"That big sound with a brass instrument in the bass and squeezeboxes on top is absolutely distinctive and could only be English."

.. or German !!!??

What German group sounds like the Old Swan Band?

Maybe Austrian then. I bought a couple of CD's while on Holiday in Austria recently. The description at the top pretty much sums up the sound. The difference with the Old Swan Band is in the nature of the tunes and songs.

The hotel we stayed at put on a Tyrolean evening and the basses on the box player's instrument were pretty much pitched to sound a bit like the oompah sound of a brass bass. All very interesting.