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Woods Band

- under construction-

From:

Active: 1970-74

Style: folk rock

Lineup:

Bio:

PR blurb: "Terry Woods could with some justice claim to be one of the founding fathers of electric folk in Britain. In the late sixties he was involved with two of the earliest groups from the folk world to plug in. Sweeney's Men was formed with fellow Irish musicians Andy Irvine and Johnny Moynihan and for a short time included Henry McCullough (later of the Grease Band and Wings) on guitar. Terry still recalls the consternation they caused at the 1968 Cambridge Folk Festival. The next year the idea of an electric band playing folk songs took another step forward when Terry was playing football on Hampstead Heath with Ashley Hutchings, who'd just left Fairport Convention. The result was Steeleye Span in which Terry was joined by his wife Gay and another duo, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. That first Steeleye Span line-up lasted only a few months, long enough to cut the Hark! The Village Wait album before the Woods struck out on their own to form the Woods Band. The band appeared predominantly in Europe and recorded this one album."

Band formed by Gay & Terry Woods after leaving Steeleye Span and playing briefly with Dr Strangely Strange. With guitarist Ed Deane (ex Blueshouse, Granny's Intentions ) and drummer Pat Nash (ex Granny's Intentions). The band had no permanent bass player. Gay's brother Austin Corcoran played bass (and acoustic guitar) on some tracks on their sole LP, recorded in August 1971. Producer Tony Reeves (ex Colosseum bassist) played bass on the rest. Ex Granny's Intentions pianist John Ryan also guested on the album.

The album was released in December 1971. It's a mixture of originals, including a new recording of the Sweeney's Men track "Dreams", and adaptions of traditional songs and tunes. What's most noticeable about it now is how much of a rock influence is present compared to similar experiments. This gives the album a strong and unique feel. It takes a few plays to warm to but it's a fantastic record that's not well enough known due to it's scarcity and perhaps due to its more difficult nature. It came out on the short-lived Greenwich label distributed by Decca, also responsible for such rarities as Samuel Prody and Samurai. The album cover is a beautiful but fragile textured purple and gold cover with an engraved Celtic design on the front. This is notoriously susceptable to wear.


 
Advert for a gig at the Jesuit Hall in Galway on 13 January 1972, shortly after the release of the debut LP.
  Another Galway date, this time a Students Union gig at Terrapin 5 at UCG in late 1974.


In 1974 Polydor Ireland released a single credited to the Woods Band, their first release in 3 years. At this point they began to record as a duo, as Gay & Terry Wood.

The Woods band appeared on RTE television's "It's..." show on Monday 7th August 1972, footage which is presumably lost.

Terry Woods reformed the Woods Band in 2002 and released a CD.



Discography:

• The Woods Band
LP - Greenwich Gramaphone Co. (Decca) - GSLP 1004 - UK - December 1971 - textured foc
LP - Greenwich Records (Global) - GSLP 1004 - Germany - 1971 - laminated sc
LP - Rockburgh Records - CREST 29 - UK - 1977 - 2nd cover
LP - Universe Records - LS 14 - NL - 1978 - 2nd cover?
LP - Mulligan - LUN 015 - IRL - 1980 - 2nd cover
CD - Rockburgh Records - CREST 29 - UK - 199? - possibly a bootleg
CD - Edsel Records - EDCD 687 - UK - April 2001
CD - Edsel Records? - ??? - UK - 13 March 2006
Recorded in August 1971. Produced by Tony Reeves

Notes:
Guests include Tony Reeves (bass guitar "Noisey Johnny" and "Everytime"), Austin Corcoran (acoustic guitar on "Dreams", bass guitar on "As I Roved Out" and "Promises") and John Ryan (organ on "Lament & Jig" and "As I Roved Out" and piano on "Promises" and "Everytime").



• The Time Is Right / The Hymn
7" - Polydor - 2058 534 - IRL - 1974 - PS


• Music from the Four Corners of Hell
CD - Market Square - ??? - 2003



See also: Sweeney's Men, Gay & Terry Woods


Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic. If you can help, then please get in touch.




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