Show of Hands
Encyclopedia
Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots
and folk
duo comprising singer-songwriter
Steve Knightley
and multi-instrumentalist
Phil Beer
. In recent years they have been accompanied on tour and in the studio by jazz double-bassist Miranda Sykes.
, Devon
, where they grew up. They eventually got together and for a short period played in pubs and clubs, even undertaking a disastrous summer tour of Sweden
when they were both 16. As school finished, their lives went separate ways. Knightley went to university in Coventry
, collected a degree and teaching qualifications, and ended up in London
playing music in a rock band in his spare time. For Phil Beer the leap to professional musician was immediate. Throughout the years he played with many different people, including the Arizona Smoke Revue and then from 1984 with the Albion Band. In the mid 1980s Knightley returned to live in the West Country
, and so he and Phil Beer got together casually to play a few shows. This continued until 1991 when it became obvious that the partnership had the potential to become a full time career. Beer left the Albion Band and Show of Hands was born.
The first Show of Hands recordings were three cassettes, recorded on home studios. A selection of the best tracks from those cassettes was later released on the Backlog compilation album in 1995.
, Dorset
, and titled Live '92
, the excellent reviews it garnered helped them break into the festival circuit of 1993, and later that same year they toured with Ralph McTell
on his autumn tour.
During 1992 Knightley and Beer were invited to join an inter-cultural music project which involved working with three exiled Chile
an musicians. Out of this the band Alianza
was formed and an album made. Alianza toured throughout 1992 and 1993 and influenced the duo greatly. They were introduced to a new range of rhythms and instruments and Steve was inspired to write songs that are now favourites with Show of Hands fans including "Santiago", "Armadas" and "Columbus Didn't Find America". Some of these found their way onto the first Show of Hands studio album Beat about the Bush
, which was released in 1994.
In 1995 Show of Hands released their second studio album Lie of the Land
. The album proved a turning point as it gathered in reviews from major publications hailing it as a masterpiece and a classic. Mojo said the album created "a powerful, fresh sounding music with both integrity and widespread appeal", while Q magazine called it a "startlingly good" album and went one further in voting it their folk album of the year in 1996.
With thousands of fans on their mailing list
, Show of Hands had long wanted to play a concert big enough to gather all those fans together. Different ideas were brought up but none seemed right until London's Royal Albert Hall
was suggested; the perfect venue, prestigious and big enough! The undertaking required a huge gamble by the duo and their management, but the show sold out in advance and took place on the evening of March 24, 1996.
In 1997, they released their third studio album, Dark Fields
, which contained fan favourite "Cousin Jack". They released Folk Music
in 1998, which contains traditional songs. It was only availabile through post and at the band's concerts at the time.
, Peter Gabriel
, Bob Dylan
and Ralph McTell
.
In 2001 Show of Hands celebrated their tenth anniversary with another sell out show at the Royal Albert Hall
. The concert was recorded by Carlton TV
for network transmission and was shown as two dedicated half-hour programmes.
Their next studio album Cold Frontier
was released in 2001 and was the first album to be recorded by Mick Dolan, who took responsibility for the Show of Hands sound after producer/manager Gerard O'Farrell returned to his native Australia
. The Path, the first instrumental album by Show of Hands, was released in 2003 and is a celebration of the sights and sounds of the West Country coast. Each track is named after a different location, and creates an atmospheric musical portrait of the sea, and the seaside. In October 2003, the album Country Life
was released. This studio recording of Knightley's most recent songs also featured a special bonus CD with alternative mixes of selected tracks.
Show of Hands won the Best Live Act award at the 2004 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
. The winning of that particular award was especially pleasing to the duo as for that year it was voted on by the public and not by the usual panel of judges. At the 2005 awards they were nominated for Best Duo and were part of the Oysterband
Big Session group that won the 'Best Group' award.
For their extensive tour in autumn 2004 the duo temporarily became a trio when they were joined by Miranda Sykes on double bass
and vocals. Although initially reluctant, audience enthusiasm convinced them that the time was right for another Show of Hands live album. "We realised that we had the raw material to create a double album that would hopefully capture a song, a set or a moment in all of our musical lives." - Steve Knightley. As You Were
, a live double-album, was released in 2005 and comprised 22 tracks recorded at various venues during the autumn tour. Miranda has since toured extensively with Show of Hands, and there were few shows in 2005 and 2006 where she was absent from the lineup.
In May 2006, Show of Hands released their ninth studio album Witness
. The album was produced by Simon Emmerson
and Simon ‘Mass’ Massey from the Afro Celts
.
In November 2006, they were voted the "Greatest Devonians" in Devon County Council's competition, with more than a third of the votes. Other contenders included Sir Francis Drake, Charles Babbage
, Agatha Christie
and Muse
. Their support of local good causes has ranged from continued fundraising for a children's hospice in the county to playing a special St George's Day
concert in Sandford to raise money to save the village Post Office there.
for a concert on the 8 April 2007, which was their third performance there. This was to celebrate their 15 year partnership as Show of Hands.
In July 2008 Show of Hands played at the first folk proms concert in the welsh Proms season in St Davids Hall, Cardiff. On 26 July 2008, Show of Hands played at the Evolve 08 festival in Lodmoor Park, Weymouth, along with Miranda Sykes. Steve Knightley returned to the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival
in July 2009 without Phil Beer, due to Beer's sailing at the time. As such, he played song sfrom his then-new solo album Track of Words - Retraced. Show of Hands returned to the festival in July 2010 with both members.
In October 2009, the band's tenth studio album, Arrogance Ignorance and Greed
was released.
In February 2010, the group won both "Best Duo" and "Best Original Song" for the track "Arrogance Ignorance and Greed" at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Previously unreleased Show of Hands compositions before 1987 (and some from after 1987) appeared on Phil Beer's box set, Box Set One, in 2010.
In November 2010, they released their eleventh studio album, Covers 2, also their second covers album after Covers from 2000. The album was credited to Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes, the first time Sykes gets a leading credit on one of their albums. They did a tour with Texan guitarist Rodney Branigan following the album's release.
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
duo comprising singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Steve Knightley
Steve Knightley
Steve Knightley is a singer-songwriter, musician and one half of British acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.-Career:...
and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
Phil Beer
Phil Beer
Phil Beer is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and one half of English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.-Biography:...
. In recent years they have been accompanied on tour and in the studio by jazz double-bassist Miranda Sykes.
Origins
Steve Knightley and Phil Beer met as teenagers while playing in different bands in ExeterExeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, where they grew up. They eventually got together and for a short period played in pubs and clubs, even undertaking a disastrous summer tour of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
when they were both 16. As school finished, their lives went separate ways. Knightley went to university in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, collected a degree and teaching qualifications, and ended up in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
playing music in a rock band in his spare time. For Phil Beer the leap to professional musician was immediate. Throughout the years he played with many different people, including the Arizona Smoke Revue and then from 1984 with the Albion Band. In the mid 1980s Knightley returned to live in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
, and so he and Phil Beer got together casually to play a few shows. This continued until 1991 when it became obvious that the partnership had the potential to become a full time career. Beer left the Albion Band and Show of Hands was born.
The first Show of Hands recordings were three cassettes, recorded on home studios. A selection of the best tracks from those cassettes was later released on the Backlog compilation album in 1995.
1990s
Their first album was, unusually, a live album. Recorded at the Bull Hotel in BridportBridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, and titled Live '92
Show of Hands Live
Live is a live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.It is their first album to be released on CD.The album was re-released in 1999.-Track listing:...
, the excellent reviews it garnered helped them break into the festival circuit of 1993, and later that same year they toured with Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
on his autumn tour.
During 1992 Knightley and Beer were invited to join an inter-cultural music project which involved working with three exiled Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an musicians. Out of this the band Alianza
Alianza (band)
Alianza were a unique Anglo-Chilean collaboration between three British musicians, Steve Knightley, Phil Beer, and Dave Townsend, and three exiled Chilean musicians, Sergio Avila, Mauricio Venegas and Vladimir Vega...
was formed and an album made. Alianza toured throughout 1992 and 1993 and influenced the duo greatly. They were introduced to a new range of rhythms and instruments and Steve was inspired to write songs that are now favourites with Show of Hands fans including "Santiago", "Armadas" and "Columbus Didn't Find America". Some of these found their way onto the first Show of Hands studio album Beat about the Bush
Beat about the Bush
Beat about the Bush is a 1994 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.It is their debut studio album to be released on CD, following the discontinued cassette albums that are Show of Hands from 1987, Tall Ships from 1990 and Out of the Count from 1991.Following Mike Trim's...
, which was released in 1994.
In 1995 Show of Hands released their second studio album Lie of the Land
Lie of the Land
Lie Of The Land is a 1995 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. It is their second studio album.-Background and Release:...
. The album proved a turning point as it gathered in reviews from major publications hailing it as a masterpiece and a classic. Mojo said the album created "a powerful, fresh sounding music with both integrity and widespread appeal", while Q magazine called it a "startlingly good" album and went one further in voting it their folk album of the year in 1996.
With thousands of fans on their mailing list
Mailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
, Show of Hands had long wanted to play a concert big enough to gather all those fans together. Different ideas were brought up but none seemed right until London's Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
was suggested; the perfect venue, prestigious and big enough! The undertaking required a huge gamble by the duo and their management, but the show sold out in advance and took place on the evening of March 24, 1996.
In 1997, they released their third studio album, Dark Fields
Dark Fields
Dark Fields is the third studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands, released in 1997. It was their first album to come in a gatefold/digipack...
, which contained fan favourite "Cousin Jack". They released Folk Music
Folk Music (album)
Folk Music was the fourth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.The album includes traditional songs.-Background:The duo have said the album is an album which connects them to their roots, which they felt worked well.-Release:...
in 1998, which contains traditional songs. It was only availabile through post and at the band's concerts at the time.
2000s
As is implied by the album name, Covers, the studio album released in 2000, contained only cover versions of songs by other artists. The songs were selected from ones that the duo had performed at concerts or sound checks over the years, and included music from artists such as Jethro TullJethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
and Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
.
In 2001 Show of Hands celebrated their tenth anniversary with another sell out show at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. The concert was recorded by Carlton TV
Carlton Television
Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...
for network transmission and was shown as two dedicated half-hour programmes.
Their next studio album Cold Frontier
Cold Frontier
Cold Frontier is a 2001 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands."Are We Alright" was re-recorded for their best of album, Roots: The Best of Show of Hands. The song itself has become a live staple of the duo...
was released in 2001 and was the first album to be recorded by Mick Dolan, who took responsibility for the Show of Hands sound after producer/manager Gerard O'Farrell returned to his native Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The Path, the first instrumental album by Show of Hands, was released in 2003 and is a celebration of the sights and sounds of the West Country coast. Each track is named after a different location, and creates an atmospheric musical portrait of the sea, and the seaside. In October 2003, the album Country Life
Country Life (Show of Hands album)
Country Life is a 2003 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.-Notes:Helped to be promoted by a tour in 2003 , the album was released to a positive reception...
was released. This studio recording of Knightley's most recent songs also featured a special bonus CD with alternative mixes of selected tracks.
Show of Hands won the Best Live Act award at the 2004 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
. The winning of that particular award was especially pleasing to the duo as for that year it was voted on by the public and not by the usual panel of judges. At the 2005 awards they were nominated for Best Duo and were part of the Oysterband
Oysterband
Oysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
Big Session group that won the 'Best Group' award.
For their extensive tour in autumn 2004 the duo temporarily became a trio when they were joined by Miranda Sykes on double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and vocals. Although initially reluctant, audience enthusiasm convinced them that the time was right for another Show of Hands live album. "We realised that we had the raw material to create a double album that would hopefully capture a song, a set or a moment in all of our musical lives." - Steve Knightley. As You Were
As You Were (album)
As You Were is a 2005 live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.The band recorded, with helm at Mick Dolan, the entire 2004 winter tour onto minidisk. This meant ploughing through each show the following day to identify the best performances and then collating and working through the...
, a live double-album, was released in 2005 and comprised 22 tracks recorded at various venues during the autumn tour. Miranda has since toured extensively with Show of Hands, and there were few shows in 2005 and 2006 where she was absent from the lineup.
In May 2006, Show of Hands released their ninth studio album Witness
Witness (Show of Hands album)
Witness is the ninth studio album by Show of Hands. The album was recorded in January 2006 at Presshouse Studio, Colyton, Devon, and was produced by Simon Emmerson and Simon ‘Mass’ Massey from the Afro Celts, who helped to incorporate elements of traditional African, ambient and electronic dance...
. The album was produced by Simon Emmerson
Simon Emmerson
For the experimental music artist, see Simon Emmerson .Simon Emmerson is a Grammy Award-nominated record producer, guitarist, DJ and founder of the group Afro Celt Sound System....
and Simon ‘Mass’ Massey from the Afro Celts
Afro Celt Sound System
The Afro Celt Sound System is a musical group which fuses modern electronic dance rhythms with traditional Irish and West African music...
.
In November 2006, they were voted the "Greatest Devonians" in Devon County Council's competition, with more than a third of the votes. Other contenders included Sir Francis Drake, Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
, Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
and Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
. Their support of local good causes has ranged from continued fundraising for a children's hospice in the county to playing a special St George's Day
St George's Day
St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303...
concert in Sandford to raise money to save the village Post Office there.
Recent work
Show of Hands played London's Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
for a concert on the 8 April 2007, which was their third performance there. This was to celebrate their 15 year partnership as Show of Hands.
In July 2008 Show of Hands played at the first folk proms concert in the welsh Proms season in St Davids Hall, Cardiff. On 26 July 2008, Show of Hands played at the Evolve 08 festival in Lodmoor Park, Weymouth, along with Miranda Sykes. Steve Knightley returned to the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival
Trowbridge Village Pump Festival
Village Pump FestivalStarted over 30 years ago in a barn at the lamb Inn Trowbridge, it then moved to Stowford Manor Farm, Farleigh Hungerford, England...
in July 2009 without Phil Beer, due to Beer's sailing at the time. As such, he played song sfrom his then-new solo album Track of Words - Retraced. Show of Hands returned to the festival in July 2010 with both members.
In October 2009, the band's tenth studio album, Arrogance Ignorance and Greed
Arrogance Ignorance and Greed
Arrogance Ignorance and Greed is the tenth studio album by Show of Hands.The Album was Produced by Stu Hanna of the English folk duo Megson-Notes:...
was released.
In February 2010, the group won both "Best Duo" and "Best Original Song" for the track "Arrogance Ignorance and Greed" at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Previously unreleased Show of Hands compositions before 1987 (and some from after 1987) appeared on Phil Beer's box set, Box Set One, in 2010.
In November 2010, they released their eleventh studio album, Covers 2, also their second covers album after Covers from 2000. The album was credited to Show of Hands with Miranda Sykes, the first time Sykes gets a leading credit on one of their albums. They did a tour with Texan guitarist Rodney Branigan following the album's release.
Studio albums
- Beat about the BushBeat about the BushBeat about the Bush is a 1994 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.It is their debut studio album to be released on CD, following the discontinued cassette albums that are Show of Hands from 1987, Tall Ships from 1990 and Out of the Count from 1991.Following Mike Trim's...
(1994) - Lie of the LandLie of the LandLie Of The Land is a 1995 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. It is their second studio album.-Background and Release:...
(1995) - Dark FieldsDark FieldsDark Fields is the third studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands, released in 1997. It was their first album to come in a gatefold/digipack...
(1997) - Folk MusicFolk Music (album)Folk Music was the fourth studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.The album includes traditional songs.-Background:The duo have said the album is an album which connects them to their roots, which they felt worked well.-Release:...
(1998) - Covers (2000)
- Cold FrontierCold FrontierCold Frontier is a 2001 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands."Are We Alright" was re-recorded for their best of album, Roots: The Best of Show of Hands. The song itself has become a live staple of the duo...
(2001) - The Path (2003)
- Country LifeCountry Life (Show of Hands album)Country Life is a 2003 studio album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.-Notes:Helped to be promoted by a tour in 2003 , the album was released to a positive reception...
(2003) - WitnessWitness (Show of Hands album)Witness is the ninth studio album by Show of Hands. The album was recorded in January 2006 at Presshouse Studio, Colyton, Devon, and was produced by Simon Emmerson and Simon ‘Mass’ Massey from the Afro Celts, who helped to incorporate elements of traditional African, ambient and electronic dance...
(2006) - Arrogance Ignorance and GreedArrogance Ignorance and GreedArrogance Ignorance and Greed is the tenth studio album by Show of Hands.The Album was Produced by Stu Hanna of the English folk duo Megson-Notes:...
(2009) - Covers 2Covers 2Covers 2 is a studio album by British folk duo Show of Hands, released in 2010. It is the second album of cover versions.-Tour:The album was promoted through a small tour in November 2010. The tour featured covers as like on the album and other tracks...
(2010)
Live albums
- Live '92Show of Hands LiveLive is a live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.It is their first album to be released on CD.The album was re-released in 1999.-Track listing:...
(1994) - Live at the Royal Albert HallLive at the Royal Albert Hall (Show of Hands album)Live at the Royal Albert Hall is a 1996 live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands. It was performed live at the Royal Albert Hall on 24 March 1996, following the success of their studio album, Lie of the Land.-Track listing:...
(1996) - Cold Cuts (2002)
- As You WereAs You Were (album)As You Were is a 2005 live album by English acoustic roots duo Show of Hands.The band recorded, with helm at Mick Dolan, the entire 2004 winter tour onto minidisk. This meant ploughing through each show the following day to identify the best performances and then collating and working through the...
(2005) - Live at Exeter Phoenix (2008)
- Backlog 2 (2011)
Compilations
- Backlog (1995)
- Anglicana (1999)
- No Song to Sing (2000)
- Show of Hands (2000)
- Roots - The Best of Show of Hands (2007)
- Backlog 2 (2011)
Singles
- Columbus EP (1995)
- "Crazy Boy" (1997)
- "Crooked Man" (2004)
- "Witness" (2006)
- "Roots" (2007)
Videos & DVDs
- Acoustic Workshop (1996)
- Stairway To Devon (1998)
- The Big Gig (2001)
- Show of Hands on Film - The Video Collection (2004)
- Tour of Topsham (2007)
Other
- A re-recording of the song "Crooked Man" called Crooked Man '07 appeared on Steve Knightely's second solo album Cruel River, from 2007.
- Re-recordings of various show of Hands songs "Exile", "Santiago" and "Sit You Down" (as well as many other traditional songs Show of Hands had recorded) were re-recorded by Phil Beer for his solo box set, Box Set One, as well as previously unreleased pre-1987 Show of Hands songs, such as "Take Back Your Pictures", "Last Picture Show", "White Tribes", and "Undertow".
Compilation appearances
- Huntingdon Folk: Folk From Huntingdon Hall (1997) (Song: "Ratcliff Highway")
- The Best of British Folk, Volume 1 (2001) (Song: "Man in Green", "Galway Farmer")
- The Folk Awards 2005 (2005) (Song: "Country Life")
- Rubber Folk (2005) (Song: "If i Needed Someone")
- Folk Awards 2007 (2007) (Song: "Roots")
- Huntingdon Folk 4 (2008) (Song: "Santiago")
- While My Guitar Gently Sleeps (2008) (Song: "If I Needed Someone")
- Folk Awards 2010 (2010) (Song: "Arrogance Ignorance and Greed")