Filmed in the late summer of 2021 in a field near the Gate To Southwell Folk Festival, watch John Spiers and Jon Boden performing Bailey Hill / Wittenham Clumps from their latest album, ‘Fallow Ground’ (reviewed here). These were the final tunes on the album and, as noted by Billy Rough in his review, provide a lively, energetic climax with Boden and Spiers bouncing off each other as they dip and sway.
The first tune, Bailey Hill, was written by Jon Boden and the second, by John Spiers. Both tunes are inspired by hills to which they have a personal connection, expanded on below. For this track, Spiers plays a Welsh made one-row-four-stop melodeon in D made by Rees Wesson – “an absolute doozy of an instrument!“
In our interview with them here, Boden reveals that ‘Bailey Hill’ relates to a location that holds fond childhood memories. “‘Bailey Hill’ is a fort just outside Sheffield. It’s abandoned really, covered in trees, no signage saying this is a Norman fort or whatever, but it’s lovely. It’s sort of been reclaimed. It’s covered in bracken, and it’s a place we used to go for picnics quite a lot and spend quite a lot of time up there.”
Spiers’ tune ‘Wittenham Clumps’ has a similar history, providing a valuable link to Spiers’ past and early session playing. “I wrote that a long, long time ago, before I even met Jon. I was playing that in sessions in Oxford, in fact, all the old crowd in Oxford will probably recognise that tune, I used to play it almost every session!
“It’s just one of those places I’ve always known. The clumps refer to two hills with little bunches of trees on top of them, and one of these had a poem carved in the trunk of a tree. It was legible in the 1960s. When I first saw it in the 1980s the tree had grown over the poem, and some letters were bigger than others. Now the tree’s dead, and it’s just photographs that remain.”
The duo are on tour in June 2022, including Kings Place, alongside several festival appearances across the summer, including Sidmouth, Cambridge, Derby and more. See dates below.
Buy Fallow Ground by Spiers & Boden – CD/LP/Download via – https://smarturl.it/spiersboden
Spiers & Boden Tour Dates
Wednesday, June 1 – Drill Hall, LINCOLN
Thursday, June 2 – The Fire Station, SUNDERLAND
Friday, June 3 -Howard Assembly Room, LEEDS
Saturday, June 4 – Pavilion Arts Centre, BUXTON
Sunday, June 5 – Oxford Playhouse, OXFORD
Wednesday, June 8 – Theatre Royal, WINCHESTER
Thursday, June 9 – The Brewhouse, TAUNTON
Friday, June 10 – Ludlow Assembly Rooms, LUDLOW
Saturday, June 11 – St. Neots Folk Festival, ST. NEOTS
Sunday, June 12 – The Y Theatre, LEICESTER
Friday, June 17 – Kings Place, LONDON
Saturday, June 18 – Trinity Theatre, TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Sunday, June 19 – Ropetackle Arts Centre, SHOREHAM-BY-SEA
Monday, June 20 – Stanley Arts, CROYDON
Tuesday, June 21 – The Apex, BURY ST. EDMUNDS
Wednesday, June 22 – The Roses Theatre, TEWKESBURY
Thursday, June 23 – Pontardawe Arts Centre, PONTARDAWE
Friday, June 24 – The Stables, MILTON KEYNES
Saturday, June 25 – St. Cadoc’s Church, CAERLEON
Sunday, June 26 – Topsham Folk Club, EXETER
Saturday, July 23 – Warwick Folk Festival, WARWICK
Thursday, July 28 — Friday, July 29 – Cambridge Folk Festival, CAMBRIDGE
Wednesday, August 3 – Sidmouth Folk Festival, SIDMOUTH
Saturday, August 6 – Wickham Folk Festival, WICKHAM
Friday, August 12 – Broadstairs Folk Week, BROADSTAIRS
Thursday, September 22 – South Downs Folk Festival, BOGNOR REGIS
Saturday, October 1 – Derby Folk Festival, DERBY
Tickets and more details via: https://spiersandboden.com/live-dates