More years ago than we care to remember, The Black’edds got together with the aim of playing mostly original songs, having a good laugh, drinking to excess and generally disrupting as many folk clubs as we possibly could.

The original line up was Grahame Whitehead, Jim Schofield and Clive Gregson… at that point, all residents of Tameside, east of Manchester. Grahame (occasionally assisted by Clive) wrote unique songs. He would tackle local history, social foibles, the human condition and the nature of relationships with a somewhat anarchic vision. He sang with enthusiasm and total commitment… Jim (acoustic guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Clive (acoustic guitar, mandolin and vocals) would hang on to Grahame’s shirt tails for what was often a pretty wild ride.

In 1980, Clive peeled off to turn professional with his side project, Any Trouble. He was replaced by Bonz Barnes, a transplanted southerner who quickly learned the language and formed a writing partnership with Grahame. This line up continued to play on and off until Grahame’s untimely death.

Along the way, they recorded a single featuring the once heard, never forgotten X rated classics “Jimmy 2 Stroke” and “Loving Doll” plus “isn’t It Strange”, a bittersweet ballad. Jim, Bonz and Clive all contributed to a solo Grahame CD, “Songs Ancient & Modern Revised”. Clive would sit in with the band whenever possible…

A couple of years ago, an impromptu get together set Clive, Bonz and Jim to thinking that Grahame’s songs deserved to be revived. So, we booked a handful of gigs, rehearsed (!) then went out and had a whale of a time! People seemed genuinely glad to see us back… and we’ve just carried on playing the odd gig whenever we got the chance. Some shows are very odd indeed!

Bonz Barnes: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Dobro
Clive Gregson: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Accordeon
Jim Schofield: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin