The "Southern Ramblers" were a very popular U.K. Bluegrass band performing, with numerous changes in personnel, from about 1965 to 1978.

When I first started playing country music in public, way back around 1965, I came across an ad. in "Melody Maker" for a group called "Anita & the Bluegrass Boys". So we took ourselves off to a pub in Dalston (North London) had a very entertaining evening, played a few songs ourselves and met a great bunch of guys. The line-up at that time was Anita, who, if I remember correctly, played fiddle and her husband Stan (Banjo), Andy Grant (guitar), Dave Jones (autoharp), John Harty (mandolin) and Mike Hibbs (bass). I don't recall ever seeing Anita again and the next time I saw the band, Graham had replaced Stan on the banjo and they were called "The Southern Ramblers".

Graham was quite amazing - the band played "Buckin' Mule" and he picked the main part but frailed the bridge - with his picks on. When I tried it, my picks flew off in every direction.

But I digress.
The band made several recordings for Philips and Westwood, the last album being "Yesterday's Gone" on the "Sweet Folk All" label and frequently appeared on BBC Radio's "Cellar Full Of Folk", "Country Style", "Country Meets Folk" and "Night Ride". As well as this, they/we appeared at such prestigious events as The Cambridge Folk Festival and The Folk Voice/Country Music Festivals at Cecil Sharp House.

Over the next few years I went through a whole bunch of bands, meeting future members of the "Ramblers" along the way (see list below).

In the meantime, The Southern Ramblers went through even more numerous changes:- Cedric Thorose (guitar & vocals), Keith Nelson (banjo), John Boswell (guitar & vocals), Rick Adams (banjo) and John Allam (banjo, mandolin & vocals) the only constant factor being Mike Hibbs. Most of the band members emmigrated/returned to Australia.

Then - guess what? Mick French and yours truly, both of us having played together for a long period in the Clay County Travellers, were asked to join the Southern Ramblers. This was a major overhaul for the band as all of the previous vocalists had left. Mick and I handled the vocals with the addition of John Allam's screaming high tenor voice and so we got underway for a couple of years with no more changes. The recordings below are from this period.

Then the changes started again. Mike Hibbs, tired of commuting from South East London to North West London everyday, moved down to Southampton where he now plays with "The Southern Gentlemen". He was replaced by the guy who was to become everybody's preferred Bluegrass bass player in the U.K. - Dave Hatfield. Then Mick French decided to leave and was replaced on fiddle by Canadian Bob Winquist. This combination was short lived as I then decided to go to Israel and as far as I am aware, that was the end of the Southern Ramblers.

If you know if the band has been revived I'd be happy to hear from you, as I would if you know of the whereabouts of any of the above mentioned personnel.

..... and if you happen to have any photographs of the band or its members that you could scan and send me I would be very glad to have them and would of course include credits for them.

These particular recordings, from about 1975, were never made into a record. The line-up is:-

Picture by Mike Hibbs (c) - All rights reserved

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