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John Kirkpatrick has been
dancing, singing, and playing his way around the English folk scene
since he joined Hammersmith Morris Men in 1959 at the age of twelve.
Displaying a rare skill on a variety of push-pull squeezeboxes - the
melodeon, the button accordion, and the Anglo concertina - he has been
fully professional since 1970, not only with vast amounts of solo
appearances, but also in all kinds of duos, trios, and bands –
including spells in Steeleye Span, The Albion Band, Trans Europe Diatonique, in a long term duo with Roy Bailey, Band
of Hope, lengthy stints with Richard Thompson’s Band, The Sultans of
Squeeze, Brass Monkey, and Home Service. In the mid
1990s he led his own John Kirkpatrick Band.
He is still an unrelentingly
enthusiastic morris dancer, and started one
of England’s most influential teams – The Shropshire Bedlams. And he
still finds time to play for dancing, currently in a band with all his
four sons – Kirkophany.
Out in the wide world John has
contributed music, song, and dance to a great number of plays in the
theatre, and to a lesser extent radio, television, and film. As a
virtuoso session player his squeezeboxes can be heard on hundreds of
recordings, and as a creator of new work in all these fields he has
established an enviable reputation.
But on his own live gigs you’re
more likely to see him in his natural habitat pursuing his first love -
traditional English music and song. John fills the room with an
irresistibly joyful noise, topping his sparkling squeezebox playing
with lusty vocals, all presented with lashings of wit and humour.
In 2002 – Made an honorary
lifetime member of the International Concertina Association.
In 2003 – Awarded the Gold
Badge of the English Folk Dance & Song Society for his outstanding
contribution to English Folk Music.
In 2010 – Named Musician of the
Year in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
In 2016 – Made an honorary
lifetime member of The South West Shropshire Historical and
Archaeological Society.
In 2021 – Appointed MBE in the
New Year’s Honours list.
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