Spriguns (of Tolgus)


Band members               Related acts

- Dennis Dunstan - drums (replaced Chris Woodcock)

- Tom Ling - fiddle

- Wayne Morrison - guitar

- Mandy Morton - vocals, guitar

- Mike Morton (RIP) - vocals, bass

- Dick Powell - guitar

- Chris Russon - guitar

- Rick Thomas - fiddle

- Chris Woodcock - drums, percussion

 

 

 

 

- Katrina and the Waves (Alex Cooper)
- Mandy Morton Band

 

 


 

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Title:  Revel Weird and Wild

Company: Decca

Catalog: SKL 5262

Year: 1976

Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+

Comments: UK pressing; includes the rare lyric insert

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 2544

Price: $320.00

 

In spite of their enormous talent, these guys were never more than a cult outfit in their native England.  Commercially little more than also-rans in comparison to such folk-rock competitors as the Albion Band, Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, it shouldn't come as a surprise that in the States they're complete unknowns

 

Husband and wife Mandy and Mike Morton began their professional musical careers playing weekend gigs at various Cambridge pubs.  The duo's shows quickly attracted a small audience among local university students and by 1974 the Morton's' decided to expand their act to incorporate a full scale band.  Recruiting guitarist Chris Russon and fiddler Tom Ling, as a the quartet they recorded their debut "Rowdy, Dowdy Day".  Only available in cassette format, reportedly roughly 50 copies of the tape were produced and sold at their performances to what were large college students. We've never heard the cassette.

 

Signed by the small Alida Star Cottage label, 1975's "Jack with a Feather"

 

Signed by Decca, 1976's "Revel Weird and Wild" found the band name shortened to 'Spriguns'.  Produced by Tim Hart, the album also saw singer/guitarist Mandy Morton moving increasingly into the creative spotlight.  In addition to handling most of the lead vocals she was also responsible for writing or co-writing the majority of the nine tracks.  Musically the set bares more than a passing resemblance to the Fairport/Steeleye Span school of English folk-rock.  Morton' has a great voice that is every bit as good as that of Sandy Denny or Maddy Prior (her delivery occasionally sounds a lot like Prior's).  Exemplified by tracks such as "Outlandish Knight", "Sir Colvin" and "Lord Lovell" the LPs full of medieval tales of Lords and damsels in distress.  Luckily the set differs from much of the competition in that it boasts full rock instrumentation with Chris Russon's electric guitar deserving special notice.  As to be expected, with audiences turning their attention to punk and disco, the LP instantly disappeared into cutout bins.

 

For you hardcore fans, for some reason Decca elected to release a single from the LP: "Nothing Else To Do" b/w "Lord Lovell" (Decca catalog number F-13676).

 

"Revel Weird and Wild" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Trysting Tree   (Mandy Morton) - 4:01
2.) Outlandish Knight   (Mandy Morton) - 4:33
3.) Sir Colvin   (Mandy Morton - Dick Powell) - 5:56
4.) Piscie Song   (Mandy Morton - Dick Powell) - 4:03

(side 2)

1.) Nothing Else To Do   (Mandy Morton - Mike Morton - Dick Powell) - 2:58
2.) Hasberry Howard (instrumental)   (Tom Ling - Dick Powell) - 2:54
3.) Lord Lovell   (Mandy Morton) - 4:48
4.) Laily Worm   (Mandy Morton) - 3:18
5.) When Spring Comes In   (Mandy Morton) - 3:09
 

 

 

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1976 must have been a tough year for a British folk-rock group to get respect. Just ask Steeleye Span, whose Rocket Cottage was roundly blasted by the music press, and Fairport Convention, whose Gottle o' Geer was essentially ignored. Albion Country Band's Battle of the Field was belatedly released to an indifferent press who improperly regarded them as a grade-B rendition of Steeleye and Fairport. The growing buzz concerning the onslaught of punk rock didn't bode well even for the established folk-rock acts, much less those just getting started. So despite Spriguns' unfortunate timing (who released Jack With a Feather in 1975 as Spriguns of Tolgus) they held true to the style popularized by their more successful predecessors, particularly Steeleye Span, as songs like "Outlandish Knight" and "Sir Colvin" will reveal. That was due in part to producer Tim Hart's belief in the band and also to vocalist Mandy Morton, whose resemblance to Maddy Prior is noteworthy. Spriguns included more piano in their music than Steeleye ever did, but the work of fiddler Tom Ling and electric guitarist Dick Powell paralleled that of their elder counterparts to a tee.


 
2 White Witch/Time Will Pass (Decca F 13739) 1977
 

A Cambridge folk-rock band who started life playing Friday and Saturday nights at the Anchor pub in Silver Street, Cambridge. Their 1974 privately released cassette was sold to students at live performances and less than 50 copies were produced. The cassette format has ensured that their value has not reached the epic proportions of the vinyl follow-up Jack With A Feather, which boasted better sound quality and duplicated some material from the earlier cassette. The playing on the album was good and almost all the material was traditional.

Abbreviating their name to Spriguns they went on to record a couple of further albums for Decca which are also very rare now. By now the band was almost totally the vehicle of talented vocalist Mandy Morton who went on to form The Mandy Morton Band and record for Banshee and Polydor. In the eighties she toured with a rock band and became a presenter on BBC Radio Cambridge.

Of the other members: Mike Morton sadly died. Rick Thomas is married and now lives in Italy. Tom Ling plays in an excellent Cambridge based band call Usual Suspects and Chris Russon has recently returned to the local Cambridge music scene.

After the first The Mandy Morton album Sea Of Storms (Polydor 2382 101), drummer Alex Cooper, Tom Ling and American guitarist Mark Boettcher left the group. Consequently Boettcher introduced Alex Cooper to some American musicians who then, together with ex-Soft Boy Kimberley Rew, formed Katrina and The Waves. The 'Waves later made a big splash with their hit I'm Walking On Sunshine.

For more information check out the following website: http://www.oocities.org/fantasticmandy


 

The playing on the album was good and almost all the material was traditional.


After this Spriguns Of Tolgus did break up as a band, but mr. & mrs. Morton continued working with music. They soon were ready to make new recordings. This band did however abbreviate the name to Spriguns. In 1976 they released Revel Weird And Wild which consisted of only of songs written by members of the band, although some of the songs were more or less stolen from traditional songs. Already at this time Mandy was clearly in control of the band, written most of the material. 

 

The following year they made Time Will Pass, were Mandy now were the only songwriter in the band, the album were more aggressive than it's predecessor, and the music, all written by Mandy, seemed to go in a new direction. Mandy's lyrics were still mostly about knight and ladies from a time long ago. Both albums were recorded for the famous label Decca.
Spriguns was now totally the vehicle of talented vocalist Mandy Morton. And the next step was only naturel, Spriguns did now only seem as being Mandy Morton with a backing band. And so she rebaptised Spriguns into Mandy Morton And Spriguns and made Magic Lady in 1978.


It was this album that introduced me to Mandy's music: I borrowed the cd in the summer 1999, because I knew that my music hero Graeme Taylor was playing on the album. But soon I fell for Mandy's songs.
Now performing only as Mandy Morton she recorded Sea Of Storms in 1980. And then three years did pass until her six and final release: Valley Of Light. This album is the only one not to feature Mandy's husband Mike Morton, and so Mandy was now the only one who had been al the way from Jack With A Feather in 1975. After the album Mandy retired from music. The last three albums were recorded either for Polydor or Banshee.



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