Oldham Tinkers are an English folk group from Oldham, founded in 1965 by John Howarth and the brothers Larry and Gerry Kearns in the Highfield and Park pub in Waterloo Street, Oldham. The trio chose the title “Tinkers” because at that time there were differences of opinion in Oldham between travelling people and the council. The name of the town was later added to differentiate between this northern triumvirate and a London based group, also called the Tinkers. In the summer of 1977 the Oldham Tinkers sang for the Queen and Prince Phillip at a Royal Gala Performance at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.
Links to Peel[]
The Oldham Tinkers' records for the Topic label were first played by Peel on Night Ride in 1969 and after that occasionally in the 1970's, especially the track "Peterloo" - at least according to Chris Hewitt in the Manchester Evening News, published on 16th August 2011, [1] but due to lack of available playlists from the early to mid 1970's, it is not known if, or on what dates he played it. The song was later put on a compilation album called Chris Hewitt And The Late John Peel Present Peterloo. The group also did one session for his show in 1974.
In June 1977, Peel played three tracks from the group's Sit Thee Down LP, and at the end of they year chose "John Willie's Ferret", from that album, as one of his 61 favourite songs of 1977, which were broadcast as a 1977 Festive Fifty. After that, Peel rarely played any tracks from the group, as other genres such as punk and reggae dominated his airplay and folk sessions and records became rare..
In 2004, Andy Kershaw, a fan of the Oldham Tinkers and a fellow Lancastrian, played "Come Whoam To Thi Childer An' Me" (a Peel favourite which had been played at least once by him in 1976) as a tribute to JP on his Radio 3 show on 31 October 2004 (Andy Kershaw).
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- 1977 Festive Fifty: John Willie's Ferret #52
Sessions[]
1. Recorded: 1974-12-30. Broadcast: 13 January 1975. Repeated: 07 April 1975, 10 August 1977.
- A Man Like Thee / Signora / Charlie Chaplin / Oldham's Burning Sands
Other Shows Played[]
- 26 March 1969: Hop Hop Hop (v/a LP - Deep Lancashire Songs And Ballads Of The Industrial North West) Topic
- 21 May 1969: Hop Hop Hop (v/a LP - Deep Lancashire Songs And Ballads Of The Industrial North West) Topic
- 1972
- 06 June 1972: In Our Town (LP – Oldham's Burning Sands) Topic
- 1974
- 11 April 1974: A Mon Like Thee (LP - Best O 'T' Bunch - Back Street Songs Of Lancashire) Topic
- 30 April 1974: unknown
- 1975
- J P D26: Signora (LP - For Old Time's Sake) Topic
- 1976
- 13 January 1976: Come Whoam To Thi Childer An' Me (LP - For Old Time's Sake) Topic
- 02 December 1976: Come Whoam To Thi Childer An' Me (album - For Old Time's Sake) Topic 12TS276
- 1977
- PM016: The Maid In The Calico Dress (album - Sit Thee Down) Topic 12TS323
- 27 June 1977: Dad's Medals (album - Sit Thee Down) Topic 12TS323
- 27 June 1977: Fishing (album - Sit Thee Down) Topic 12TS323
- 27 June 1977: The Deserter (album - Sit Thee Down) Topic 12TS323
- 22 December 1977: John Willie's Ferret (LP – Sit Thee Down) Topic FF #52
- 1980s
- Peel April To July 1981: Come Whoam To Thi Childer An' Me (album - For Old Time's Sake) Topic 12TS276
- 2004
- 31 October 2004 (Andy Kershaw): Come Whoam To Thi Childer An' Me