The Wurzels perform at the University of Bath summer ball 2007.

Adge Cutler and The Wurzels, renamed The Wurzels after Cutler's death, are a British Scrumpy and Western band. Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from Englands West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 426 pixelsFull resolution (2100 × 1117 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 426 pixelsFull resolution (2100 × 1117 pixel, file size: 1. ... The University of Bath is a campus university located near Bath, England. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from Englands West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. ...

The band is best known for its 1976 number one hit "The Combine Harvester", but has a history stretching nearly 40 years, and still performs to this day. This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Singles Chart, from its inception in 1952 to the present. ... Brand New Key is a pop song written by folk singer Melanie (Melanie Safka), which became a novelty hit in 1971-2. ...

In its heyday the band was very popular despite disdain from "serious" critics.

The name of the band came from the fodder beet Mangelwurzel. As can be determined from the subject matter of many of their songs, cider is very popular amongst Wurzels and their fans. Their particular "genre" of music has been named "Scrumpy And Western" (scrumpy is a name given to traditional cider). Binomial name Beta vulgaris Mangelwurzel or mangold wurzel (Beta vulgaris), is a root vegetable of the family Chenopodiaceae, genus Beta (the beets). ... Cider has different meanings in the United Kingdom and the United States. ...

History

Adge Cutler and The Wurzels

The Wurzels were formed in 1966 as a backing group for singer/songwriter Adge Cutler.

With a thick Somerset accent, Adge played on his West Country roots, singing many folk songs with local themes such as cider making (and drinking), farming, local villages and industrial work songs, often with a comic slant. The West Country dialects and West Country accents are generic terms applied to any of several English dialects and accents used by much of the indigenous population of the southwestern part of England, the area popularly known as the West Country. ... The West Country is an informal term for the area of south-western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. ... Cider in a pint glass Cider (or cyder) is an alcoholic beverage made primarily from the juices of specially grown varieties of apples. ...

During the 1960s, the band became immensely popular regionally, and the release of the single Drink Up Thy Zider led to national fame and number 45 in the UK charts.

A number of live albums were recorded at local pubs and clubs, filled with Adge Cutler penned favourites such as Easton in Gordano, The Champion Dung Spreader, and Thee's Got'n Where Thee Cassn't Back'n, Hassn't? together with songs written by others and some reworkings of popular folk songs of the time. Easton-in-Gordano is an English parish in the hundred of Portbury, in the county of Somerset, seven miles northwest of Bristol. ...

Adge Cutler was killed in May 1974 after crashing his car in Chepstow following a Wurzels concert in Hereford and is buried in Nailsea. Nailsea is a town in North Somerset, England, about 13 km to the South West of Bristol and about 23 km to the North East of the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare. ...

The Wurzels

Adge's death marked a curious turning point in the history of the Wurzels. Deprived of the main song-writing talent, the remaining Wurzels recorded The Wurzels Are Scrumptious! in 1975, an album containing many favourites from the back catalogue, including a number of previously unrecorded Cutler-written songs

In order to continue the surviving band needed its own songs, and these mostly took the formula of re-written popular pop songs of the time with the lyrics changed to include the usual Wurzel themes (cider, farming, local villages, Cheddar cheese, etc.) Statistics Population: 5724 (as of 2002) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: ST458535 Administration District: Sedgemoor Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Somerset Historic county: Somerset Services Police force: Avon and Somerset Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Western Post office and telephone...

In 1976, the Wurzels released "The Combine Harvester", a re-work of the song "Brand New Key", by Melanie, which became a huge UK hit, topping the charts for 2 weeks. Brand New Key is a pop song written by folk singer Melanie (Melanie Safka), which became a novelty hit in 1971-2. ... Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born February 3, 1947 in Astoria, New York City is an American singer-songwriter. ... This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Singles Chart, from its inception in 1952 to the present. ...

The band quickly followed its success with the release of a number of similarly-themed novelty songs such as I Am A Cider Drinker (another rework of an existing melody--this time "Una Paloma Blanca" which had been a hit when covered by Jonathan King the year before) and Farmer Bill's Cowman, but by the turn of the 1980s had largely faded back in to obscurity. Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King on 6 December 1944) is a disgraced[1] British singer, writer, TV personality and pop music producer. ...

The Wurzels never stopped performing, but record releases during the 1980s and 1990s were limited to even more obscure novelty singles like I Hate JR, Sunny Weston-super-Mare, and I Want To Be An Eddie Stobart Driver. This latter single (1995) from Loose Records.com got in the UK Top 100 and appeared also as a limited edition lorry shaped disc. The interest in this record sparked off renewed interest in The Wurzels. Weston-super-Mare is an English seaside resort town in North Somerset, population 65,000 (1991 estimate). ... Eddie Stobart Ltd. ...

The late 1990s saw the continuing of this revival of the fortunes for the surviving Wurzels, gaining a cult status amongst students and a resurgence in their popularity in their native West Country. A number of CD releases followed, largely featuring re-recordings of older works, but also Never Mind The Bullocks, an album of cover versions of contemporary British rock songs. This album was recorded with George Allen AKA Bob Noxious who went on to become tour manager of The Magic Numbers and Manager of The Mission. In 2005, the band released a limited edition split single with British Sea Power. The Wurzel's covered BSP's Remember Me while BSP covered I Am A Cider Drinker. The band also supported BSP at their gig at the London Forum in November. The Magic Numbers are a four-piece band from England comprising two pairs of brother and sister who previously went to The Cardinal Wiseman Roman Catholic High School in Greenford. ... Remember Me/I Am a Cider Drinker was a split single released by British Sea Power and The Wurzels. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In 2007 it was announced that The Wurzels and Tony Blackburn would re-release I am a cider drinker again with the royalties from the song going to the BUI Prostate Cancer Care Appeal in Bristol. Tony Blackburn (born 29 January 1943 in Guildford, Surrey) is an award winning English disc jockey, who broadcast on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first presenter to appear on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. ... Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. ... This article is about the English city. ...

The Wurzels continue to gig around the UK,^[1] including playing at the Shalbourne Festival for nearly on 11 years, although they pulled out of the 2007 Glastonbury Festival, having been scheduled to play the bandstand stage where they could not use their own sound engineers.^[2] Although they had played the same stage at the 2000 Glastonbury Festival. They were also one of the headliners at that years Bristol Community Festival. Shalbourne is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or Glasto, is the largest[1] greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. ... The Ashton Court festival is an outdoors music festival held annually in the grounds of Ashton Court, just outside Bristol, in mid July. ...

The Wurzels are also still very popular in parts of the west country, especially with supporters of Bristol City who the band also support. Their song "One For The Bristol City" is the offical club anthem. However, most fans recognise another Wurzel song "Drink Up Thee Zyder" as the anthem. It is played at the final whistle at Ashton Gate if the home club win and it is often sung by fans. Another Wurzel song "Blackbird" is played for a draw or a loss. Bristol City is a football club in Bristol, England, which plays in Football League One. ... Ashton Gate is a stadium in Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of about 21,500, with an effective capacity for football matches (depending on...

Band Members

Adge Cutler

Born in 1930, Adge Cutler was the founder of the Wurzels spent his earlier years pursuing various jobs he would use as material for later songs, including road manager for Acker Bilk. He was the lead singer of the band until his untimely death in 1974. Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Acker Bilk (often referred to as Mr. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

Reg Quantrill

Often referred to by Adge Cutler as 'Rotten Reg Quantrill' and also The "Man who put the 'Sod' in Chipping Sodbury" Reg was Adge's original banjo and guitar player and the longest serving member of the original band, apart from Adge himself. He was evidently a very versatile musician, not only being a jazz banjoist, but apparently was also a famous crooner in his day, known as the "Engelbert 'Umperdinck of West 'Arptree". As if this were not enough, he was also a well known local Rock 'n' Roller, known as "Snake'ips Quantrill, the Elvis Presley of Chewton Mendip". In addition to all this he was a "great folk artist in his own right". This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

Tommy Banner

The longest serving Wurzel, Tommy joined the band in 1967, and is still going strong. Usually seen playing accordion, but has also played piano in the Wurzels' past. Hailing from Penicuik, his Scottish accent remains, but he is the band member most likely to be seen actually drinking cider during gigs these days. Banner lives near Bridgwater, and supports various charities including the West Country Carnival. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Penicuik is a burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. ... Scottish English is taken by some to include Scots and by others to exclude it. ... Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial town in the county. ... Samurai by Griffens CC, Burnham on Sea Carnival 2006 Front of Ghost Ship (Deliver Us) by Gremlins CC, Burnham on Sea Carnival 2006. ...

Pete Budd

The familiar front-man of the post-Cutler band, Pete Budd originally joined the Wurzels as a banjo player in 1970, his distinctive West Country vocals made him an obvious replacement after Adge's death. He continues to sing, and play banjo and guitar for the band, including in his repertoire a Mark Knopfler-esque guitar lead on their modern version of I Wish I Was Back On The Farm, originally made famous by George Formby. For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) A modern 5-string banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument of African American origin adapted from several African instruments. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born August 12, 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is a English-Hungarian guitarist, singer, songwriter, and film score composer. ... George Formby, OBE (May 26, 1904 – March 6, 1961) was an English singer and comedian who became a major star of both cinema and music hall. ...

References in popular culture

The West Country-born stand-up comedian Bill Bailey occasionally references The Wurzels in his routines. In his Bewilderness show he mentions knowing them 'when they were a German techno band, Die Würtzels - and then they sold out, went all oo-arr country', as well as performing a pastiche of 'Combine Harvester' in the style of Chris de Burgh. In an appearance on BBC2's Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Bailey stood and saluted a playing of the intro to 'Combine Harvester'. Bill Bailey is also the name commonly used to refer to a popular song with the full title of Wont You Come Home Bill Bailey. Mark Bill Bailey (born 24 February 1964, Bath, Somerset) is an English comedian, actor, and musician known for appearing on Never Mind the Buzzcocks... For the comic book character previously known as Techno, see Fixer (comics). ... Chris de Burgh (born Christopher John de Burgh Davison on October 15, 1948) is an Irish musician and songwriter. ... Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme, produced by talkbackTHAMES for the BBC, and usually aired on BBC Two. ...

See also

• Scrumpy and Western
• British popular music
• West Country dialects

Scrumpy and Western refers humorously to music from Englands West Country that fuses comical folk-style songs, often full of double entendre, with affectionate parodies of more mainstream musical genres, all delivered in the local accent/dialect. ... Music from the United Kingdom has achieved great international popularity since the 1960s, when the British Invasion peaked. ... The West Country dialects and West Country accents are generic terms applied to any of several English dialects and accents used by much of the indigenous population of the southwestern part of England, the area popularly known as the West Country. ...

References

External links

• Official Wurzels Website
• WurzelMania!
• The Wurzels.com
• The Wurzels Mailing List