We kick off Side Two with a lovely tune from Orkney which we call ‘The Orkney Tune’ (!) and we learnt it from our old friend Aimée Leonard. It may well be by Ivan Drever. Two jigs next; ‘The Pipe On The Hob’ is a fine standard, whilst ‘The Dusty Windowsill’ is, I’m told, an Irish-American tune. I learnt it from the Lancashire fiddler Kirsten Hammond. ‘The Cuckoo’s Nest’ is an English Morris tune which pops up in many forms all over the place. Here we combine an Irish setting of the tune with the Longborough version, and they don’t quite fit! – keeps us amused anyway – learnt from recordings of DeDanann and John Kirkpatrick respectively. Next we play two reels. ‘Danny Meehan’s’ is also called ‘Jackson’s Reel’, whilst ‘Tuttle’s Reel’ has another name neither of us can remember. I learnt both from Mick. A final tune from Carolan, ‘Carolan’s Concerto’ is said to have been composed on the spot, in order to confound a visiting Italian virtuoso and general know-all! We finish this collection with a quite varied set of tunes. ‘Midnight On The Water’ is a lovely Texan waltz which Mick has played since his days with Alias Ron Kavana. This leaps suddenly into an 18th Century English tune. ‘The Quickstep to the Battle of Prague’ comes from the great Northamptonshire poet, fiddler and early folk collector, John Clare (1773–1864). Finally ‘Kate Dalrymple’ is a Scottish polka, and I got it from the playing of Dave Swarbrick.

Mick Molloy was born in Ballina, Co. Mayo and was raised in Dublin. Mick started out playing skiffle. By the time he left school he was playing in Showbands, which provided him with a good grounding in a variety of musical styles - and almost put him off country music for life!

Circa '63, Mick teamed up with Ian Whitcomb and Bluesville - one of Dublin's very first beat groups - chalking up a Top Ten hit in America with "You Turn Me On" in June '65. - "The first Irish Rock single of note" (Irish Rock)

Moving to London in the early '70’s he became a founder member of Bees Make Honey. "one of London's best loved Pub Rock bands" (Happy doin' what we're doin')

In the mid '80's he joined forces with Ron Kavana to form Night Beat, later to become Alias Ron Kavana. - voted best live band '89-'90, '90-'91 (Folk Roots) with whom he has recorded several albums and played a vast number of festivals at home and abroad.

Also to be seen playing with The Zodiacs, The Bastards, The Balham Alligators and The Four Oysters.

Martin Brown. born in 1962, is from Braydon, North Wiltshire. After leaving school he played guitar and piano in various local rock bands until 1986, when he moved to Greenwich, London, to try for a music career. Extensive live and studio work followed; however, by 1990 he found that he had gravitated back to his early love - folk music. Meeting Mick Molloy on the S.E. London Irish session scene, he has subsequently played with Kevin Burke, Ron Kavana, Steafan Hannigan, Mick Black, Olly Blanchflower, Ashley Reed and has supported such acts as Andy Irvine and the Barely Works. Apart from working with Mick, he is also embarking on a solo project of interpretations of traditional songs and tunes of the North Wilts./South Cotswolds region. He is a well-known face on the S.E. London music scene and regularly appears with Deptford's Anglo-Celtic beat combo - Hollvedel.

Also to be seen playing with Dave Sutherland.

Folk on Tap Apr-Jun 2000 Issue 83