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[Tamba]

Hi,
having dropped a manhole cover on my right ring finger yesterday I am resigned to a couple of weeks listening, not playing. There has been a lot of mention of Dave Roberts on other threads lately. His two tracks on 'English Melodeon Players' (Sussex Mazurka/Essex Bazurka, Moll in the Wood/A trip to..) had a great effect on me and really helped me to cross the rows and experiment with the basses. However I am really stuck when I tried to find other stuff that Dave recorded.

I know some of his recordings with Blowzabella, can any one think of any of their recordings that are led by the melodeon, so that you can hear his playing clearly? Are there any other recordings by him tucked away anywhere else. I have seen the video on Youtube of him playing/dancing, is there any more of that anywhere? It seems a real shame to me that such a great and influential player has made so few solo recordings. Can someone out there please prove me wrong?

Many thanks,
Tim

[Simon W]

Dave made a couple of albums with a band called Banjax who were based in Hastings  - "Marbles on the Dance floor" and "Chaos in one", although he plays other instruments on these as well as melodeon. Latterly he was really interested in playing the pipes. His melodeon is well to the fore on a lot of the Blowzabella stuff, particularly "Bobbityshooty" and "A Richer Dust".I don't know of any other recordings but other people on this forum may.

Simon

[pipives]

Dave made a couple of albums with a band called Banjax who were based in Hastings  - "Marbles on the Dance floor" and "Chaos in one", although he plays other instruments on these as well as melodeon. Latterly he was really interested in playing the pipes. His melodeon is well to the fore on a lot of the Blowzabella stuff, particularly "Bobbityshooty" and "A Richer Dust".I don't know of any other recordings but other people on this forum may.

Simon

On one of the Blowzabella compilation CD's (name escapes me) he plays solo/lead box on a waltz called Englantine. He plays melodeon and pipes on 'Chaos in one' but I don't know where you'd get hold of that, or 'Marbles on the dance floor- (I want this one, any ideas anyone?). My copy of Chaos in one is wearing out too!

[Tamba]

Thanks Simon,
I'll look out for the Banjax stuff.

Thanks Pip,
I learnt Eglantine from my brother, always wondered where he got it from. It is currently available on Itunes (on what I assume to be a recently released compilation CD) so I'll download it later.

regards,
Tim
p.s. seems a shame that so little Blowzabella stuff is available at present or am I just looking in the wrong places?

[Simon W]

Tim

Try Jo Freya's website - she seems to sell the merchandise for them.
http://www.freyamusic.co.uk/merch.html
Eglantine is on Bobbityshooty.

Simon

[ganderbox]

Tim

Try Jo Freya's website - she seems to sell the merchandise for them.
http://www.freyamusic.co.uk/merch.html
Eglantine is on Bobbityshooty.

Simon

Thanks for the tip, Simon. I've just ordered 3 CDs of Blowzabella albums to replace the worn out vinyl or tapes which I already have.
I wish it was possible to get all of their albums on CD. In particular I'd love to get hold of a copy of
of the B To ABlowzabella, which I only have on a very old cassette, and which has some of the traditional French tunes which don't appear on any of their other albums. Also Pingha Frenzy, which has somehow completely passed me by.

[Simon W]

Pauline

I never had a copy of the B to A of Blowzabella - it's probably as rare as hen's teeth. I did hear that the band were looking at reissuing their recordings in a more coherent fashion but don't know what's happening about that.
I have a copy of Pingha Frenzy on vinyl and CD! It's on the "Some Bizarre" label which was originally started by Marc Almond. They still have a website but I think the album is deleted - there's some nice stuff on there. I still have vinyl copies of "In colour" and  "Blowzabella" and maybe one day I'll digitise them.

Simon

[Bananayogi]

There is also a Dave Shepherd/Dave Roberts track on the 2 LP 'Buttons and Bows' compilation - Sellenger's Round/Drops Of Brandy/Peacock Follows The Hen. Very nice too.

I know there was a second set in this series, but I don't know if he is on it...

[ganderbox]

There is also a Dave Shepherd/Dave Roberts track on the 2 LP 'Buttons and Bows' compilation - Sellenger's Round/Drops Of Brandy/Peacock Follows The Hen. Very nice too.

I know there was a second set in this series, but I don't know if he is on it...

Blimey...the dust is getting shaken off the old cassette collection at the moment!
I appear to have a copy of Buttons and Bows vol 2 in there. There is a Dave Shepherd/Stuart Moffat track on it, but I can't see any mention of Dave Roberts...although I only have a handwritten list of tracks, not the original insert...

[pbsalt]

Just looked at my copy of Buttons & bows Vol 2 - Dave Roberts isn't on.
What great memories this thread brings back  - especially the English Melodeon Players record.
.. paul

[mikesamwild]

Takes me back, we had some great sessions in the early 80s when Dave was with The Earls of Essex - Churls the bad boys of morris! I was with Sheffield City Morris, equally iconoclastic. He was always an inspiration

[Scallyanglo]

A few Blowzabella (but possibly not Dave Roberts) tunes and news of upcoming gigs on http://www.myspace.com/blowzabella

Delighted to find a live version of Rose of Raby there (with Andy Cutting?) I've been working on this for the last few days.

[Tamba]

Thanks for your help with this thread everybody. I was thinking of contacting Plant Life Records to see if Dave had recorded anything else as part of the sessions for the English Melodeon Players LP, but they have long since gone out of business. It seems amazing that a player of Dave Roberts' quality and influence seems to have slipped through the net a bit when it comes to solo recordings. It would be great to see a retrospective CD of his playing but there doesn't seem to be enough material out there  . Is anyone still in contact with Dave's wife, maybe she knows of some unreleased gems lying forgotten somewhere??

  Tim

[pipives]

Thanks for your help with this thread everybody. I was thinking of contacting Plant Life Records to see if Dave had recorded anything else as part of the sessions for the English Melodeon Players LP, but they have long since gone out of business. It seems amazing that a player of Dave Roberts' quality and influence seems to have slipped through the net a bit when it comes to solo recordings. It would be great to see a retrospective CD of his playing but there doesn't seem to be enough material out there  . Is anyone still in contact with Dave's wife, maybe she knows of some unreleased gems lying forgotten somewhere??

  Tim

I'll do my best to find out from Rachel (Dave's wife) if there's anything around. I was lucky enough to have been learning just before his demise, and at the time was recording many sessions, so as to pick the tunes up. On these tapes, there are a fair few tunes played by dave on pipes and melodeon. My favourite has to be the random, improvised accompaniment of the song 'Old Dun Cow'

[Tamba]

Many thanks Pip,
let us know if you come up with anything, it would be great if there was some material of Dave's that we haven't yet heard, I'm sure a lot of people would be interested.

Tim

[mikesamwild]

He also pioneered a casette and book of the tunebook by Wm Mittell, found by Barry Dransfield in Hastings, with synthesiser programmed tunes.  Good source of tunes.

[pipives]

He also pioneered a casette and book of the tunebook by Wm Mittell, found by Barry Dransfield in Hastings, with synthesiser programmed tunes.  Good source of tunes.

I may have a copy of the book somewhere, I have so much music I can't remember. I definitely have the Mittell stuff in abc format and some of it in MIDI.
I'm not sure whether the cassette ever got released

[Simon W]

I'm not sure whether the cassette ever got released

Pip

Yes it did - I have a copy - its mostly synthesisers but there are some tracks by the "Heavy Mittell Band"

Simon

[mikesamwild]

I have the casette I like it cos you can make your own interpretation from the basic synth notes.  It helps to go through and choose the tunes you like if you,re not a quick music reader