Jackdaw with Crowbar

Jackdaw with Crowbar is an English multi-media indie band from Leamington Spa.[1] The band was formed in 1985, but consolidated in 1987, when signed to Ron Johnson Records, until it went bust.[1]

Jackdaw With Crowbar
OriginLeamington Spa, England
GenresRock
Years active1986–1992, 2007–present
LabelsRon Johnson
MembersTim Ellis
Adam Sindall
Louis Scheuer
Avery Green
Past membersDave Tibbats
Dan Morrison
Steve Law
Fran Juckes
Tris King
Andy Guthrie
Alan McCulloch
Andy Grimmer
Wilf Plum
Charley 'H' Bembridge
Fergus Durrant

History

Jackdaw with Crowbar's original line-up was Timothy Ellis, Fergus Durrant, Dave Tibbats and Dan Morrison, with Adam Sindall, Steve Law and Fran Juckes making Super 8mm films which were always present in their live performances.[1][2][3] This line-up released the band's first three records, Monarchy, Mayhem and Fishpaste, Sink Sank Sunk and Hot Air.[4]

The band contributed to the 1988 compilation album Take Five in aid of the charity Shelter.[5]

In 1991, Jackdaw released Hanging In the Balance, expanding the line-up with Tris King (formerly of Bogshed and later of A Witness),[6] Andy Guthrie, Alan McCulloch (aka "Wak"), Andy Grimmer, Wilf Plum (Dog Faced Hermans) and Charley 'H' Bembridge (The Selecter).

Jackdaw had two John Peel sessions on 19 May 1987 and 4 October 1987.[7] Jackdaw stopped touring around 1991 or 1992. In 2005, "Fuck America" was released on a compilation CD, Commercially Unfriendly: The Best Of British Underground, on Gott Discs.[8] In 2007, Ellis and Sindall started working together and Jackdaw was re-hatched with Fergus Durrant joining soon after. With all new films and songs, Jackdaw released a new EP available from Hybrid Cuts. The 8mm films were replaced by lap tops and video projectors. Jackdaw received air play on BBC Radio 6 in Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone and Don Letts' show.

Jackdaw with Crowbar, in 2018, entered into its third age continuing as a duo, known as Jackdaw with Crowbar, Because You're Worth It, with Ellis and Sindall.

Musical style

The band's musical style was described by the musician and writer John Robb as a combination of "spiky and dark guitar-driven blues and guitar-punk disco-filth".[1] Discussing the first EP, Monarchy, Mayhem, and Fishpaste, the writer John Corbett described the music as "a song sung through a bull horn ("Crow"), an accordion reggae-dub ("Fourth World"), a two-step featuring slide guitar reminiscent of Zoot Horn Rollo in Captain Beefheart's Magic Band ("The Night Albania Fell on Alabama")."[3] In Corbett's view, "the brief appearance of Jackdaw's records exemplifies the local-mode commodity at both its most appealing and its most politically volatile".[3]

Discography
YearTitleLabelCatalogueFormat
1987Monarchy Mayhem and FishpasteRon Johnson RecordsZRON2412-inch single
Sink Sank SunkRon Johnson RecordsZRON3112-inch single
1988Hot AirRon Johnson RecordsZRON33LP
1989First After EpiphanyRon Johnson RecordsZRON36LP
1991Hanging in the BalanceHAX TurinoHAX04LP
2010EP200Hybrid Cuts069CDEP200CD EP

References
  1. Robb, John (2009) Death to Trad Rock, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 978-1-901447-36-1, p. 369
  2. Booth, Vachel (1987) "Clapperboard Clash! Jackdaw With Crowbar in Film Fun", Underground, October 1987 (Issue 7), p. 26
  3. Corbett, John (1994) Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr.Funkenstein, Duke University Press, ISBN 978-0-8223-1473-8, p. 48
  4. Turner, Simon (17 September 1988). "Crowbar Attack", Melody Maker, 64 (38): 16.
  5. Wilde, John (16 July 1988). "Albums: Take Five (Proceeds to Shelter)", Melody Maker 64 (29): 34.
  6. Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 237
  7. "Jackdaw With Crowbar". BBC Online. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  8. Lee, Stewart (29 January 2006). "Various Artists: Commercially Unfriendly: The Best of the British Underground 1983–1989", The Sunday Times, p. 21.
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