Barry Dransfield is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 folk singer

Folk Singer

Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...

, fiddler

Fiddler

A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...

, cellist and guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

. He has appeared as a session musician

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

 on numerous albums by other artists, and has released his own albums as well. Lord of All I Behold (1971) was voted Melody Maker

Melody Maker

Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

folk album of the year. His 1972 album for Polydor, called simply, Barry Dransfield, was voted the rarest folk album in Record Hunter, worth approximately £400. Unlike most fiddlers (but like some Appalachian players) he is comfortable playing in the "off the chest" position, instead of under the chin.

Together with his brother Robin, he was a member of a bluegrass/old-time band while still in his teens. He generally avoids electric instruments, but is innovative nevertheless. The instrumental, "Blacksmith", on Fiddler's Dream, is a complex set of variations in Romantic Paganini style,with no obvious relation to the song "Blacksmith

Blacksmith (song)

"Blacksmith" is a traditional English folk song, also known as "A Blacksmith Courted Me". The song was noted down by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909 from a Mrs Powell. On that occasion it was sung to the tune "Monk's Gate", better known as the tune of "To be a pilgrim", the hymn by John Bunyan....

", but ending with a double-tracked voice of Barry singing the opening line, "Oh, A Blacksmith Courted Me". Fiddler's Dream has been re-issued on Castle with many bonus tracks.

Barry in films

Barry has composed music for several films for TV and the wide screen: "S.O.S. Titanic", "Adelaide Harris", "Play Away", "Samson an Delilah" (1985), "Ballymena Opera House" and "The Wreck of the Julie Plante" (1985). He acted the part of the blind fiddler in The Bounty

The Bounty

The Bounty is a 1984 British historical film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, and produced by Bernard Williams with Dino De Laurentiis as executive producer. It is the fifth film version of the story of the mutiny on the Bounty. The screenplay was by Robert Bolt...

 (1984) (with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins). In 1986 he changed career to become a so-called "Fiddle Doctor", repairing violins and cellos. In 1994 he joined the Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....

 UK tour.

Discography

• - Rout of the Blues (1970) (with Robin Dransfield)
• - Lord of All I Behold (1971) (with Robin Dransfield)
• - Morris On
  Morris On
  Morris On is a folk/rock album released in 1972 under the joint names of Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield...
  
   (1972) (with Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, John Kirkpatrick et al.)
• - Barry Dransfield (1972)
• - The Fiddler's Dream
  The Fiddler's Dream
  The Fiddler's Dream is a folk / folk-rock album by Dransfield, a short-lived group principally comprising the Dransfield brothers, Robin and Barry. Originally released as an LP in 1976 by Transatlantic, catalogue number TRA 322, featuring cover illustrations by Paul Ellis.The album was produced by...
  
  (1976) as a member of the band "The Dransfields"
• - Popular to Contrary Belief (1977) (with Robin Dransfield)
• - Bowin' and Scrapin' (1984)
• - Be Your Own Man (1994)
• - Troubadours of British Folk Vol 1 (1995) (anthology)
• - Wings of a Sphinx (1996)
• - Up To Now (1999) (compilation with rarities and unreleased tracks)
• - Unruly (2005)

External links

• Barry Dransfield's Web Site