Music and Songs from the Celtic Sea to the North Atlantic
The Musicians
Andy Bole - guitar, bouzoukiAndy toured Europe with Alan for several years with The Late Night Band, recording two albums. His eclectic tastes and virtuosic skill as a string player and composer have led to work with musicians as diverse as Eurythmics, Fairport Convention and The Electric Light Orchestra, whilst retaining a lifelong passion for traditional music. He has recorded several well-received albums including Rainbow Crow, a bouzouki album recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.
Paul James - saxophone, vocals, whistles, border pipesPaul and Alan met at school aged 11. They started singing and playing music together soon after and have a common repertoire of sea songs and traditional tunes going back over half a century. Paul has an international reputation as a leading and innovative traditional musician and composer; running Blowzabella for over 40 years, his other bands have included Evening Star with Patrick Bouffard and, currently, Belgian-based Threo. Paul composed the music for the masque Comos for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and for several years was Director of the National Centre for Folk Arts at Halsway Manor. He now lives in Belgium.
Penny McCarthy - clarinet, vocals, renaissance recorders, euphoniumOriginally from the port city of Liverpool, Penny started playing traditional music with her family as a girl, touring in England, France and Belgium. A period at the University of Rennes and membership of the Circle Celtique de Rennes led to an interest in Breton traditional music; Penny also collected many tunes from old players in the Vendee and Auvergne in the 1970s.In the 1990s, she founded Live Wires, a joint project with Folk South West, working with young musicians in the West Country to raise the profile of musical traditions in the region.
Alan Lamb - melodeon, crwth, fiddle and cello, vocalsAlan’s family has had a fiddle player in every generation back to 1740.Alan was born in Ireland, and as a young man farmed and dredged for oysters on the west coast of Galway. Alan now lives in the Welsh Marches, the borders of England and Wales.Alan’s discography includes two albums with the Late Night Band, tracks on the album English Fiddle Players, and albums with Cliff Stapleton, Rod Stradling, Agnes Burnell, Chris Wood and Andy Turner. He also features in the Anglo/French melodeon tune book Liasons Diatoniques, along with Andy Cutting, Marc Peron, Frederic Paris and Bruno le Tron.Most recently he has played with Boldwood, and can be seen in a periwig playing dance music for the BBC’s epic Cornish series Poldark. Alan founded The Sea Band in 2017 with Penny McCarthy and Graham Jenkins.
The Sea Band
Alan Lamb - melodeon, crwth, fiddle and cello, vocalsAlan’s family has had a fiddle player in every generation back to 1740. Alan was born in Ireland, and as a young man farmed and dredged for oysters on the west coast of Galway. Alan now lives in the Welsh Marches, the borders of England and Wales.Alan’s discography includes two albums with the Late Night Band, tracks on the album English Fiddle Players,and albums with Cliff Stapleton, Rod Stradling, Agnes Burnell, Chris Wood and Andy Turner. He also features in the Anglo/French melodeon tune book Liasons Diatoniques, along with Andy Cutting, Marc Peron, Frederic Paris and Bruno le Tron.Most recently he has played with Boldwood, and can be seen in a periwig playing dance music for the BBC’s epic Cornish series Poldark. Alan founded The Sea Band in 2017 with Penny McCarthy and Graham Jenkins.
Penny McCarthy - clarinet, vocals, renaissance recorders, euphoniumOriginally from the port city of Liverpool, Penny started playing traditional music with her family as a girl, touring in England, France and Belgium. A period at the University of Rennes and membership of the Circle Celtique de Rennes led to an interest in Breton traditional music; Penny also collected many tunes from old players in the Vendee and Auvergne in the 1970s.In the 1990s, she founded Live Wires, a joint project with Folk South West, working with young musicians in the West Country to raise the profile of musical traditions in the region.
The Musicians
Songs and Music from the Celtic Sea to the North Atlantic
Andy Bole - guitar, bouzoukiAndy toured Europe with Alan for several years with The Late Night Band, recording two albums with the band. His eclectic tastes and virtuosic skill as a string player and composer have led to work with musicians as diverse as Eurythmics, Fairport Convention and The Electric Light Orchestra, whilst retaining a lifelong passion for traditional music. He has recorded several well-received albums including Rainbow Crow, a bouzouki album recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.