Tracks 1. Rigs Of The Time 2. Jordan 3. Across The Line 4. London Town 5. Sloe Gin 6. Courting Too Slow 7. Flash Company 8. Hopkinson's Favourite 9. One May Morning Early 10. The Outlandish Knight 11. Frog's Legs And Dragon's Teeth 12. Fire Marengo 13. Death and the Lady

Musicians: Jon Boden - Vocals, fiddle, tambourine John Spiers - D/G Saltarelle melodeon (tracks 3,4,10,13), D/G Oakwood melodeon (Tracks 5,11), C/F Saltarelle melodoen (tracks 6,7,11,12), Hohner Pokerwork melodeon in Dmin/Gmin (Tracks 1,8). Jeff ries 50 key anglo-concertina in C/G (tracks 2,9). Backing vocals Benji Kirkpatrick - Guitar (tracks 3,6), bouzouki (tracks 10,11,12,13), mandolin (tracks 5,8), tenor banjo (tracks 1,2,4,7), backing vocals Andy Mellon - Trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 3,6,10), backing vocals Justin Thurgur - Trombone Brendan Kelly - Saxes, bass clarinet, backing vocals Gideon Juckes - Sousaphone, tubas, backing vocals Pete Flood - Drums, glockenspiel, stomp -box, frying pan, knives & forks, party blowers, clockwork toys, Casio VL-tone, megaphonic scratching Rachael McShane - Cello, fiddle, vocals Paul Sartin - Fiddle, oboe, backing vocals, megap hone (track 7) Giles Lewin - Fiddle, bagpipes (tracks 2,11), backing vocals

"Astonishing. I mean, I've had a drink but this sounds to me like a landmark ... Bellowhead are taking the music forward with a flair and urgency rarely heard in these parts and I, for one, can't wait for them to make a proper album." COLIN IRWIN – fRoots

Press from the band

And - here it is. 'Burlesque.' Not so much a Big Band as a small independent country, Bellowhead is an 11 piece busy pushing the boundaries of English roots music into regions where few have previously dared to tread.

Bellowhead's debut gig took place at the first Oxford festival in April 2004, brought together by the acclaimed folk duo John Spiers & Jon Boden. They dreamt up the band while stuck in traffic somewhere on the M25. John & Jon phoned Paul Sartin, Benji Kirkpatrick and Giles Lewin who all agreed to form the core of the new band while the duo were still on said motorway. The idea was to have an English traditional folk band at the heart of the collective, also capable of switching between a big band sound, funk styles, and a string section.

The first gig was an instant success despite the fact that Bellowhead had only managed to spend one afternoon, in a scout hut, rehearsing. Later that same summer, Bellowhead managed to inspire such enthusiasm, on a balmy night at Sidmouth Festival, that an invigorated crowd broke the dance floor. Interest in the band developed beyond the immediate fringes of the folk scene immediately after the independent release of the 'E.P.Onymous', a 5 track demo which was initially produced to send to promoters and sell a few at gigs.

The response to the EP was so great that the band were persuaded to release it officially and it promptly got a 5 star review in MOJO magazine: “Though only a five-track EP, the first offering of the Boden & Spiers big band is just too good to be allowed to skulk in the shadows. The likes of Paul Sartin (fiddle) and Benji Kirkpatrick (guitar/bouzouki) join a full blooded horn section to nudge the already formidable Boden & Spiers energy quota to overload and they rework tracks.. into a thrilling frenzy.

2005 saw the band play at the prestigious Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow and then sweep up Best Live Act at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, where they gave a stunning performance at the televised ceremony.