John Spiers

UK folk artists John Spiers (b. Oxfordshire, England; melodeon) and Jon Boden (b. England; fiddle/vocals) began working together in 2000, making their live debut later in the year. The duo’s demo CD came to the attention of the esteemed roots label Fellside Records and led to a recording contract. Released in 2001, Through & Through mixed new arrangements of traditional songs with the duo’s own compositions. They attacked both with an infectious zeal that infuriated some folk purists but prompted more discerning listeners to tag Spiers and Boden as artists to watch, and they were duly awarded the BBC Radio 2 Horizon award for Best Newcomers the following year. The duo then played on Eliza Carthy’s acclaimed 2002 release, Anglicana, before beginning work on a second album with Benji Kirkpatrick (guitar/bouzouki). When Bellow was released in 2003 it attracted an even greater amount of praise than their debut. Boden and Spiers also play alongside Kirkpatrick in the traditional dance band Rampant.