Folk’s ‘firm of solicitors’ are signing off at Nettlebed

BACK in 1993 three blokes from South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, with a name like a firm of solicitors, released an album of a cappella songs full of social commentary and — in the words of Folk Roots magazine — “harmonies you could chew”.

They were, of course, Coope Boyes and Simpson — Barry, Jim and Lester respectively — and the album in question was Funny Old World, which Q magazine named its roots album of the year in 1994.

Now, some 23 years later, with a career that has encompassed at least a dozen albums, numerous tours and festival appearances, as well as a folk awards nomination, Coope Boyes and Simpson have just released what will be their final studio album.

Coda marks a farewell — not that there’s any gentle goodnight to be found in the grooves of their concluding opus.

The trio’s tenth album delivers as sharp a collection of songs and resonant a cappella harmonies as at any time during their collaboration, which has been notable for their work on First World War songs and stories and longstanding involvement with the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium.



Their farewell tour in support of Coda sees them play Nettlebed Village Club in High Street, Nettlebed, on Monday.

The concert starts at 8pm. Tickets are £14 in advance and can be booked by calling (01628) 636620 or visiting the website www.nettlebedfolkclub.co.uk. For more on the band, visit www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.uk