Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: Ross Campbell
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 12:27 AM

Topic Records are very much still going. The issue number was 12TS209. There was a time when Topic hoped to keep every record they released in catalogue, but I think the first great oil crisis put paid to that ambition.

Some tracks appeared on compilation albums. A Living Thing claims to have downloadable samples, including "The Granemore Hare", but I couldn't get them to play.

Irish Voices has "P for Paddy".

There was a copy on eBay last year - £5! - described as follows:-

The Irish County Four - Songs & Ballads & Instrumental Tunes From Ulster (UK Topic - Stereo - 12TS209 - 1971 - Ex / Ex)

Fantastic condition copy of this scarce album. This young band consists of Brian Bailie (vocals, flute, whistle), Valerie Bailie (vocals, guitar, whistle, bones), Leslie 'Jess' Harper (vocals, guitar, mandolin, bodhran) and Trevor Stewart (vocals, pipes). Reportoire includes jigs, reels, traditional and industrial songs of Ireland. Sleeve notes by A.L. Lloyd.

Non laminated sleeve is clean with no creases at all and just some very faint rubbing at the toop - nothing that detracts from the cover though. Edges and corners are tight and square. Blue & silver Topic labels are clean and free from any spindle marks. Heavyweight vinyl is clean and shiny with no marks at all. A lovely copy !.

This album comes from a collection that has been stored carefully unplayed for 30 years.

(For some reason the entry remained till now on the Spanish eBay site - came up as "non e disponible", but Google still has the page cached.

Ross

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: GUEST,Ballyholme
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 06:44 PM

The album was "Songs, Ballads & Instrumental Tunes from Ulster". The song you are referring to is "Magherafelt Hiring Fair".

Other tracks on the album were: Reels: Roaring Mary/The Old Torn Petticoat; The Cotton-Mill Song; The Granemore Hare; The Boys of Mullaghbawn; Pulling the Lint; Air: The Melodious Little Fort of Bruff; General Munro; The Load of Kale Plants; O'Meally's Hornpipe; Jigs: Kitty's Bonnet/The Flax-Dresser; The Doffing Mistress; The Maid of Ballydoo; Air: Blind Mary; The Heights of Alma; P for Paddy; Reels: Martin Mulhaire's No 1/Kitty Goes a Milking/Pigeon on the Gate.

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: Big Mick
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 04:10 PM

I have given you options you may use. Remember that we are volunteers here, but I am willing to help you with this. We have a policy of not discussing our moderating policies on the threads. Feel free to drop me an email. Use mick at mudcat dot org. I will assist you if you contact me.

Mick

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 04:00 PM

Surely if you can find that I posted 98 times, you can see what the threads/posts were? I presume there is a way of contacting me privately about this.

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: Big Mick
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 03:47 PM

Yes, that is the case when you aren't a member. If you were a member then it would be a simple matter for you to click your name in the "From:" portion of the header of any post of yours. This would give a list of all your posts. Any member can do that. But as a GUEST, I would have to do it by your IP and only certain Mod's can do that.

Give me as much data as you can such as approximate date, etc and I will do what I can.
Mick
Moderator

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 03:45 PM

That's the trouble, I cant remember exactly what the posts were about! Obviously you (I presume as some sort of moderator)were able to tell how many posts came from me, but is this something only a moderator can do?

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: Big Mick
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 03:35 PM

There are 98 posts from your IP. If you had a consistent user name I would be able to focus in easy for you. Do you know the topics? Post them and I will see if I can find them for you.

You should really join. That way you have Personal Message abilities, etc. If you don't join, use a consistent GUEST handle, but you miss certain things. Also, GUESTs are not allowed to start threads in the BS section. Even in the music section one risks having unattributed GUEST posts deleted.

Post here the subjects you wrote about and I will see if I can track the thread.

Mick
Forum Moderator

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 03:19 PM

Yes, Trevor Stewart rings a bell - I assume you don't know the name of the album or the song with "Tambo, Tambo" in it? I suppose I could contact Topic Records - if they are still going that is. If you can think of anything else please post here.

By the way, I posted once or twice some months ago but can't remember the topic(s). Is there a way of finding one's posts in the past on mudcat - short of laboriously looking through each post? I posted as a Guest so do not have a username - if I had the latter, would it be possible or easier?

Subject: RE: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: GUEST,Ballyholme
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 03:10 PM

The group was the Irish Country Four. The album was released by Topic Records of London in the early 1970s.

The group originally came from Newcastle, County Down but were later joined by Trevor Stewart (pipes and vocals) who came from Belfast. Trevor is still performing - mostly in and around Belfast although he did make a few appearances in the U.S. a couple of years ago.

The album has never been released on CD although several tracks have found their way onto compilation CDs.

Subject: Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group?
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Jan 09 - 01:47 PM

I wanted the title of this thread to be "Name of Northern Ireland Folk Group Wanted" but it would only accept a shorter version.

Basically I am trying to find the name of, and as a result, an album (if available) of a probably short-lived folk music group whose members were from Northern Ireland. My brother actually once owned this album (which is where I heard it) but unfortunately (he says!) it got lost among with numerous other records during his many house moves until he finally settled down about 20 years ago (No, the police or bailiffs weren't after him!).

I can remember some points about the group which may help, assuming of course that my memory isn't faulty.

There were at least 3 members of the group. I think there was a husband and wife team, who were called Baillie (or possibly Bailey)and they may have been called Brian and Valerie, though I am more sure about the surname. I am pretty sure there was another member called Leslie "Jess" Harper (or perhaps Harpur)and there may have been a fourth. I also think some at least of the members were from Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland.

The album was probably released in the early to mid-1970s; I lived with my brother or saw him very often for several years around 1974-1977 so I suspect it was around then that it was released (he was fairly well into folk music then, as I was.

I THINK one of the songs on the album was the relatively well-known "Doffin' Mistress", which originates from the Linen Industry. This was later recorded by Maddy Prior and the Girls (Maddy Priort, Rose Kemp, Abbie Lathe) on "Bib and Tuck" (Park Records 2002).

Another, which also has a nice tune which at least I can remember (a pity it is not so easy to put it down here) involved some speaking and singing. The few bits that I can remember involved a man speaking to his Mistress (this is not in the modern sense, but as a servant to his (female) Master, and the word "Mistress" I think may have been used at the end of a spoken part between each verse of the song - I can't remember whether the man asked the Mistress a Question or vice-versa.

What I can remember are the words ..."Tambo, Tambo" at the end of the first line of each verse sung by the Mistress, and "My heart, My Jo" (I think "Jo" here means "Joy" (as in the Scottish song "John Anderson, My Jo", or at least that is my interpretation - if you know of another explanation please let me know) at the end of the second line; there were 4 lines in each verse; I think possibly only the woman sung and the man spoke, but cannot be certain.

There were presumably a number of other songs or tunes on the album, which unfortunately I can't remember anything of. I presume that it was played with acoustic guitar at least, though there may have been the usual instruments accompanying folk music, i.e. fiddle, banjo, tin whistle, etc. There may have been instrumentals as well; I cant specifically remember although this was usually the case in those days.

If anyone knows anything about the group, the album, or the song mentioned above, I would be very keen to know - perhaps even if you don't know directly, you may know of a source of knowledge about the folk music scene (particularly recorded music) in Northern Ireland in the early to mid-1970s. Perhaps there is a recording studio in Bangor (or Belfast, etc) which specialised in folk music, etc.