Trimdon Grange Explosion are a psych folk ensemble from North-East London Comprising Alison Cotton (viola/vocals), Ben Phillipson (guitar/vocals), Mark Nicholas (bass) and Karl Sabino (drums), the quartet formed in the aftermath of the split of acclaimed folk-rock outfit The Eighteenth Day of May of whom all four were members. The self-produced recordings of Trimdon Grange Explosion's eponymous set took place in various North London locations. The nine tracks (plus one bonus track on the download) range from original compositions to acid-tinged group instrumentals to songs from the folk tradition, arranged for electric instruments. Trimdon Grange Explosion is a grand continuation of its previous incarnation's psychedelic fusion of the modal rock of The Velvet Underground – among others – with their own English traditional music roots. Evidently, there was unfinished business.
“Has Acid Folk ever sounded so mesmerizing and as incendiary as this...Open tuned guitars chime out hypnotic raga model notes against Viola and rolling drums to create a droning wall of Spector like sound .” -Optical Sounds From: https://trimdongrangeexplosion.bandcamp.com/album/trimdon-grange-explosion
A.L. Lloyd wrote in his book Come All Ye Bold Miners on The Trimdon Grange Explosion: As sung (one verse only) by R. Sewell of Newcastle (June 1951). Remainder of text from J. Jefferson, Trimdon Grange, County Durham. From a ballad by Thomas Armstrong, who prescribed for it the tune Go and Leave Me If You Wish It, now it is usually heard attached to the come-all-ye type tune given here. The explosion occurred on 16 February 1882. Seventy-four miners were lost (six of them died in the neighbouring East Hetton colliery due to afterdamp seeping through from Trimdon).
Martin Carthy sang Trimdon Grange on his 1974 album Sweet Wivelsfield. This track was included in 2003 as The Trimdon Grange Explosion on his anthology The Definitive Collection. Carthy sang this song at least twice in John Peel BBC Radio sessions.
Martin Carthy commented in the first album’s sleeve notes: On 16 February 1882 there was an explosion of either firedamp or coaldust at the Trimdon Grange colliery in South County Durham (which is still remembered to this day) in which seventy-four were killed. The usual fund-raising procedures—all unofficial of course—went into action, and one of them was the writing and selling on the streets of this song. The tune is the Victorian parlour ballad Go and Leave Me If You Wish It to which Tommy Armstrong wrote these words. The tune was also used by Evangelists as a hymn tune both here and in America where it is also known in the guise of Columbus Stockade. I thank Bob Davenport for teaching me the song.
Maddy Prior sang Trimdon Grange Explosion in 2008 on her Park Records CD Seven for Old England. She noted: Tommy Armstrong (1848-1920) was born in County Durham at the height of the expansion of the mining industry, and lived most of his life in Stanley which was ringed round with pits and drift mines and was described as ‘like the Klondyke’. During his life the area was transformed from a rural landscape to a major urban complex. He documented these changes and all the life around him was celebrated in his songs, and he became known as the ‘Pitman Poet’. He would get his verses printed up and sell them around the pubs for a penny, and the money, in many cases went to the victims of tragedies, or else to pay for his beer (he had fourteen children).
From: https://mainlynorfolk.info/louis.killen/songs/trimdongrange.html
