THE WOODBINE AND IVY BAND (featuring Fay Hield) - SPENCER THE ROVER

The Woodbine and Ivy Band bring you a heart warming seasonal tale...

Spencer the Rover is the forthcoming single from the Woodbine and Ivy Band. It will be available as a download single from iTunes, Amazon and all the usual suspects from 14th November. Please pass the word on - not just because we want to sell zillions of copies, but also because the last time there was a folk rock single in the UK charts at Christmas was 1972 when Steeleye Span go to No 14 with Gaudete. It's been a long, long time...

Spencer the Rover is taken from the forthcoming album The Woodbine and Ivy Band (Folk Police Recordings) released on 28th November 2011.

The single features guest vocals by Fay Hield. Fay is a folk singer from Sheffield, who recently released the critically acclaimed solo album The Looking Glass.

The Woodbine & Ivy Band is a group of Manchester musicians who came together to arrange and perform the ten traditional songs that make up the forthcoming album. For each song they invited a different singer to contribute a lead vocal. These guests include Jackie Oates, Fay Hield, Nancy Wallace, Olivia Chaney, Pinkie Maclure and Jim Causley.

The band channels the hazy spirit of classic country rock in their exploration of the English and Scottish song tradition. Featuring layered guitars and a fluid yet muscular rhythm section, these songs are awash with warm pedal steel guitar and laced with harp, trumpet, Hammond organ and synthesiser, creating an expansive sound that reaches beyond that usually associated with traditional song. There is a sly tipping of the cap towards the electric folk revival of the 1970s, although none of the musicians involved are from a traditional folk background.

Amongst their influences, the Woodbine & Ivy Band cite the music of Sandy Denny, John Martyn, Pentangle, Crazy Horse and the drone rock of Spaceman 3. This album is also perhaps one for fans of Joe Boyd’s Witchseason Productions and much of the music released on the Harvest, Leader and Transatlantic record labels.

More at www.facebook.com/spencertherover