Blowzabella is an English folk band formed in London in 1978. The band consists of Andy Cutting, Jo Freya, Paul James, Barn Stradling, and Jon Swayne. The lineup has changed several times since 1982, with Jon Swayne the only remaining original member. The group plays numerous instruments. It is strongly influenced by English and continental European traditional folk music. Many European folk artists cite Blowzabella as a major influence on their work.
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Blowzabella was formed in Whitechapel, London in 1978 by original members Bill O'Toole, Jon Swayne, Chris Gunstone, Dave Armitage and Juan Wijngaard. When the band first formed, Swayne, O'Toole and Armitage were studying woodwind instrument making at the London College of Furniture, while Sam Palmer (who joined Blowzabella in May 1979) had recently finished the course and had already begun a career making hurdy-gurdies. Palmer published a definitive book on the hurdy-gurdy. During this time period Swayne, Armitage and Palmer lived at the Fieldgate Mansions in Whitechapel which were the band's headquarters after Swayne finished college in Somerset. Gunstone was living in Blackheath, and was heavily involved in Balkan music and dance.
The band's name was taken from an 18thâÂÂcentury English bagpipe jig, "Blowzabella", in time. When the band asked what it meant, Bill O'Toole said he had no further information. Attributions linking the name to "Bouncing Doxie" are incorrect; the founding members were unaware of any such connection and the origin remained unclear for many years. The name was chosen hastily to meet a printers' deadline for posters advertising an upcoming concert, and would not have been selected had O'Toole known of any unsuitable connotations.
The tune derives from a popular 16thâÂÂcentury Italian theme. The character Blowzabella appears in Thomas D'Urfy's 1719 collection Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy under the title "The Italian Song Call'd Pastorella; made into an English Dialogue", and in his earlier 1619 play The Rise and Fall of Massaniello.
Bill O'Toole and Jon Swayne discovered the tune while researching bagpipe repertoire at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library and considered the alliteration of "blow" and "bella" an apt description of the band's sound.
In late 1979 Bill O'Toole formed the band Sirocco in Australia. That year original member Chris Gunstone founded Goat Bag Records; the label's first release, 17 Macedonian Folk Dances (by Gunstone's previous group, the Macedonian Early Music Band), reached number 8 in the Melody Maker folk album charts. Gunstone also formed the Macedonian group Izvoren, which included Jon Swayne (Macedonian bagpipe), Dave Roberts (tanbura) and Dave Armitage (tapan); all three later played with Blowzabella.
Gunstone then formed The Trio with Paul James (bagpipes, woodwind) and Cliff Stapleton (hurdy-gurdy). The Trio performed at the grand opening of the New Covent Garden Market in early 1980 and subsequently became fullâÂÂtime musicians, appearing regularly at Covent Garden Market and in the portico of St. Paul's Cathedral. Paul James was also a member of the folkâÂÂrock band Dr. Cosgill, which was represented by Goat Bag Records. At Dave Armitage's suggestion, Gunstone invited The Trio to join Blowzabella in late January 1981, producing a distinctive "wall of sound" formed by two bagpipes and two hurdyâÂÂgurdies. Blowzabella and Izvoren both performed at the St Chartier HurdyâÂÂGurdy and Bagpipe Maker's Festival in France in July 1981; the event was televised by French channel TF1.
Blowzabella's first recording with Bill O'Toole (bagpipe) was a live concert for the London French folk dance group L'Escargot in 1979. The band gained popularity playing fairs and festivals in southern England and East Anglia, where their unconventional performances and distinctive style attracted audiences. They appeared at the Hood and Albion Fairs and later performed at Switzerland's Nyon Folk Festival and the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival in 1980 and 1982 respectively. O'Toole developed and revived an English bagpipe for use in performances, drawing inspiration from medieval English church artwork and carvings. He also introduced stilt walking to the group's stagecraft, and all members except the hurdyâÂÂgurdy player sometimes performed above the crowd. O'Toole organised the group's bookings on a rotating basis so that each member handled bookings in turn; the band operated on equal shares for money and organisation. After O'Toole's departure, Dave Armitage acted as chairman and managed the group with the support of the other members, during a period of high demand for bookings.
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In late 1990, the pressure of constant touring led to a hiatus for Blowzabella. In 1996, Dave Roberts died. The line-up of Luff, Cutting, Swayne, Eaton, and Shepherd played a small number of performances from 1995 to 2001. In 2002, James proposed the band reform, and organized performances to celebrate Blowzabella's upcoming 25th anniversary. Cutting, Eaton, Freya, James, Luff, Shepherd, and Swayne played several festivals and performed together at a 25-year reunion concert in Bath in September 2003, with guest appearances by Dave Armitage, Bill O'Toole, and Sam Palmer. Gunstone initially accepted James' 25th reunion concert invitation, but later withdrew. At the end of 2004, Eaton left the band and was replaced by Gregory Jolivet, from Bourges, France. In December 2005, Luff left Blowzabella and was replaced by Barnaby Stradling on bass guitar.
Since January 2006, the line-up has broadly remained the same. In July 2007, the band released the album Octomento, their first album of new material since 1990. This was followed in June 2010 by the live album Dance, an album of new and traditional material Strange News in October 2013, and Two Score in 2018. Jolivet left the band in August 2020 due to problems caused by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. The studio album Tilham was released in 2022. Benoit Michaud joined in 2024 as the latest hurdy-gurdy player. The band continues to compose, record, and perform live (as of 2024). Dave Shepherd died on 14 March 2026; the group intends to continue as a six-piece. It has been announced that Blowzabella's '50th anniversary in 2028 is the right time to disband the group permanently.'