Blyth Power

Blyth Power
Origin Somerset, England
Genres Folk rock, folk punk, folk
Years active 1983–present
Labels All the Madmen
Midnight Music
Downwarde Spiral
Anagram Records
Associated acts Mad Dogs and English Men
Red Wedding
Zounds
The Mob
The Kills
Members Joseph Porter
Annie Hatcher
Jerry Hellfire
Ben Bailey

Blyth Power are a British rock band formed in 1983 by singer and drummer Joseph Porter, formerly of Zounds and The Mob.

Blyth Power's music shows strong influences from punk rock and folk music, and the band members have described their sound as a cross between The Clash, Steeleye Span and The Rubettes.[1]

Career

Established in 1983 and named after a railway locomotive,[2] the one constant in an ever-shifting lineup has been drummer, vocalist, and songwriter Joseph Porter (real name Gary James Hatcher,[3] born 21 February 1962 in Templecombe, Somerset[4]). The band's lyrics often deal with episodes from history, ranging from the Trojan War to the Cod War — as well as aspects of English culture such as cricket, village life and trains. Porter is an avowed trainspotter, and in August 1998 the band appeared on the LWT television programme Holy Smoke! in a slot in which musicians discussed their individual religions — with trainspotting cited as his religion.[5]

Since 1993, Blyth Power recordings have been released on their own label, Downwarde Spiral. Since 2000 they have cut back on their touring schedule due to various personal commitments, but they have organised an annual mini-festival, the Blyth Power Ashes. The festival takes place in August of each year, and combines live music with a cricket match featuring band members and their associates. From 2011 the event moved to The Plough, in Farcet Fen near Peterborough due to its ever-increasing popularity. From 2015 The Ashes takes place at The Hunters Inn in Longdon, near Tewkesbury.[6]

Joseph Porter has also been involved with various side-projects, such as doing solo guitarist/vocalist performances and collaborating in two other bands, Red Wedding and Mad Dogs & Englishmen.

Members

Current members

  • Joseph Porter (drums/lead vocals) Formerly of The Mob and Zounds
  • Annie Hatcher (keyboards/harmony vocals)
  • Jerry Hellfire (guitar)
  • Ben Bailey (bass)

Former members

  • Neil Keenan (guitar)
  • Curtis Youé (bass) - a former member of The Mob
  • Andy Morgan (harmony vocals)
  • Sarah Lewington (harmony vocals)
  • Martin "Protag" Neish (bass) - a former member of Alternative TV
  • Steve Ardcorr (guitar)
  • Jamie Hince (guitar) - later formed Scarfo and The Kills
  • Sian Jeffreys (harmony vocals)
  • Julie Dalkin (harmony vocals)
  • Helen Rush (harmony vocals)
  • Wob (guitar)
  • Darren Tansley (keyboards)
  • John Rutherford (guitar)
  • Chris Hopkins (guitar)
  • Andrew "Jessi" Adams (guitar) - Member of Eastfield
  • Bambi (bass) - Member of Eastfield
  • Gary Miller (guitar) - Member of The Whisky Priests
  • Steven Cooper (guitar)

Discography

Chart placings are from the UK Indie Chart.[7] Source:Blyth Power on Discogs.com

Demo

  • A Little Touch of Harry in the Night (Released in 1984 as demo cassette.[8] Released in 2010 as CD[9])

Albums

  • Wicked Women, Wicked Men and Wicket Keepers (1986 - All The Madmen Records - No. 6)
  • The Barman and Other Stories (1988 - Midnight Music Records)
  • Alnwick and Tyne (1990 - Midnight Music Records)
  • The Guns of Castle Cary (1991 - Midnight Music Records)
  • Karpov Crosses the Border (1992, but unreleased until c.2000)
  • Pastor Skull (1993 - Downwarde Spiral Records)
  • Paradise Razed (1995 - Downwarde Spiral Records)
  • Out from Under the King (1996 - Downwarde Spiral Records)
  • On the Viking Station (2002 - Downwarde Spiral Records)
  • Fall of Iron (2006)
  • Land Sea & Sky (2009)
  • Women and Horses and Power and War (2014)

Singles

  • Chevy Chase (1985) No. 11
  • Junction Signal (1985) No. 18
  • Ixion (1986) No. 12
  • Up from the Country (1988)
  • Goodbye to All That (1988)
  • Better to Bat (1990)
  • A Wild Card to Play (1995)

Compilations

  • Pont Au-Dessus de la Brue (1989, compilation of early singles)
  • Ten Years Inside the Horse (1994, compilation)
  • A Rededication of Pastor Skull (1997, live re-recording of the Pastor Skull album in its entirety)
  • Gladly Give to Caesar (1999, live album)
  • The Bricklayer's Arms (2000, new recordings of early songs)
  • Red Wedding (2004, acoustic album by Joseph Porter and Stephen Cooper)

Appearances

  • Reality Asylum (cover version of the song by Crass on the compilation album 'You've Heard It All Before' Ruptured Ambitions Records (1993)

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

  • Going Down with Alice (2000, album by Mad Dogs and Englishmen, including Joseph Porter)

Joseph Porter solo album

  • When Death Went to Bed With a Lady (1998, Joseph Porter solo album)

Videos

  • Do the One About the Horse (1990)
  • Live in Harlow (1995)

1985/86 releases were on All the Madmen, 1988 to 1991 releases on Midnight Music, with the exception of "Do the One About the Horse" which was on Kahootz, and all releases since 1992 on Downwarde Spiral with the exception of "Ten Years Inside the Horse" which was on Anagram, a division of Cherry Red Records.

References

  1. ↑ Random Band Agency website Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Cherry Red Records website
  3. ↑ Name as per Porter's listing at BMI
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave. Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 58. ISBN 0-85112-657-X.
  5. ↑ LWT (1998-08-17). "untitled". Holy Smoke!. Season 2. Episode 5.
  6. ↑ Blyth Power : News Page
  7. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
  8. ↑ Discogs.com
  9. ↑ Discogs.com
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