the classic, if seriously strange, "Oxford Girl", as well as an electrifying cover of Billy Bragg's "Between The Wars", and had a guest appearance from Kathryn Tickell on Northumbrian pipes some years before Sting had the same idea. lan Kearey left to be replaced on bass (and occasional cello) by Chopper (ex-3 Mustaphas 3), who came to play a defining role on their next album "Ride", and indeed their sound ever since. "Ride", including a cheeky version of New Order's "Love Vigilantes", left the public in no doubt of the band's unconditional commitment to its own path.
A largely live album, "Little Rock To Leipzig", rounded off the 1980s, and they entered the new decade veering off at an unexpected tangent, collaborating with the high priestess of English folk song, June Tabor, on their most successful album thus far, "Freedom & Rain". They toured with Tabor too, a tense, fascinating amalgam between two highly independent and sharply contrasting spirits and styles which merged into an uneasy dream ticket for English music. "Imagine if Aerosmith and Madonna announced they were to tour together........!!" said Rolling Stone magazine, excitably. It was a refreshing diversion, but one that distracted the Oysters from the sense of purpose that had driven them for so long... and it confused their followers.
"Deserters" in 1992 saw that sense of purpose dramatically re-emerge, new drummer Lee (ex-Kirsty MacColl) joining to complete the current line-up and provide a harder edge still to a darker style of songwriting. The contrast between "Deserters" and the relatively jaunty "Freedom And Rain" again confounded the critics.
But by this time the goalposts had shifted again. Bands like The Levellers had been building a fervent following with an alternative indie approach that embraced many of the values pioneered by The Oyster Band. There was also an unexpected upsurge of young musicians taking their own inspiration from folk song and traditional instrumentation; and with their spectacular 1993 album "Holy Bandits" striking a glorious balance between their own traditions and a very modern kind of rock, the Oysters suddenly found themselves talked of as godfathers of a new English style of roots rock. After years being regarded by the music industry as on a par with inter-planetary aliens, it came as a shock to them to discover they were now 'leaders of a movement'.
If anybody imagined this would mellow the band they were wrong. After a compilation album ("Trawler") on which they rather novelly (and to Cooking Vinyl's initial horror) decided to re-record most of the old tracks to enable Chopper and Lee to put their own stamp on them, they came back in 1995 with "The Shouting End Of Life", probably the most aggressive and political album of their career. It was an album of acute extremes, from the trailblazing title track to their raging treatment of Leon Rosselson's socialist national anthem "The World Turned Upside Down".
In 1997 they teamed up again with friend/producer Alan Scott for "Deep Dark Ocean". It came, unpredictably, with a smile on its face, warm and melodic and, revealing an unexpected talent for quirky pop music, surprised in an election year by ignoring politics altogether (except in the sleevenotes: "Yes, we voted Labour but we didn't inhale").
"Here I Stand", co-produced with Alaric Neville, released during the last summer of the 20th Century, created another landmark with the formation of their own label Running Man. Happily, sales proved the Oysters' following were not fazed by the album's provocative (read "risky") mix of austerity, improvisation, tradition and outright pop; which proved surprisingly radio-friendly and promises well for the label's future.
But while marking time with an interesting remix of one of the "Here I Stand" songs, "Ways Of Holding On", featuring Swedish ice-princess Emma Hardelin from the band Garmarna, The Oyster Band have been talking to their former label. Autumn 2000 saw the release of an ultimate "Best Of" compilation, titled "Granite Years". Covering the period 1986 to 1997, it weighed somewhat toward the later albums, partly because Cooking Vinyl had already licensed out a compilation from the early albums under the title "Pearls From The Oysters" (one the band had successfully avoided using for a great many years!), and partly because they reckoned the band's writing had improved with time.
The band continue to perform around the world in 2006.

RELEASES:

"Step Outside" (vinyl / cassette album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1986)
"Hal-An-Tow" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1986)
"The Old Dance" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1986)
"Rose Of England" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1987)
"Wide Blue Yonder" (vinyl / CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1987)
"Ballad Of A Spycatcher" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1987)
"The Early Days Of A Better Nation" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1988)
"I Fought The Law" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1989)
"Ride" (vinyl / CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1989)
"The Lost And Found" (7 inch / 12 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1989)
"New York Girls" (7 inch / 12 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1989)
"Love Vigilantes" (7 inch / 10 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1989)
"Little Rock To Leipzig" (vinyl / CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1990)
"Granite Years" (7 inch / 12 inch vinyl / CD single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1992)
"Deserters" (vinyl / CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1992)
"Fiddle Or A Gun" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1992)
"All That Way For This" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1992)
"Gone West" (CD single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1993)
"Celtic Junkies" (CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1993)
"Holy Bandits" (CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1993)
"Cry Cry" (CD single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1994)
"20th of April" (CD single, 1994, Cooking Vinyl Records, Spain only)
"Trawler" (CD album, 1994, Cooking Vinyl Records, Australia / Canada / Germany only)
"Oxford Girl" (CD single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1994)
"The Shouting End Of Life" (CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1995)
"Long Dark Street" (CD single, 1995, Cooking Vinyl Records, Germany only)
"Everywhere I Go" (CD single, 1996, Cooking Vinyl Records, Germany only)
"Alive & Shouting" (CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1995)
"One Green Hill" (12 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1996)
"Sail On By" (CD single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1997)
"Deep Dark Ocean" (CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1997)
"Tubthumping" (7 inch vinyl single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1997)
"Pearls From The Oysters - The Early Years, 30 Tracks From 86-90" (double CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1998)
"Alive & Acoustic" (CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1998)
"This Is The Voice" (CD single, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1999)
"Here I Stand" (CD album, Running Man Records, 1999)
"Street Of Dreams" (CD single, 1999, Running Man Records, Germany / Spain only)
"This Is The Voice" (CD single, 1999, Running Man Records, Spain only)
"On The Edge" (CD single, 1999, Running Man Records, Germany only)
"Granite Years" (double CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 2000)
"Ways Of Holding On (Waiting For The Sun)" (CD single, Running Man Records, 2000)
"The Soul's Electric" (CD single, 2002, Running Man Records, Germany / Spain only)
"Rise Above" (CD album, Running Man Records, 2002)
"Rise Above" (CD single, 2003, Running Man Records, Spain only)
"25" (CD EP, 2003)
"The Big Sessions: Volume 1" (CD album, Running Man Records, 2004)

The Oyster Band with June Tabor:
"Freedom & Rain" (vinyl / CD album, Cooking Vinyl Records, 1990)

WEBSITE:

http://www.oysterband.co.uk