Biography
Born in York, England, the folk singer and comic songwriter emerged during the 1970s as part of a wave of UK folk-scene humorists that also featured Fred Wedlock, Mike Harding, Richard Digance, and, most prominently, Jasper Carrott and Billy Connolly. His earliest recordings appeared on the Newcastle-based Rubber Records label, including contributions to the comedy compilation There Was This Bloke alongside Mike Harding, Derek Brimstone and Bill Barclay. His debut solo album, backed by the folk-rock group Hedgehog Pie, mixed skiffle on “Goodnight Irene,” a Bob Dylan cover of “To Ramona,” and straight renditions of the traditional pieces “The Foggy Dew” and “Arthur McBride.” National attention arrived after he parodied a familiar Hovis bread television advertisement; the resulting “Capstick Comes Home,” supported by the Carlton Main And Frickley Colliery Band, reached the UK Top 5 in 1981 on the independent Dingle’s label. Chrysalis Records issued the identically titled album, which contained German- and Chinese-language adaptations of the hit, yet neither this collection nor the later seasonal single “Christmas Cracker” achieved commercial success. He continues to perform locally and to work as a radio personality in South Yorkshire.