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This early pic from Scarborough (date as yet unconfirmed) shows
many of the musicians who have been involved with the group (click on pic for
full size) Left to right Graham Booth,
Pete Shaw
, Mike Hurry, George Stevenson, Pete Safford-Honeyball and Paul Eady.
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Music
for Crosskey is currently supplied by melodeon. Amongst Morris sides (clog
is classed as ‘Morris’ alongside Cotswold (hankies and sticks) and the
Border tradition (black faced and lot of shouting!) the melodeon is the most
commonly used instrument both today and in the past. Accordion and flutina
are also used, but melodeon seems favourite.
In yesteryear it’s likely that the local clog side would have the
benefit of, not only melodeon, but probably some or all of the town’s brass
band. It’s not uncommon to see brass instruments amongst bands today. Crosskey
had the benefit of two trombone players plus sousaphone in the past (see
photo above). Bass and side drum usually come as standard!! They say a good clog
side band can be heard three streets away!! Of course the more power and lift
the band can give, the better the dancing, as you can imagine.
Crosskey are sadly depleted in musicians. The six piece in the photo
dwindled to one over the years, then more recently our regular musician left
which meant we have to borrow musicians for practice sessions and bookings, not
an ideal situation as continuity suffers, dancers get used to one style of
playing then have to get used to another!! So we urgently need musician(s) who
can commit themselves to regular practice nights and summer dancing out and pub
nights.
So if you play something, we’d like to
hear from you. We can supply the dots if you need them together with any help
you may want
To replicate the infamous Big Band when
we danced at Expo Steam at the East of England showground many a long year ago
– the count was something in the order of 20 plus musicians - would be
wonderful, but realistically we’ll settle for one or more!!
Go on, give it a go, contact Pete if you
want a chat or info (see contact page)
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