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Mr Gubbins' Bicycle is John Kirkpatrick's
five-piece English Ceilidh Band, using the name of a tune
he wrote many
years ago after buying a bike from a certain Mr Gubbins!
They play English tunes for English dances in an English
style.
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| The line-up is: |
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John |
on button accordion and also calling the dances |
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Sally Kirkpatrick |
on stand-up percussion of all kinds |
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Benji Kirkpatrick |
on bouzouki and acoustic guitar |
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Jobie Kirkpatrick |
on bass guitar |
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Martin Britnell |
on trombone and low whistle |
The band have been going since the mid 1990's, and came together
because they had all been dancing for years around South Shropshire
as members of the morris teams The Shropshire Bedlams and
Martha Rhoden's Tuppenny Dish. You can tell from the way
they play that they all love dancing.
The band's terrific drive is fuelled by John K's firm belief that
English Country Dancing should be a joyful romp rather than a dull
plod or an earnest waft. By combining his historical grasp of this
kind of dancing with a lifetime's experience at knowing what works
on the dance floor, John can not only present an unusual selection
of material that is fabulous fun to do, but has behind him a dedicated
band whose rock-solid tempos and easy musicianship provide a basis
for sparkling improvisations that just make you want to keep on
dancing.
Comments on Mr Gubbins' Bicycle
Unsolicited testimonial after a ceilidh by Mr Gubbins' Bicycle
and a workshop by John at the Clogfest Weekend in Gargrave, Lancashire,
July 2003.
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"We had a really splendid and enjoyable ceilidh last
night. John and the band were simply brilliant, fabulous to
dance to. I've had many expressions of delight from our dance
teams about the ceilidh and the workshop on stepping, music
and dance. The comment that summed up everything for me was
made by a dancer who wasn't a musician, but knew when she'd
had a really good time - she said towards the end of the workshop
"Well, now we know why the band was so good to dance
to."
And that was just what I hoped the workshop would get
across - so, many thanks and top marks to John and the band
- they really made our weekend of dance special.
Best wishes
Paul Hudson
Inclognito
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Letter from Deirdre & Graham Foord after their 25th Wedding
Anniversary Ceilidh at Bromyard in June 2004.
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"At the start of Saturday evening a large percentage
of our family and friends were unfamiliar with English folk
music. We knew that they were all going to have a wonderful
introduction, and all evening people were coming to tell us
what a great band you were, how good the music was, and how
everyone was having such a fantastic time. On behalf of everyone
we would like to thank all of you for working so hard, producing
such great music, and for coping so well with everything the
evening threw at you." |
Richard Arrowsmith of Hekety, in a fROOTS interview 2004.
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"John Kirkpatrick is the best dance musician ever." |
fROOTS.
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"He's in a class of his own for the life he instils
into whatever issues from his squeezeboxes." |
Publicity images available for downloading:
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JPEG 400 x 533
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| Photo credits: Amy Dyke |
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