Five Hand Reel were a Scottish/English/Irish Celtic rock band of the late 1970s that combined experiences of traditional Scottish and Irish folk music with electric rock arrangements. The members of the band were Dick Gaughan (born 17 May 1948), Bobby Eaglesham (1942–2004), Tom Hickland (1948–2020), Barry Lyons (b. 1950), Dave Tulloch and later Sam Bracken.
...In late 1978 Dick Gaughan decided to leave the band when his young daughter was involved in a road accident and he realised he needed to be at home at this time to support his family. He later resumed his solo career. His replacement for a short time was Sam Bracken, a guitarist and singer from Belfast. Bracken's Irish accent sounded fresh but the rejuvenated band recorded only one more album, 1979's A Bunch Of Fives for Topic Records before finally splitting in 1980.
(Read more at Wikipedia.)
Links to Peel[]
Dick Gaughan had already done two solo sessions for Peel and two as a member of the Boys Of The Lough, so the DJ naturally showed some interest when he joined Five Hand Reel. Gaughan may have been the initial attraction for JP, but they were hardly a one-man band - of the other members, bassist Barry Lyons had played with Peel session bands Mr Fox and Trees, while Bobby Eaglesham, who shared the vocals with Gaughan, was a respected solo performer on the Scottish folk scene.
In his Sounds column (1977-09-10, republished in Olivetti Chronicles as 'Reading Festival 2'), Peel recounted seeing the band live for the first time:
"A deftly aimed jig or reel commonly goes down well at Reading, and the Hands wisely played much traditional material on stage. This is not to say that the voice of the aforementioned Gaughan was overlooked. There was much of it, and it sounded as good on stage and in the open air as it does on record."
Five Hand Reel did four sessions during their lifespan, and Peel played tracks from their LPs as they appeared, with one of them making the 1977 Festive Fifty (see below). However, he doesn't appear to have revisited them in later decades, surprisingly perhaps as he continued to hold Dick Gaughan's work in high regard.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- 1977 Festive Fifty: Cruel Brother #34
Sessions[]
Four sessions. No known commercial release.
1. Recorded 1975-10-28. First broadcast 25 November 1975. Repeated 27 January 1976.
- Campbell's Farewell To Red Castle/The Duchess Of Perth/The Lads Of Mull / Slieve Gallon Braes / Wee Wee German Lairdie
2. Recorded 1976-09-02. First broadcast 24 September 1976. Repeated: 12 November 1976
- Kempey's / When A Man's In Love / Unknown-Written Archives Missing
3. Recorded 1977-05-25. First broadcast 03 June 1977. Repeated: 24 June 1977, 30 December 1977.
- A Man's A Man For All That / Carrick Fergus / P Stands For Paddy / Pinch Of Snuff
4. Recorded 1978-03-22. First broadcast 31 March 1978, repeated 27 April 1978
- The Trooper And The Maid / Jackson And Jane / My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose
Other Shows Played[]
John Peel's Five Hand Reel - I'll Lay You Down
- 9th to 13th May 1977: Haugh's O' Cromdale (album - For A' That) RCA Victor PL 25066
- 19 May 1977: unknown (album - For A' That) RCA Victor PL 25066 intro only John played a track last week and thought it was called "The Haws Of Cromdale" (the track is Haugh's O' Cromdale, sounds like he has had a few letters correcting his pronunciation)
- 07 June 1977: Bratach Bana (LP - For A' That)
- 23 August 1977: Cruel Brother (album - For A' That) RCA Victor PL 2506
- John Peel Various 1977: Carrickfergus (album - For A' That) RCA Victor PL 25066
- 23 December 1977: Cruel Brother (album - For A' That) RCA Victor PL 25066 FF#34
- 05 May 1978: Sherriff Muir (album - Earl O'Moray) RCA Victor PL 25150
- 28 November 1979: House Of Airlie (album - A Bunch Of Fives) Topic 12TS406
- 03 December 1979: I'll Lay You Down (album - A Bunch Of Fives) Topic 12TS406
- 05 December 1979: I'll Lay You Down (album - A Bunch Of Fives) Topic 12TS406 (JP: "That is a very good record for singing along with, it must be said.")
- 11 December 1979: I'll Lay You Down (album - A Bunch Of Fives) Topic 12TS406
- 10 January 1980: I'll Lay You Down (album - A Bunch Of Fives) Topic 12TS406