Mike Hirst – Melodeon – tracks 5, 6, 7, 11, 13.
Mike is an artist, archivist and musician. Mike has played the accordion for more than thirty years and has travelled throughout Europe and the US performing;, collecting songs; and collaborating with musicians, artists, anarchists and agent provocateurs. Mike has recorded in Nashville with Legendary producer Barry Becket (Muscle Shoals, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Traffic, Bob Dylan, John Anderson) and in the UK with Dub Reggae maverick the Mad Professor. Mike Hirst can be heard on recordings by Edward II and the Red Hot Polkas; Brendan Croker; Jim Eldon; and the Mekons. He has performed live with Michelle Shocked, Rory McLeod, Rhythm Sisters and the Black Spot Champions. Festival appearances have included Festival Inteceltique Lorrient; Sidmouth Folk Festival; Cambridge Folk Festival; Whitby Folk Festival; Womad; and Reading Festival. TV and Radio appearances have included BBC Radio 1; BBC Radio 2; and BBC Radio 4; Channel 4 TV; and France Bleu Nord.
Jackie Manai – fiddle – all tracks.
Jackie has been playing violin since the age of 9 and initially was taught classical violin up to the level of grade 8 during her time at school. Initially playing in orchestras including the New Tyneside Orchestra and the most notable concert accompanying Nigel Kennedy at the City Hall in 1988 she was to get her first taster of folk music when Folkworks came to her school to promote Northumbrian tunes. Her love for the uniqueness of folk compared to the conformity of orchestral playing drew her to many folk sessions and play a rounds during her time at Kingston Upon Thames University where she studied Music teaching and it was here that she also began peripatetic violin and piano lessons and was also to acquire her first set of Northumbrian Pipes. On returning to the North East she taught as a Primary school teacher during the day and music teacher at night and continued attending music sessions around Northumberland and also joined the Newbiggin based folk band Below the Salt and later Northumberland Fayre which has included gigs at The Phoenix with Piranha Brothers Unplugged. She currently runs her own catering business with her husband Tino in Stakeford.
Stew Rickard – Melodeon and washboard – tracks 2, 8, 9 and 12.
Beginning as a harmonica player in the Sixties, backing numerous blues and R&B acts, he then learned melodeon in the Seventies and, moving to Cornwall, played in clubs and pubs as well as with Morris bands. Returning to the North East in the Nineties he ran a second-hand book shop whilst also playing in various combos. A well established part of the Newcastle and North Tyneside music scene, Stew has played in various local groups including, most recently, a family combo called The Outfit. He specializes in playing lively Bluegrass, Cajun, Skiffle and especially Rockabilly.
Maurice Baker – Guitars, banjo, bouzouki, percussion and keyboards – all tracks.
Maurice bought his first guitar with money earned from a paper round at the age of fourteen – mainly to impress girls but also to try and follow in the footsteps of Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly and Lonnie Donegan. He gave it up after a few months on discovering how hard it was to copy his idols. Then, in the summer of 1962, aged seventeen, he heard Jailor Bring Me Water by Bobby Darren and, believing it to be a folk song (it was composed by Darren in ’61) became obsessed with going back to musical roots. He bought a cheap guitar and went strumming his way around Europe. Having already begun writing poetry he started making up songs and trying them out in folk clubs around London. Over the following years he developed a unique style of off-beat humorous and serious songs which was fun while it lasted but brought little money. He then trained as a teacher and used his musical talents in the classroom, writing and producing many productions for schools. In the Eighties he formed Sunshine Express, a song-based music group, entertaining children around London and the South. In the Nineties he returned to teaching, continuing to work on musical projects and also publishing several CDs and activity books of original material. In the past few years he has returned to the folk scene, performing in clubs and publishing a semi-autobiographical novel (and CD) titled The Singer-Songwriter’s Last Stand. His latest album, Broken Biscuits, reflects on old age, fame, death, money, love and all those little things.