The Wurzels at The Fleece, Bristol

Sun 21st Apr | 7pm | All Ages*

The Wurzels
www.thewurzels.com/welcome.htm
Although
the band weren’t topping the charts and appearing on TV with such
regularity as in the mid 1970s, life was no less busy as they continued
to perform for fans old and new alike – but with the dawn of the new
millennium things were about to take off once again.

In 2000 a
new CD was issued ‘The Finest Arvest of the Wurzels’ – a massive
collection of the Wurzel’s hits. This major seller was closely followed
by ‘The Wurzels Collection’ – more back numbers reissued. The band came
under new and proactive management in the form of Sil Willcox, an
established manager and record producer (most well known of his groups
perhaps being ‘The Stranglers’). Under his care and guidance the Wurzels
produced a new album ‘Never Mind The Bullocks’ which consisted of
covers of modern pop songs.

Two singles from this album were to
put the band back on the map. The first was ‘Combine Harvester remix
2001’ – an upbeat version of their 1976 chart topper, closely followed
by ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, originally sung by a group known as
Oo-Ar-Sis or should that be Oasis! These releases opened the floodgates
and the Wurzels haven’t looked back since – and certainly not in anger!

Further
albums of fresh recordings followed along with numerous appearances on
TV shows. Requests for gigs poured in – it is not uncommon for the band
to play to crowds numbered in their thousands and their fan base
increased massively taking in children, university students and adults
alike. In the summer of 2000 the Wurzels achieved the ultimate accolade –
they played at the Glastonbury Festival! Adge Cutler would have been so
proud of his legacy!

The Wurzels’ first commercial video was
released in 2002 along with another CD - both now highly sought after by
collectors. In recent times several albums and singles have been
released, including their first collaborative single ‘Cider Drinker
2007’ along with DJ Tony Blackburn – a single to raise money for a
prostate cancer appeal following band member Tommy Banner’s fight with
the disease. More recently a re-recording of the single ‘One For The
Bristol City’, also a charity single for prostate cancer, tickled the
national charts.

Demand for Wurzel music has also resulted in yet
another ‘Greatest Hits’ collection - there appears to be no end to the
phenomenon of ‘The Wurzels’ – hardly a day goes by now when they can’t
be found on stage, appearing on TV shows, raising money for charities
close to their hearts and most of all bringing so much pleasure to so
many people with simple sing-along numbers extolling the virtues of
living in the land of cider and sunshine.

The Wurzels are
regularly asked how long will they keep going. The band always respond
that they intend to keep going whilst they enjoy performing – and that
suits the rest of us just fine!

The Fleece
www.thefleece.co.uk

*under 16s must be with an adult