Sleeve Notes:
Scrumpy and Western is now firmly established thanks to these three lively lads - The Wurzels. With two hit singles and a chart album to their credit, 1976 was Wurzel Year. Their Number One hit The Combine Harvester (13 weeks in the charts) brought in its wake appearances all over the country in a wide variety of venues from cowsheds to top nightclubs and a constant stream of bookings for radio and television such as ‘Arrows’, ‘Multi Coloured Swap Shop’. ‘Top of the Pops’, ‘Saturday Scene’, ‘Pebble Mill at One’, ‘Seaside Special’ and ‘The Ken Dodd Show’.
The Wurzels are:
Pete Budd who hails front Keynsham and now lives in nearby Bitton, provides the lovely West Country accent and plays guitars and harm. Pete, known affectionately as Rose (Budd) is the newest member of The Wurzels. Working in dance bands and rock'n'roll outfits such as The Rebels and Rainbow People always kept him busy. Then about three years ago one of the Wurzels left suddenly and a search went out for Pete Budd. Two hours search across the moors of Somerset eventually found Pete sitting on a riverbank engaged in his favourite pastime of fishing. He was found at 4.55 pm and by 7.30 pm was on stage. He has been with The Wurzels ever since! His latest business venture is a water leisure centre at Keynsham selling fishing equipment etc.
Tommy Banner, longest serving member of The Wurzels, plays accordion, piano and organ and contributes to the vocals. Originally from Penicuik, Scotland. Tommy took a three month booking with The Wurzels in preference to a contract for a round the world trip in a band. That was ten years ago and he has been in the West Country ever since, As he says, ‘The Wurzels couldn't get a good accordionist in England, so they went so Scotland and got a had bad one!’ Tommy is a sports fanatic and insists on taking all his sports equipment with him on every trip just tocase he needs any of it. He particularly loves football and dreamed of the day Bristol City would be promoted to the first division; a dream that came true not so long ago!... Tommy lives in Easton-in Gordano, very close to Bristol.
Tony Baylis, a Londoner, sings and plays bass, bass guitar and sousaphone.
He has been with The Wurzels for eight years, before which he was a full time jazz musician with bands like The Temperance Seven.
Like
Pete, he enjoys fishing, his biggest haul being an angler
28lb angler fish. Tony lives in Clifton, Bristol, but one
day hopes to own a house by the sea and a sea-going yacht.
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