When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease
Encyclopedia
"When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease" is a track on the Roy Harper
album HQ
. Released as a single twice, in 1975 and 1978, it is possibly Roy's best-known song. The song captures the atmosphere of a village cricket match and is an elegy to a previous age. It was arranged by David Bedford
and featured Harper's 12-string acoustic guitar backed by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band
.
On his website, Harper talks of the track as being one of the highlights of the HQ album;
DJ John Peel
made an agreement with his producer
, John Walters, that in the event of Peel's death, Walters would play the song on air. Walters died in 2001
, three years before Peel, so the request could not be fulfilled. Peel, however, played it at the end of his show when he announced the news of Walters' death, and the song was played by fellow DJ Andy Kershaw
at the end of his tribute to Peel on BBC Radio 3
(broadcast on 31 October 2004).
Peel's stand-in on his Radio 1 slot, Rob da Bank
, also played the song, at the start of the final show before Peel's funeral.
The song mentions two England cricketers in its lyrics - "And it could be Geoff and it could be John" refers to Geoff Boycott and John Snow
. The song is dedicated to them.
as an a cappella
track on their album for Signum Classics:- 'Songs of Cricket'.
Roy Harper
Roy Harper is an English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since the mid 1960s...
album HQ
HQ (album)
HQ is the eighth studio album by English folk / rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1975 by Harvest Records...
. Released as a single twice, in 1975 and 1978, it is possibly Roy's best-known song. The song captures the atmosphere of a village cricket match and is an elegy to a previous age. It was arranged by David Bedford
David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford , was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music....
and featured Harper's 12-string acoustic guitar backed by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band
Grimethorpe Colliery Band
The Grimethorpe Colliery Band is a brass band, based in Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire, England. It was formed in 1917, as a leisure activity for the workers at the colliery, by members of the disbanded Cudworth Colliery Band...
.
On his website, Harper talks of the track as being one of the highlights of the HQ album;
My childhood memories of the heroic stature of the footballers and cricketers of the day invoke the sounds that went along with them. Paramount among these was the traditional Northern English brass band, which was a functional social component through all four seasons, being seen and heard in many different contexts. My use of that style of music on 'Old Cricketer' is a tribute to those distant memories."
Use as epitaph
BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
made an agreement with his producer
Radio producer
A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. There are two main types of producer. An audio or creative producer and a content producer. Audio producers create sounds and audio specifically, content producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature...
, John Walters, that in the event of Peel's death, Walters would play the song on air. Walters died in 2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
, three years before Peel, so the request could not be fulfilled. Peel, however, played it at the end of his show when he announced the news of Walters' death, and the song was played by fellow DJ Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw
Andy Kershaw is a British broadcaster, known for his interest in world music.His shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, spoken word performance from the likes of Ivor Cutler, and other music from around the world.- Early Life :Kershaw and his sister, fellow broadcaster Liz...
at the end of his tribute to Peel on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
(broadcast on 31 October 2004).
Peel's stand-in on his Radio 1 slot, Rob da Bank
Rob da Bank
Robert John Gorham, known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is a British disc jockey. He presents a Friday-night/Saturday-morning show, Rob da Bank, on BBC Radio 1 from 5am-7am, focused on promoting new left field music...
, also played the song, at the start of the final show before Peel's funeral.
The song mentions two England cricketers in its lyrics - "And it could be Geoff and it could be John" refers to Geoff Boycott and John Snow
John Snow (cricketer)
John Augustine Snow played cricket for Sussex and England in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite being the son of a country vicar and publishing two volumes of poetry Snow was England's most formidable fast bowler between Fred Trueman and Bob Willis and played Test Matches with both of them at either end...
. The song is dedicated to them.
Covers
The song was covered by Cantabile - The London QuartetCantabile (group)
Cantabile - The London Quartet is a British a cappella vocal quartet.-Biography:They were formed as a student group whilst studying at Cambridge University in 1977...
as an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
track on their album for Signum Classics:- 'Songs of Cricket'.