BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2010 Best Live Act
"With the exception of the Who, Bellowhead are surely the best live act in the country” - The Independent
“Best live band we have. No contest” - fRoots
“One of the country’s greatest live outfits. They should be a greater source of national pride”- The Daily Mirror
“Visually stunning, musically amazing…” – Songlines
“The biggest, rowdiest and quite possibly, best thing to have happened to English folk for a long while..” - Q Magazine
Winner of 5 consecutive nominations for BEST LIVE BAND at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Jon Boden: Vocals / Fiddle / Tambourine
John Spiers: Melodeon / Concertina
Benji Kirkpatrick: Guitar / Bouzouki / Mandolin / Banjo
Rachael McShane: Cello / Fiddle
Paul Sartin: Fiddle / Oboe
Sam Sweeney: Fiddle / Bagpipes
Pete Flood: Percussion
Gideon Juckes/Ed Neuhaser: Helicon
Justin Thurgur: Trombone
Brendan Kelly: Saxophones / Bass Clarinet
Andy Mellon: Trumpet
How many bands can include the West Coast’s Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the Black Country’s Frank Skinner, the legendary Glen Campbell and the creators of The Simpsons amongst their ever increasing fan base?
The rousing, sharp-suited Bellowhead were first unleashed onto an unsuspecting audience at the Oxford Festival in April 2004; a multi-talented group of 11 musicians; friends, or friends of friends, quickly melded into a collective capable of playing a plethora of styles from around the world - big band to soul; jazz-funk to classical strings, with more than a hint of music-hall about them - retaining, at its heart, a unique sensitivity to English traditional music.
An instant, riotous success, within a few months Bellowhead were voted ‘Best Live Group’ in the 2005 BBC Folk Awards and audiences had already broken two festival dance floors, such was their enthusiasm. Public demand forced the band to release ‘E.P.onymous’ (a 5-track demo initially produced for promoters) which promptly received a 5 star review in MOJO.
2006 saw the release of their extraordinary, groundbreaking album, ‘Burlesque’, to critical acclaim. Heralded as one of the most ‘important folk recordings ever made….its flowing stream of humour, intelligence, meticulous research, and free-ranging imagination” ‘Burlesque’ had fans and reviewers searching for ever-greater superlatives.
At the end of that year, Bellowhead further impressed when performing on BBC TV’s ‘Later with Jools Holland’, wowing the global audience and winning a host of new fans.
The band started 2007 in characteristic style winning ‘Best Group’ and ‘Best Live Band’ again at the BBC Folk Awards.
After show-stealing performances at the re-opening of London's Royal Festival Hall, they were appointed Artists in Residence at London's Southbank Centre, following in the footsteps of chart-toppers, Saint Etienne.
Voted ‘Best Live Band’ for a 3rd time at the BBC Folk Awards they undertook concert tours and headlining festival appearances across the UK, Europe & Canada. The band raised the roof at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall and Proms in the Park to appreciative audiences of over 50,000 people.
Their eagerly awaited 2nd studio album ‘Matachin’ (Ma`ta*shin), released on the Navigator Label in July 2008, went straight into the UK Album Charts at No. 73. The reviews were once again unanimous in their praise, and the ‘Matachin’ Launch Tour included a sell-out show at the iconic venue in North London, ‘Koko’s.
Bellowhead began 2009 in suitably impressive style with another 3 nominations in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards – Best Live Band, Best Group and Best Traditional Track and a nomination for ‘Album of the Year’ in the fRoots Critics Poll.
2009 also saw the release of their first Live DVD recorded at another sell-out concert in Shepherd’s Bush Empire. February 2009 featured a notorious, sell-out appearance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in ‘A Dirty Weekend With Bellowhead’, an alternative St Valentines’ night, complete with cross-dressing, Burlesque dancing and a 30 piece choir.
A highly successful three-week tour across Canada during the Summer of 2009 preceeded an 11 date Autumn UK tour. Revealing the incredibly diverse musical backgrounds and interests of the 11 band members, Bellowhead released an 14 track compilation of individual recordings (‘Umbrellowhead’ – Megafone).
During the winter season the band headlined on a BBC Four TV Special (The Christmas Sessions), made an appearance on Radio 3’s ‘In Tune’, recorded a live session on Radio 2’s Radcliffe & Maconie Show and made another live appearance, this time ‘on the sofa’ on BBC Breakfast TV.
Bellowhead rounded off 2009 with a nautically-themed New Year’s Eve Spectacular for 2,000 people at the Southbank, ‘an event that will be talked about by those who were lucky enough to be there, for years to come’.
2010 is already lining up to be another amazing year in the life of this unique, genre-busting band. Bellowhead have recorded their version of The Simpson’s theme tune for 20th Century Fox at the invitation of Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me, 30 Days).
Even more thrilling than that, the band can now confirm that their next new studio album will be produced by the legendary John Leckie (Stone Roses, Radiohead, Buzzcocks) at the Abbey Road studios. The new album will be released to coincide with a major UK tour in the Autumn.