Spriguns Of Tolgus - Jack With A Feather

Mike and Mandy Morton formed Spriguns of Tolgus as an acoustic duo at their own folk club in Cambridge in 1972. They took the name "Spriguns" from a malignant Cornish pixie and Tolgus from a tin mine in Cornwall. Initially the band relied on traditional songs, particularly ballads, from England, Scotland and Ireland and were similar in sound to Steeleye Span. The Mortons were joined by Rick Thomas (fiddle) and Chris Russon (electric guitar), producing soft-focus electric folk on a self-financed tape recording, Rowdy, Dowdy Day (1974). This drew them to the attention of Steeleye Span's Tim Hart, who produced their first vinyl album, Jack with a Feather (1975), contributing the song "Seamus the Showman", beside traditional material such as the Child Ballads's "Flodden Field" and "The Twa Magicians" (the last of which Steeleye Span had recorded the year before) and the Irish songs "Let no man steal your Thyme" and "Curragh of Kildare". The album, despite a very short run of pressings, together with Hart’s involvement, helped increase the band’s profile sufficiently to gain attention from a major label.

1 Lambton Worm

2 Let No Man Steal Your Thyme

3 Derby Ram

4 Jigs: Rakes Of Malo / St. Patrick's Day / Ten Penny Bit

5 Flodden Field

6 Troopers Nag

7 Curragh Of Kildare

8 Keys Of Canterbury

9 Twa Magicians

10 Seamus The Showman

11 Barren Banks Of Aden

link to the free album

Spriguns Of Tolgus - Jack With A Feather