The sexy folk of Bellowhead return to Oxford for homecoming gig

Turbo-charged folk, fuelled with big band energy, punk-rock spirit, avant-garde experimentalism and a twist of cabaret; Bellowhead play traditional English music – but like you’ve never heard it before.

The band have been at the forefront of the English new-folk revival, injecting an anarchic sense of fun into an esoteric and unfashionable genre.

In short, Bellowhead made folk sexy. And it all started in Oxford.

On Saturday, the band founded by and multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters John Spiers and Jon Boden return to the city of their birth, for a show at the New Theatre.

The show coincides with the city’s annual feast of roots music Oxford Folk Weekend, which boasts Spiers as its patron, and features a show by the melodeon player earlier the same day – though Jon insists the booking is a happy accident.

“It’s all coincidence,” says Jon. “We certainly didn’t appreciate it was the folk weekend when the gigs were organised, but it has all worked out well. After all, Oxford is a home gig for us.”

It was in Oxford, during a pub session at the Elm Tree, in Cowley Road that ‘Squeezy’ John – the son of Abingdon Morris dancing legend ‘Stan’ Spiers – met fiddle and guitar player Jon, at the time living above the Half Moon pub, in St Clements.

The meeting led to the creation of their stripped-down folk duo Spiers and Boden.

Bellowhead itself was also born in the city, when the duo were booked to play the first Oxford Folk Festival – the predecessor of the Folk Weekend – by organiser and musician Tim Healey, from South Oxford.

“The Folk Festival instigated the existence of Bellowhead,” says Jon.

“We were playing the festival and Tim also wanted a traditional band to play the Saturday night, and asked if I could recommend anyone, and I said ‘yes, I can recommend a band that doesn’t exist yet.’ And we went out to source musicians to play the gig.”

They recruited a dream team of artists, playing not just traditional folk instruments, but trumpets, trombones and drums.

“We met for the first time the day before the gig in a Scout Hut near Cowley Road. It was a strange couple of days,” says Jon.”

That was 11 years ago. Since then the 11-piece band have gone on to great things, their brash class of brass, piano, strings and squeeze box, winning over audiences everywhere from Glastonbury Festival to the Southbank Centre and Royal Albert Hall, as well as mainland Europe and North America. Along the way they have picked up armfuls of awards, winning Best Live Band at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards a record five times and seeing their tunes playlisted on Radio 2 – no mean feat for a folk band.

Their re-working of The Archers theme accompanies its Ambridge Extra sister show on BBC Radio 4 Extra, while Jon also composed music for the RSC’s touring production of The Winter’s Tale.

Clearly Bellowhead is more than just another roots group. But what is it exactly?

“The thing that ties it all together is traditional English folk songs, more or less,” says Jon, who lives in Sheffield.

“We find old traditional texts and melodies and go from there. It’s a free-for-all with whatever anyone wants to throw at it.

“Prog-folk is the epithet that best sums it up, but there are also punk and Kurt Weill cabaret elements. They are the things the band coalesce around.

“The first gig was billed as the Spiers and Boden Big Band, and it was very much that. We took material from our repertoires and arranged it for 11 players. Moving on from that, it opened up in quite dramatic ways.

“The first couple of albums were about experimenting with what we can do and what worked, while the last couple are experimental in terms of individual tracks. We’ve found a sound we are comfortable with.

“We feel in a special place musically, but are also a bit of a blank slate in terms if material and where we want to go next.”

The show will see them playing tunes from latest album Revival – the biggest selling traditional folk album of the year, and released on Island Records. They include the single Roll Alabama, which will be released on Monday.

While the duo of Spiers and Boden remain on what Jon calls “indefinite hiatus”, rumours are rife of a collaboration, with Spiers billed to appear with a mystery guest.

“I’m not sure who he’s playing with,” he says. “We’ll have to see who he’s roped in.

“We have taken a break,” he goes on. “It was getting a bit hectic, with Revival being on a major label and we felt we ought to do it full time.

“We didn’t fall out or anything though. It’s not like we’ve split up!”

And he encouraged fans to see his bandmate’s solo show.

“It’s a good opportunity,” he says.

“When we play together, we make a big noise. Even though we are only a duo, it’s a wall of noise, so people find it interesting to see John by himself. He’s an intricate and inventive player.”

Oxford drinkers could also be in for a post-show surprise, with the band frequently following gigs with impromptu sing-alongs.

“We have got into doing after show sessions in local pubs, which is good fun,” says Jon.

“Bellowhead are quite theatrical, so it’s nice to go somewhere and play proper folk music and play with other musicians. People should follow us on Twitter and we’ll let them know where we’ll be. It’s pretty ad hoc though, and depends whether pubs are amenable.

“Having 500 people turning up at one small pub doesn’t really work. But as it is Oxford Folk Weekend, there will probably be an organised session.”

And, he said, he’s looking forward to joining in the fun. “It was very sad when the original Oxford Folk Festival had to stop, so it’s great they have carried it on with the Folk Weekend.

“Ironically, being in a folk band, it’s difficult to find the time to go to many festivals, so it will be great to hang out.

“It’ll be good to be back.”

CHECK IT OUT
Bellowhead play the New Theatre Oxford on Saturday.
Tickets £22.40-£28.40 plus booking fee from atgtickets.com

More on Oxford Folk Weekend here...