They think the songs are better than people remember. They love folk instruments. It works. They do songs by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stranglers, The Jam, Sham 69, The Undertones, The Ramones, The Buzzcocks, The Specials, Talking Heads, Squeeze and others, even Kraftwerk!
Alright, they’re not all punk, but they come from roughly the same era. They’ve mostly given the songs a kind of Celtic feel, and they’ve stuck in the odd reel and jig here and there. But occasionally they just thrash! They’ve always thought the excitement of a reel taking off is the nearest thing to the excitement of watching punk live in the 70s.
With Adrian playing the Mandolin, world-renowned Troy Donockley playing the ethereal uillean pipes and the bouzouki, Tim Harries (Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, Steeleye Span) on the double bass and Terl Bryant (Iona, Peter Murphy Band, John Paul Jones Band) on percussion, the four of them now form the core of the band with occasional guest musicians.
The Bad Shepherds have released three albums, ‘Yan Tyan Tethera Methera!’ in 2009, ‘By Hook or By Crook’ in 2010 and ‘Mud, Blood and Beer’ in 2013, which features an original song penned by Adrian.
They toured extensively in 2011 and last year they played a string of dates in Australia and a 24-date tour or the UK in November and December, where the majority of the dates sold out.
For something totally different, catch Ade and his mates in Colne in May.
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