Meet the Band
Richard Jones: Piano / Piano Accordion
Richard is a renegade from rock music. He was bass player and founder member of the Climax Blues Band. After graduating from University, he joined the ground breaking multi-media group Principal Edward's Magic Theatre. Richard later rejoined Climax Blues Band on keyboards, and toured extensively, mainly in the USA. The band enjoyed worldwide success with the single Couldn't Get It Right. He is a prolific composer and brings both his keyboard grooves and accordion skills to the band. He played with Chris in Meridian and Angles (with Cliff Stapleton) and is currently a member of Climax Ceilidh Band.
Anna Tabbush: Fiddle / Vocals
Anna Tabbush was singing, dancing and playing folk before she could walk or talk. With her roots in Northumbria and The Borders, she plays tunes on fiddle and flute and sings a huge repertoire of songs collected from Scotland, the North East of England and down South where she has lived since her early teens. Anna sang and played with the European Youth Folk Orchestra (eleven musicians from nine European countries). She now runs several community choirs in the Surrey area.
Chris Walshaw: Sax / Pipes / Whistles
Chris, who plays English and French pipes, saxaphone, wooden concert flute and whistles, has been involved in folk music since the tender age of six. He played in The Duellists with Nigel Eaton and Cliff Stapleton, and in Angles with Richard and Cliff Stapleton. He is currently a member of Zephyrus, the English Bagpipe Orchestra, and Climax Ceilidh Band. He is also the inventor of the world famous ABC Notation.
Geoff Nicholls: Drums / Percussion
Since the 1970s Geoff has toured and recorded extensively with Principal Edwards , Astra/Dave Ellis, Electrotunes, Regiment, G T Moore, Hugh Harris, Cliff Bennett, Chicago blues artists Carey Bell, Mojo Buford, Mississippi Red and Nappy Brown - plus many others. In the 1980s Geoff was drummer/presenter on BBC2's 'Rockschool' TV series. He has written several music series for BBC Radio 3, winning a Gold Award at the New York International Radio Festival. He writes regularly for Rhythm magazine and has published several definitive books on drums and drumming.
Bruce Knapp: Guitar / Mandolin
Bruce adds his rocking electric guitar as well as mandolin and slide guitar. Bruce has played in many different bands and genres, from various acoustic settings to full on electronic styles. Mainly known in Blues, Jazz and world music circles, he has toured the world with the likes of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, and pan European band The Bluesmasters. His blues, soul and jazz influences can be heard in our arrangements. Bruce also plays in Climax Ceilidh Band.
