Edward II

Double compilation album released to celebrate the legendary roots pioneers return to the scene ‘for one year only’.

This stunning new album celebrates the amazing journey of the Uk’s leading roots pioneers from their original conception as a mutant ceilidh band to festival favourites.  With previously unreleased material, including the original cassette demos, and supported by sleeve notes from Pete Lawrence this collection is guaranteed to be the hit of the festivals this year.

The album will be released on the bands own label in July 09 via Cadiz Music and will be available at all reputable outlets and on I Tunes.

Artist:     Edward II

Title:       Edward II – The Definitive History

Label:     E2 Music

Cat no.:  E2CD1001

Here are Pete Lawrences sleeve notes from the album.

Edward II and The Red Hot Polkas was a curious name for a band – one probably designed to provoke a reaction, even if it was of the “what a bad pun!” variety. The lasting effect that they were to have on me and many others wasn’t evident at the time, but their journey and metamorphosis over the years has been a fascinating one, and in microcosm, a perfect example of how quickly a traditional music can mutate in fascinating directions since its inception in the mid 80s.

In its formative days, EII, as it quickly became abbreviated, wasn’t really a serious concern in any respect, playing occasionally for fun as an English country dance band at Cheltenham Victory Club, with the dual melodeons of Rod Stradling and Dave Haines leading the assault. For my own part, I was in love with the sound of the English melodeon, a new and fresh stimulus to my ears, but the idea of two of them together was something totally exotic.

Their tunes, predominantly from the Marches and the Cotswolds, had titles like the ‘Bromsberrow Heath Three Handed Reel’, ‘Clee Hill’ and ‘Stack Of Wheat’ which painted a picture as timeless and rural English as it got. Then there was that lilting reggae beat underpinned by John Gill’s bass, Danny Stradling’s percussion and Dion Cochrane’s chugging rhythmic banjo. Such a minimal skeletal rhythm section provided a canvas on which the melodeons could dance, flirt and weave their mesmeric patterns around each other.

So I took a chance and signed them to Cooking Vinyl, a label I founded a few months before and the resultant debut album ‘Let’s Polkasteady’, was a perfect opening salvo. However, it wasn’t really until the second album ‘Two Step To Heaven’ that things really took off to another level, both creatively and critically, with The Mad Professor and The Irresistible adding production and remix skills respectively to a band who were spectacularly paying their respects to the input of black culture into English life, and delivering a heady mix of mutant calypso / reggae / African style English country dance – way before the word eclectic was on the agenda. An NME ‘single of the week’ followed with ‘The Swedish Polka’ as the band evolution continued apace, both stylistically and in changing line-up.

After leaving Cooking Vinyl in 1980, EII were the only band I took with me to the new Pure Bliss label and the resultant 1991 ‘Wicked Men’ album for many sets the high water mark for the band, with folk standards such as ‘Dashing Away’ and ‘List For a Sailor’ sitting alongside band originals. To this day, the scorching instrumental ‘Brilliant Pebbles’ remains in the live set. Folk Roots’ Ian Anderson described the album as “the first sighting of 21st century music “.

After a brief courting with Zomba records the band then went on to consolidate its line up and sound further still. Whilst the unique dual core developed into an instantly irresistible signature, the band roamed freely and fruitfully over the expanse of new territory their music opened up, bringing in dashes of jazz, soul, rap, and Celtic dancing styles, all laced with Glenn Latouche’s seductively honeyed lead vocals. By finding the shared dancing pulse in the diverse beats they bring together, EII delivered both a genuinely innovative fusion and a brilliantly redoubled attack.

The band then established their own record label and released the highly acclaimed ‘Zest’ and its follow up ‘This Way Up’.   With a workaholic touring schedule resulting in over 200 gigs a year EII won rave reviews across the UK and Europe, US, Canada and further a field to India, Brazil and Sri Lanka.  There is no doubt that they stand securely among the UK’s most exciting roots pioneers.

Pete Lawrence May 2009