Hi Barry
I first met the Bully Wee Band when I was living in Huddersfield in 1976 after leaving music college. There were two Scottish brothers, John & Jim Yardley, and a chap from Northern Ireland, Frank Simon. I used to go and stay with John in Ruislip and we'd have the craic.
Then in 1980 I worked with Ian Cutler at the National Theatre when I was depping for Jon Davey and Ian was depping for Pete Bullock in what was otherwise the Home Service in a play about Vietnam called Dispatches by Michael Herr. Ian's a great fiddle player and a very nice guy. He told me his regular gig was BWB and that only Jim remained of the guys I used to know.
Later when Jim left to go to live in Norway I was invited to join, to change the direction slightly away from the more traditional sound by introducing my trusty fretless bass ("third arm") to the sound. Then it all got very smoky for two years and I don't remember much about it
except that we travelled a lot in Germany and a bit in Scandinavia. We did a lot of gigs but didn't get much money. Then we got a much better agent but a lot less gigs... Ian announced one night that he was leaving the band to get married and the band just fizzled out.
Fergus and I became great pals and we went off to Oslo for a month playing in a dive because we were skint. There was one more tour outstanding in Germany so Fergus and I got Jim back from Norge for it. An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman got in a car and went to play for the squaddies. We even got arrested by military police at the last gig for bad parking! Luckily the music was fab and we had a good laugh. Germany's great to tour in.
Then I got married and soon after I was invited to join Fairport so we moved up to the folk-rock belt of North Oxfordshire. I still see Fergus. He lives in Galway now.
As for playing with the BWB again, I don't know. It was in another lifetime and Colin and I never really hit it off.
Maart
