We spoke to Edwin, Heather, Jon, Jude and Tom, the five band members of Pilgrims' Way, about their upcoming performance Stand and Deliver.
Hi guys! We can’t wait to have you next month for your folk show. What got you into folk music in the first place?
Jude: As a kid I used to play along on oboe to my dad’s old Fairport and Albion Band records when I should’ve been playing Mozart.
Edwin: I was morris dancing in the womb so didn’t really have a lot of choice in the matter!
Heather: I was really ill in my early teens so I gave up school and stayed at home watching rockumentaries instead. One day we stumbled across one about Bert Jansch so that was my introduction to folk music.
Tom: A local pub jam session and the prospect of being served foaming jugs of mild ale at the tender age of 16!
When did you first meet? Did you intend to create a folk music band or did that come later?
Tom: Edwin and I met years ago and always harbored dreams of a concert band. Problem was, neither of us were singers, so the idea gathered dust for several years. One day Lucy Wright moved to town, and Pilgrims’ Way mk. 1 was born. A few years ago Lucy left to pursue her PhD so Edwin, Jon and I met up, had a massive curry, and tried to decide what to do. Jude’s name was mentioned as a possible addition to the collective so we tracked her down and asked her the key question: 'Do you like mild?' Luckily she said yes! At a subsequent recording session we locked Heather in the drum booth and wouldn’t let her out until she agreed to join the band.
What is your favourite thing about performing?
Tom: Without wishing to sound too worthy, it's about putting a smile on people's faces.
Your show incorporates many instruments. Do you remember the first time you picked up an instrument, and which one was it?
Edwin: I was originally a drummer! And it’s the only thing I’ve actually had any training in, despite detours around melodeons, guitar, bass, contra grande bass bugle...
Heather: It’s always been the bass for me. When I was a kid I figured, 'well if the guitar’s undeniably cool, then surely a *bigger* one is cooler! So I shall play that!'
Jude: I was always too schooled for cool so plumped for an awkward instrument befitting of an awkward child; the oboe. In a parallel universe where I finally get to be cool, I’d be Heather.
Jon: The first instrument I picked up was the piano - I was a remarkably strong child.
You describe your new album, Stand and Deliver, as a combination of traditional English folk song and 1980s disco. How do you go about combining the two?
Tom: The album and show cover all kinds of genres from disco, West End, metal, Madchester, and others! The key realisation was that folk music is a body of material rather than a genre. Once you realise that, anything is fair game. We had a huge amount of fun working out what style of song each one wanted to be. There's a lot of variety!
Jon: Fusion isn't a new idea. I forget who we stole it off. Then again, most people don't remember who Cecil Sharp nicked his stuff from either.
Jude: I’ve always been musically fickle. Pilgrims’ Way was the perfect band to join to fulfill my long-term desire to perform my renaissance techno rendition of a Broadside Ballad. I’m still working on that…
And lastly, if we're coming along on Friday 15 February, what can we expect?
Tom: Our show is the songs of the Highwaymen, Robbers, and Brigands of Old England, loosely charting the lives, and deaths of these villainous folks. There's a huge wealth of material in the tradition, both serious and humorous, and we've had immense fun binding it all together in this show.
Jude: Adam Ant ripping up a folk ballad on horseback in a dress whilst playing an otamatone.
Jon: A sequence of unalloyed delight. Tears. Laughter. Magic. An uplifting journey of the soul, singalong choruses, exquisite tailoring and the chance to win the holiday of a lifetime at her Majesty's expense.
Pilgrims' Way are here on Fri 15 Feb, 8pm. Find out more