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We are pleased to announce the release of this new CD from the talented and popular folk music duo, String Whistle. ‘Lonesome Boatmen' features 6 tracks inspired by life on and around the River Thames, both now and in the past.
To hear more about String Whistle, visit their website: www.stringwhistle.co.uk The first track on the CD is 'The Ballad Of Lord Franklin', a traditional folk song, arranged by StringWhistle, about the expedition of Sir John Franklin, who set sail from Greenhithe on the Thames in 1845 to try to find the legendary 'North West Passage' from Atlantic to Pacific. '3 O'ClockBell' is a contemporary song, written by Dave for a radio documentary about the closure of Billingsgate fishmarket - a 'triumph' of efficiency over tradition that signalled the exit of many old family traders. 'LondonRiver' is another ditty which featured in a radio documentary, this time telling the story of the decline of the roles of Watermen & Lightermen on the busy Thames. 'Dear John', another of Dave's compositions, is a tale of callous disregard for the contribution of a loyal servant of the Thames Water Authority in their pursuit of rationalisation in the mid '80s; the song is about a colleague of Dave's but the message could be for any one of us. Folk tradition insists that the bigger the tragedy, the jollier the tune; 'The Princess Alice' recounts the disaster that struck over 700 day-trippers on the Thames pleasure steamer of that name in 1878 - the enormous loss of life that day puts the more recent 'Marchioness' disaster into perspective. The haunting 'Lonesome Boatman' strikes an evocative note to end this collection of tuneful, thought-provoking music. Don't miss it !
To order a copy of 'Lonesome Boatmen', simply print off the order form available at this web-site. |
String Whistle are Dave Rickard (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and
Rob Mitchell (whistles,flutes,recorders,vocals). Dave & Rob started performing
together in 1980 and quickly gained a reputation for entertaining around the folk clubs in
South East England. Over the next 8 years, they graduated to playing festivals and a
considerable number of radio appearances. After a break of over 10 years, String Whistle
are back together. They have created for this CD what was once known as a 'concept album'
of songs connected with the River Thames. (Dave's job when String Whistle was first formed
was linked with the river; this has been the inspiration for some of his compositions and
the inclusion in their repertoire of several 'wet and fishy' songs.).
