Blythe Power

References to the North East turn up in their LPs and they have ties to the Miller Brothers/Whiskey Priests.

With their twenty fifth anniversary fast approaching, Blyth Power remains one of the most original and innovative bands around. Formed in late 1983 by singer/drummer Joseph Porter, one of the prime features about the band is their all-consuming individuality. They have a strikingly identifiable and personalised sound built basically around Joseph’s epic songs, with their colourful personnel, exotic story-lines and crashing, impassioned choruses.
What does the band sound like? How long is a piece of string? With a catalogue of 130 original compositions to choose from, the band are able to adapt their set to suit their surroundings. With a whole range of both acoustic and electric songs, Blyth Power can settle comfortably into the tidy seated arena of an art centre and discuss matters on intimate terms, with precision and definition. Just as easily they can select a programme of up-tempo numbers to get the dancers tumbling over each other in a smelly rock-club basement, or reeling in a wet Marquee after a long day at the cider tent. Present to all humours and any occasion, ‘they change a visor swifter than a thought.’ There is no fixed set of songs. Each audience is presented with a tailor made selection that can vary from the gentle acoustic arpeggios of Burning Joan to the full-on punk rock assault of songs like Carlisle and Sometimes I Wonder. There is everything in between as well, and it is with a sly sense of mischief that the band will take delight in taunting the least folk-oriented crowd with the sound of accordions, or slipping in a raucous anthem to enliven the atmosphere of a balmy country fayre.

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Established in 1983 and named after a railway locomotive,[2] the one constant in an ever-shifting lineup has been drummer/vocalist/songwriter Joseph Porter (real name Gary James Hatcher,[3] born 21 February 1962 in Templecombe, Somerset[4]). The band's lyrics often deal with episodes from history, ranging from the Trojan War to the Cod War — as well as aspects of English culture such as cricket, village life and trains. Porter is an avowed trainspotter, and in August 1998 the band appeared on the LWT television programme Holy Smoke! in a slot in which musicians discussed their individual religions — with trainspotting cited as his religion.[5]

Since 1993, Blyth Power recordings have been released on their own label, Downwarde Spiral. Since 2000 they have cut back on their touring schedule due to various personal commitments, but they have organised an annual mini-festival, the Tallington Ashes. The festival took place in Lincolnshire in August of each year, and combines live music with a cricket match featuring band members and their associates. It was cancelled in 2007[6], and renamed the Blyth Power Ashes, moving to Ripley in Derbyshire, from 2008. From 2010 the event moved to The Goat, in Skeyton Norfolk due to its ever increasing popularity.[7]

Joseph Porter has also being involved with various side-projects, such as doing solo guitarist/vocalist performances and collaborating in 2 other bands, Red Wedding and Mad Dogs & Englishmen.

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