Shortwaveband (UK band)

Subject: The Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: Michael
Date: 02 Sep 11 - 08:30 AM

Going through a box of inherited LPs I found 'The Shortwaveband's Greatest Hats'recorded 1977. The band appears, from the front cover, to be Phil Harrison and Stuart Gordon, though on the back it lists:
Brian Preston, David Hutt, Duncan Tyler, John Rose, Geoff Martin and David Lord.

The sleeve notes describe the recording as '---our own arrangements of Irish and Scottish melodies---' but refers to another LP with Phil and Stuart's own songs.

I have never come across them before, and the only thing Google brings up is an Oxfam sales site with a copy for £9.99.

Does anybody have any information about them?

Cheers
Mike

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: morning wood
Date: 02 Sep 11 - 10:21 AM

Were they harmonically related do you know?

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,Phil B
Date: 02 Sep 11 - 01:39 PM

They were a great duo hailing from the Bristol area at that time. Certainly one of the more entertaining and 'left field' bands of the time. After the bands demise, I think both of them were in a later line-up of the 'Corgis'. I reconnected with Phil Harrison in the early '80's when he was the house engineer at David Lords recording studio in Walcott st in Bath. Stuart Gordon can be found playing in many local Bristol and Bath bands and is well known for his film and TV music. He's a pretty amazing and unusual fiddler.

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: Michael
Date: 03 Sep 11 - 06:31 PM

Thanks for that Phil, you appear to be to the only 'Catter to know about them.

Mike

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: Peter Butler
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 02:17 AM

I remember seeing Shortwaveband at the Stonehouse (now demolished) late night folk club in Bristol around 1979/80. Good times.

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: Splott Man
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 02:54 AM

I was a follower back in the day, booking them for my folk club in Cardiff. I have both their LPs.

The album mentioned above is from 1976 on Avada Record f Cheltenham.
Their eponymous RCA album (1975) lists musicians as Paul Cobbold, Stuart Gordon, Pick Withers, Phil Harrison and Vick Smith.

They may have worked as a larger unit but I only ever saw them as a duo.

Splott Man

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,Phil B
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 01:44 PM

This should get you to one of Stuarts current activities.
http://www.3caballeros.co.uk

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Sep 11 - 07:56 PM

From the book "Tapestry of Delights" I gather that, before the Shortwave Band, Harrison and Gordon were in a Merseyside band called Sticky George, a name which was later used for a Korgis album title. Presumably one or both had some later link with Bath University as the album (their second) you have come across was recorded there (as you can see !). In The Korgis they worked with some Stackridge people. There was a third SWB album on Pye in 1979 called simply "Shortwave" but I've never seen a copy, though I also own the first two. My "Hats" LP is on the Crescent label - maybe Avada reissued it ??? Stuart Gordon will be playing with Steve Tilston and Keith Warmington at the Rondo Theatre, Bath, on Sat 8th October.

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,Geoff Martin
Date: 24 Mar 14 - 10:15 AM

Good heavens! Just found this. I played very dodgy flute on this with my mate John Rose. He used a converted Hardanger-style fiddle... an idea he got from Stuart Gordon. They lived near us at Combe Down Bath, and when we bumped into them on a local gig they invited us to play at a new folk-club they were starting up at the Viaduct Hotel, Monkton Combe. The club could only operate on a Sunday morning and was called the 'Sunday Joint'... mostly inhabited by Bath trendies. As far as I recall the album used up some left-over cash and was recorded in straight takes using two condenser mics.

The Shortwaveband's usual live set was great fun and consisted of crazy songs and well-known folk tunes played in a most un-traditional style!

Geoff

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,Treacle Bolly
Date: 24 Mar 14 - 12:34 PM

I believe Phil Harrison was a cousin of the more famous George (see previous Merseyside reference !). There is/was a fairly recent clip of him on Youtube playing keyboards in some sort of tourist club in Crete.

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jun 14 - 05:24 AM

The Shortwave Band played at some of the East Anglian fairs in the late 1970s. Here's a picture from the Eye Show in August 1978

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,Treacle Bolly
Date: 29 Jun 14 - 10:08 AM

Noticed from the credits a few nights ago that Stuart Gordon jointly did the music for a BBC4 short TV series on animal swarming (narrated by David Tennant so I kept thinking it was a Twenty Twelve/W1A spoof !).

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,Treacle Bolly
Date: 12 Oct 14 - 08:40 AM

The Short Wave Band was mentioned in the Guardian newspaper yesterday (October 11th 2014), but sadly it was in an obituary for Stuart Gordon, aged 63, written by Keith Warmington.

Subject: RE: Shortwaveband (UK band)
From: GUEST,burla cat
Date: 17 Aug 15 - 09:26 PM

See a book "Bristol Folk" kindle edition. it has 4pages for the shortwaveband.