psst....: contact addresses are at the bottom of this page

.......winners of The BBC Radio 2 "Good Tradition" Award 2003............and winners (as Oysterband's Big Session) of the "Best Group" Award 2005...........hey!..........

..

 

Welcome to Oysterband's official website

 

where the outward calm since the end of the 30th Anniversary Tour has just been shattered by easily the most successful BIG SESSION FESTIVAL at De Montfort Hall & Gardens, Leicester, of the five we've put on with them so far. Sincere apologies to the people who were turned away on the Friday and Saturday, but on an enclosed site there are genuine limits to the festival's capacity.

We can't speak too highly of the staff and crew at De Montfort, headed as usual by Richard Haswell. The production, security and backstage arrangements seemed just about flawless from where we were standing; not to mention good-humoured, which helps everything. And Rob Challice at Coda Agency did his normal immaculate job on booking the acts.

(If you were there and know something that could be improved, do of course let us know, at oysters@oysterband.co.uk )

We had plenty of Oysterband side-projects this year -- first "John Jones & The Reluctant Ramblers", who'd walked 200 miles to the festival over the previous couple of weeks, playing small acoustic shows on the way. Then came something called "Alan Prosser & The Ranelagh Renegades", which reunited Alan with (among others) our former bassist Ian Kearey, nowadays on guitar and mandolin. Ian K and our record producer Al Scott also joined us in "The Oyster Ceilidh Band" with star dance-caller Gordon Potts on the Saturday night.

At the end of the ceilidh set, we managed (with a lot of help) to pull off a stunt that was a bit harder than it may have looked: we got off the stage and replaced ourselves with the next band, Edward II, without a good many of the dancers actually noticing. It was all down to the crews involved, sliding the amplifiers off and coiling the cables as they went, and on the whole we're glad we didn't try to rehearse it beforehand!

You can see a video clip of this posted by dallton52 on YouTube, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zahriX5TgCM ---- If you keep an eye on the upper right-hand corner of the frame, you can see one drummer rise to his feet, still drumming, while the other slides on to the stool behind him without dropping a beat. You can't quite tell how much adrenalin was flying around on stage during all this, but you'll certainly get the idea.

Right now we have absolutely no clue how to top this year's festival next year.

But with your permission we'll take a short break before we worry about that.....

We think we know when it'll be, but watch this space (or www.bigsessionfestival.com) for an official announcement.

 

 

The Oxford Girl & Other Stories (RMCD 6)

By popular demand this CD is now on release in UK, via Proper Music Distribution. We're a bit surprised ourselves - we'd planned to sell it only on shows and by mail-order, but the response was such that we felt we really should take the next step. (Of course, it'll continue to be available through our online shop too, at Mail Order below.)

It's NOT a "Best Of...", and it's NOT a systematic retrospective. It's a set of all-new acoustic recordings to mark Oysterband's 30th anniversary: 14 classic songs from all periods of the band's history, re-imagined and re-arranged for now. There are some real surprises in there.......and some informative notes about the songs.

"....great tunes, superb voices, clever lyrics and a big dollop of the stuff that turns a band into a Great British Institution. **** " (ROCKnREEL)

Titles are: The Early Days Of A Better Nation; When I'm Up I Can't Get Down; By Northern Light; Blood-Red Roses; The Soul's Electric; The Oxford Girl; Little Brother; What Wondrous Love Is This?; Angels Of The River; After Rain; Shouting About Jerusalem; The Lakes Of Cool Flynn; The False Knight On The Road; Put Out The Lights.

Just click on Mail Order below, and you're away...

STOP PRESS Also at Mail Order we now have limited stocks of 30th Anniversary Tour T-shirts ---- short-sleeve (only) in either men's XL or women's S-to-M. All shirts have a back-print with tour dates and the 'running man' logo.

 

"...they rediscover the inspiration and energy that made them such a thrilling outfit in the first place. ... ...the songwriting is remarkably consistent and the sound quality magnificent" fRoots

"MEET YOU THERE, Oysterband's first full studio album in several years, may well be their best yet. They sound even more assured and confident, and although the folk influences are still discernible....... with this album they've achieved their fullest realization of a unique Oysterband sound...." Sing Out!

"...a reminder that they are still an exceptional band in their own right. This new set involves some of their best-ever vocal work and unexpected instrumentation..." **** The Guardian

"...this triumphant return sees the band with a renewed sense of purpose and belief" ***** Rock 'N' Reel

"Genuinely thrilling stuff.....with an opulent sound quality to match" Netrhythms

The latest CD MEET YOU THERE is available from this website, along with almost the whole of Oysters' back catalogue since 1986.

You can order securely by credit-card online in Pounds Sterling, US Dollars or Euros. (Our payment gateway isRBSWorldPay, and it includes a PayPal facility.)

Or you can print out an order and buy through the post with a Sterling chequThe good news is, we've been able cut our charges for post and packing, worldwide. Click on Mail Order below to see what's in stock. We're delighted to say supplies of pre-2000 Cooking Vinyl CDs have now been resumed, following the bankruptcy of their former distributor.

 

 

Up and running: www.MySpace.com/oysterband ----- so if you want to add yourself to our list of cyberfriends, that's the place to go. Five tracks you can hear, too, currently including brand-new versions of "The Oxford Girl" and "Blood-Red Roses" taken from The Oxford Girl & Other Stories, plus live performances of songs from Meet You There.

Also at www.MySpace.com/oysterband you can now find a video clip of "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down" from the Oxford Girl & Other Stories sessions, filmed at The Barley Mow, Brighton.

Fresh film clips, both old and new, are appearing thick and fast on www.YouTube.com (enter "Oysterband" in the search engine). A recent one is of Jesus Cifuentes of Celtas Cortos doing the Spanish version of "20th Of April" with Oysters at the 2008 Festival Cantabria Infinita (enter -- sorry 'bout this -- "Oysterband Jesus").

 

The Discography page below is in business. Clicking there connects you to the fruit of astounding labours by Ian & Stephanie, which supersedes all previous attempts, ever. There are things even WE didn't know we'd recorded....

If you would like to be kept irregularly informed about Oysterband tours, record releases and late-breaking news, click here to join our E-Mailing List. We won't give your details to anyone for any purpose, and if you tire of hearing from us, just send an email to "oysters@oysterband.co.uk" with "unsubscribe" in the subject.

NB: you're probably better off giving us a domestic email address than an office one - office systems sometimes screen out "unexpected" mail even when it has been solicited. And if you sign up and then don't hear from us for a LONG time, it could be that your email system is classifying our messages as Spam. Have a look in your Spam mailbox or Trash. If possible, put our address in your address-book, or instruct your email system to accept messages from us.

 

 

USEFUL ADDRESSES

 

To contact the band: oysters@oysterband.co.uk

To book the band: rob@codaagency.com

To discuss mail-order, the mailing-list or the website: runningman@oysterband.co.uk

To send mail orders or correspondence by post: Running Man, PO Box 32100, London N4 1GR, UK

Don't forget, we really like to hear from you..........well, usually. The one thing that's difficult is if you send us songs or photographs as e-mail attachments. They take forever to download, and it quite spoils Mr Clowtt's day (not a good idea). PLEASE either send them by post on disc to Running Man, or put them on a site and send us the e-address. Ta, much appreciated....

 

 

MAIL ORDER POLICY

If goods you receive from us are damaged or unsatisfactory, we will replace, refund or exchange them (at your choice) up to the same listed price. This does not affect your statutory rights.