The Wurzels are a British scrumpy and Western band from Nailsea, Somerset. Formed in early 1966, the group was originally known as "Adge Cutler & The Wurzels" and featured vocalist Adge Cutler backed by banjo and guitarist Reg Quantrill, accordion player Reg Chant, sousaphone player Brian Walker, and bassist John Macey. After Cutler's death in 1974, remaining members Pete Budd (vocals, banjo, guitar), Tommy Banner (accordion, vocals) and Tony Baylis (bass, sousaphone, vocals) continued as The Wurzels. Budd and Banner remain members of the current incarnation of the band alongside bassist Sedge Moore, who joined in 2007; additional backing musicians include drummer Lee Delamere (since 2021) and two keyboardists who perform regularly with the group – Louie "Gribble" Nicastro (since 2005) and Dan "Dribble" Lashbrook (since 2017).
In June 1966, vocalist Adge Cutler met with band manager John Miles to discuss setting up a band to perform a number of songs he had written.[1] Cutler had initially planned to call the group The Mangold Wurzels, but the pair agreed to shorten the name to simply The Wurzels.[2] For the band's first show in July, Cutler was joined by Reg Quantrill on banjo and guitar, Reg Chant on accordion, and Brian Walker on tuba; bassist John Macey joined shortly thereafter.[3] After signing with Columbia Records, The Wurzels' first recording took place live on 2 November 1966 at the Royal Oak pub in Nailsea, which spawned their debut single "Drink Up thy Cider", their first EP Scrumpy & Western, and their debut album Adge Cutler & The Wurzels.[4] Around the release of the album and single "The Champion Dung Spreader" in March, Walker left the band and was not replaced, with the remaining four-piece recording "I Wish I Was Back on the Farm", second album Adge Cutler's Family Album, and "All Over Mendip" for release later in the year.[4]
In the summer of 1967, both Chant and Macey left The Wurzels.[4] Macey was not replaced, with Cutler and Quantrill performing for the next three months with stand-in accordion players Pete Shutler (of The Yetties) and Ken Scott.[3] [5] Chant's permanent replacement was Scottish accordion and piano player Tommy Banner, who joined The Wurzels in November.[6] Around the same time, Melt Kingston joined on bass and tuba, taking over from Henry Davis who had been with group just a few weeks before joining The New Vaudeville Band; the following March, Kingston and Davis switched places, with Davis returning to The Wurzels.[7] With Banner and Davis, the band recorded "Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee", "Up the Clump", and third album Cutler of the West, before Davis left for a second (and final) time at the end of 1968.[8]
Davis was replaced on bass and tuba in January 1969 by Tony Baylis.[9] The lineup of Cutler, Quantrill, Banner and Baylis remained stable for the next five years, although only released one album – Carry On Cutler! in October 1969 – and two singles – "Poor, Poor Farmer" in 1971 and "Little Darlin'" in 1972 – due to a "heavy touring schedule".[4] In early 1974, longest-serving member Quantrill left The Wurzels.[10] He was replaced by Pete Budd, who had previously filled in for Quantrill on numerous occasions since 1972.[11] Just a few months later, on 5 May 1974, frontman Cutler died in a car crash near the Severn Bridge.[12] The remaining band members, "determined to carry on Adge's legacy and keep his name on the lips of scrumpy fans across the world", subsequently opted to continue on as a three-piece.[2]
After the death of Adge Cutler, new banjo player and guitarist Pete Budd took over lead vocal duties for The Wurzels.[13] The band subsequently enjoyed their most commercially successful period, reaching the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart in 1976 for the first and only time with the album The Combine Harvester, as well as topping the UK Singles Chart with the lead single of the same name.[14] In 1981, the band returned to a four-piece for the first time since Cutler's death with the addition of their first official drummer, John Morgan.[15] After releasing "The Coughin' Song" in 1982 and Freshly Cut in 1983, bassist Tony Baylis left The Wurzels in January 1984.[3] He was replaced by a former bandmate of Morgan's, Jai Howe;[16] around the same time, Terry Pascoe (another of Morgan's former bandmates) joined as the band's first keyboardist.[17]
Within a couple of years, both Howe and Pascoe had left The Wurzels.[3] Mike Gwilliam subsequently took over on bass, debuting on the 1986 single "All Fall Down".[18] Gwilliam also performed on the 1988 single "Sunny Weston-super-Mare", before he was replaced in late 1990 by Dave Wintour.[19] After releasing two live albums and the single "I Want to Be an Eddie Stobart Driver", Wintour was replaced in 2002 by the returning Howe.[16] Starting in November 2005, when Banner had to briefly step away from performing due to prostate cancer,[20] Louie "Gribble" Nicastro – who had started working as a producer and songwriter for the group a few years earlier – filled in on keyboards and backing vocals.[21] Nicastro ultimately remained with the band after Banner returned, and is still a member as of 2024.[22]
In May 2007, it was reported that Howe had been forced to step down from The Wurzels due to "the onset of brain cancer".[23] He had been replaced since February by Sedge Moore, who plays a variety of instruments in addition to bass.[24] Howe later died as a result of his condition on 4 February 2008.[25] The lineup of Budd, Banner, Moore, Morgan and Nicastro remained stable for around ten years, releasing A Load More Bullocks and The Wurzels Christmas Album in 2010 and 2011, respectively.[26] [27] Starting in 2017, Nicastro was forced to step back from working with The Wurzels full-time, so the band briefly worked with Steve Milliner,[28] followed by Dan "Dribble" Lashbrook more regularly.[29] On 18 December 2021, long-time drummer John Morgan died after contracting COVID-19 while on tour.[30] He was replaced by Lee Delamere, who had earlier filled in for Morgan at a couple of shows towards the end of the year.[31]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Banner | 1967–present | all Wurzels releases from "Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee" (1968) onwards | ||
| Pete Budd | 1974–present (plus as a stand-in from 1972) | all Wurzels releases from The Wurzels Are Scrumptious! (1975) onwards | ||
| Louie "Gribble" Nicastro | 2005–present (part-time from 2017 onwards) | all Wurzels releases from A Load More Bullocks (2010) onwards | ||
| Sedge Moore | 2007–present | all Wurzels releases from "One for the Bristol City" (2007) onwards | ||
| Dan "Dribble" Lashbrook | 2017–present (part-time) | none to date | ||
| Lee Delamere | 2021–present |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adge Cutler | 1966–1974 (died 1974) | lead vocals | all Wurzels releases from Scrumpy & Western (1967) to "Little Darlin'" (1972) | |
| Reg Quantrill | 1966–1974 (died 2012) | |||
| Reg Chant | 1966–1967 (died 1978) | all Wurzels releases from Scrumpy & Western (1967) to "All Over Mendip" (1967) | ||
| Brian Walker | 1966–1967 (died 2020) | |||
| John Macey | 1966–1968 (died 2015) | all Wurzels releases from Scrumpy & Western (1967) to "All Over Mendip" (1967) | ||
| Henry Davis | ||||
| Melt Kingston | 1967–1968 (died 2019) | none | ||
| Tony Baylis | 1969–1984 (died 2020) | all Wurzels releases from Carry On Cutler! (1969) to Freshly Cut (1983) | ||
| John Morgan | 1981–2021 (died 2021) | all Wurzels releases from "The Coughin' Song" (1982) to "Old Rosie" (2017) | ||
| Jai Howe | all Wurzels releases from Never Mind the Bullocks Ere's The Wurzels (2002) to "I Am a Cider Drinker 2007" (2007) | |||
| Terry Pascoe | 1984–1986 | none | ||
| Mike Gwilliam | 1986–1990 | |||
| Dave Wintour | 1990–2002 (died 2022) |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Shutler | 1967 (died 2014) | After Reg Chant's departure, Shutler and Scott each performed with The Wurzels prior to Tommy Banner's arrival. | |||
| Ken Scott | 1967 | ||||
| Steve Milliner | 2017–present | Milliner fills in on keyboards and backing vocals when both Louie Nicastro and Dan Lashbrook are unavailable. |
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| June – July 1966 |
| ||
| Summer 1966 – March 1967 |
|
| |
| March – July 1967 |
|
| |
| August – October 1967 |
| rowspan="3" | |
| October – November 1967 |
| ||
| November 1967 – March 1968 |
| ||
| March – late 1968 |
|
| |
| January 1969 – early 1974 |
|
| |
| Early – May 1974 |
| ||
| Summer 1974 – 1981 |
|
| (1977)
|
| 1981 – January 1984 |
|
| |
| 1984–1986 |
| ||
| 1986–1990 |
|
| |
| Late 1990 – late 2002 |
|
| |
| Late 2002 – late 2005 |
|
| |
| November 2005 – February 2007 |
|
| |
| February 2007 – late 2017 |
|
| |
| Late 2017 – December 2021 |
| ||
| December 2021 – present |
| none to date |