Biographies of band members
Ian Giles
founder member;
appears on all CDs
Ian is lead singer and frontman for the band. His voice is amongst the finest on the folk scene: warm and mellow, but with great power when required. A veteran of many folk club gigs and pub sessions, Ian is equally at home with a lyrical ballad, or leading a lusty chorus song. On the instrumental front, he adds tabor, side drum, tambourine, bodhran and, on occasion, hurdy-gurdy.
Ian is a member of the Oxford Waits; he has sung in the three-part harmony
groups Vinegar Tom (with Darren Ormandy and Kathryn Nutbeem), GMW (with Ian Woods and Oxford's favourite Yorkshireman Graham Metcalfe), and Folly Bridge (with Graham Metcalfe and Claire Lloyd); he has recorded with the Mellstock Band and Christminster
Singers, and has made guest appearances on CDs by Belshazzar's Feast, Anne Fentiman & Dave Webber and many others. He is also acknowldged as an influence and mentor by a younger generation of folk performers including Jon Boden, John Spiers and Paul Sartin. His own solo album "The
Amber Triangle" is available on the WildGoose label.
Andy Turner
founder member; appears
on all CDs
Winner of the Sidmouth Singer award way back in 1984, Andy is
equally well respected as a singer and anglo-concertina
player. An occasional member of the Oyster Band in the
early eighties, he also worked with Chris Wood (as a
duo, and in Polkabilly), and has sung on three of the
Mellstock Band's CDs. Andy is a member of dance
bands Oxford NAGS and Geckoes, and West Gallery choir the
Christminster Singers. He performs regularly at folk clubs
and festivals, both solo and in a duo with Mat Green.
More at
www.magpielane.co.uk/andyturner
afolksongaweek.wordpress.com
Mat Green
founder member;
appears on all CDs
Began dancing with Bampton Morris in 1972 and has become one of the key figures in the current generation of dancers. He has been playing fiddle since the age of 13, both for the morris, and for many years with the Woodpecker Band, possibly Oxfordshire's most popular barn dance band. He is surely one of the finest exponents of the traditional style of English fiddle-playing, giving dance tunes tremendous vigour and vitality. Mat also plays in a duo with Andy Turner.
Jon Fletcher
first played with Magpie Lane 2004
appears on: Knock at the Knocker, The Robber Bird, Three Quarter Time
Joined Magpie Lane in 2004, playing guitar, bouzouki and harmonica. Jon grew up in a musical family in
Reading and during the late 90s played with siblings Kate and Colin, and
fiddler/singer Nancy Kerr, in acclaimed roots-pop group Epona,
who toured the folk and festival circuit in the UK and Germany and
released the album "Shine Again". Now living in Oxford, he combines performing with teaching,
production work and - until recently - running a youth music project. As well as performing
his own material, Jon is a sought-after collaborator, performing and
recording with a number of other artists in Oxford's vibrant acoustic
scene, including Lisa Fitzgibbon, Sharron Kraus and Matt Sage.
Jon's solo albums "When The Music Ends" and "A Month in the Summer" feature largely self-composed material covering a musical spectrum from folk to swinging jazz and soulful acoustic pop.
More at
www.jonfletcher.co.uk
Sophie Thurman
first played with Magpie Lane 2001.
appears on: Six for Gold, Knock at the Knocker, The Robber Bird, Three Quarter Time
Joined the band in January 2001. Sophie studied music at the Colchester Institute of Music where - amongst other things - she became involved in West Gallery singing. With Magpie Lane she sings, plays the cello and tambourine, and does on-stage prawn impressions.
Sophie currently performs in folk duo Jenkinson's Folly with her husband Phil Thurman; she has recorded a CD of celtic songs with ex-Fairport musician Maartin Allcock, and was a member of Oxford all-woman quartet Divers Divas. But she is also involved in a range of musical activities beyond the folk scene: she is a sought-after classical soprano soloist, has sung in smoky late-night jazz duo Lady Daze, and played cello for singer-songwriter Phil Bentley.
Magpie Lane 2004-2008
Having moved away from Oxford, Marguerite decided to take a break from the band in December 2008.
Magpie Lane 2001-2004
Benji joined Magpie Lane in 1999,
contributing
guitar,
bouzouki and vocals. He started performing solo in 1998,
and released his first CD "Dance in the Shadow" later the same year to universally
favourable reviews. He has subsequently released further solo CDs, but is probably best known as a member of Bellowhead and Faustus (previously Dr Faustus).
Benji has also played with family dance bands
Copperknob and Sons, Kirkophany, the John Kirkpatrick Ceilidh Band
and Mr. Gubbin's Bicycle; was part of the Oysterband "Big
Session"; accompanied John Jones on his solo tours; has been a member of Seth Lakeman's touring band; and is currently a member of Steeleye Span.
www.benjikirkpatrick.com
Magpie Lane 1999-2001
Tom Bower
founder
member; left December 2000.
appeared on: Oxford Ramble, Speed the Plough, Wassail,
Jack-in-the-Green, A Taste of Ale.
Tom added a number of instruments to Magpie Lane's
line-up - whistles, flute, recorders, harmonium, dulcimer, bass
mandolin, even bass guitar when we let him (!) . He
also contributed lead and harmony vocals, and along with
Andy Turner was one of the main arrangers of the group's
material. Outside Magpie Lane, Tom formerly sang with the
Christminster Singers, and has played bass with any
number of local dance bands (principally Bathsheba's Wedding at present). He is also an extremely fine and
original artist; amongst many other commissions, Tom has
provided cover artwork for CDs by the Mellstock Band,
Dave Townsend and Northern Harmony - and most recently for the Magpie Lane CD "The 25th".
Check out Tom's artwork at tombower.co.uk
Magpie Lane 1993-1998
Peter Acty
founder
member; left 1999.
appeared on: Oxford Ramble, Speed the Plough, Wassail,
Jack-in-the-Green.
An immensely sensitive accompanist on guitar, Pete had
worked with Ian Giles for a number of years before
joining Magpie Lane. In addition to Magpie Lane's first
four recordings, Pete's guitar and mandola work can be
heard on several collections on the Beautiful Jo label. Now living in Devon, he currently performs in the trio Unstrung Heroes and with his daughter Eliza Acty.
Joanne Acty
founder member; left 1999.
appeared on: Oxford Ramble, Speed the Plough, Wassail,
Jack-in-the-Green.
A distinctive singer, often given the job of tackling the
heavy ballads with Magpie Lane. Joanne also contributed a
number of songs to "English Songs of Love"
(BEJOCD-19 ) alongside Julie Murphy and Lynne Denman.
For details of Joanne's artistic activities see http://www.artworks.org.uk
Isobel Dams
founder member; left 1993.
appeared on: Oxford Ramble.
Isobel played cello on our first CD, and in the very
first series of concerts around Oxfordshire. She left the
band, to be replaced by Di Whitehead, when nursing work
took her to Brighton.
Magpie Lane outside the Holywell Music Room before their first concert, 3rd May 1993. With special guest Chris Leslie.