History

THE ROPES

Once seen, never forgotten: an indefinable confusion of superb musicianship and side-splitting comic genius, the Old Rope String Band and the New Rope String Band were truly unique entertainers.

Elements of circus, clowning, vaudeville, slapstick and sheer inspired silliness, spliced with beautiful acoustic music from various world traditions, in precision-honed yet uproarious performances that delighted audiences worldwide.

Equally at home in tiny village halls or on major festival stages, the maniac minstrels mixed up long-time favourite routines with ever-evolving new material. From musical gyrations to deconstructed nursery rhymes, Python-esque absurdism to pyrotechnics, dream sequences and live, interactive film, expect the hilariously unexpected.

THE OLD ROPES

Joe Scurfield, Pete Challoner and Ian Carr were ceilidh band colleagues who first appeared on stage as the ‘Old Ropes’ in 1988. In earlier bands, Joe and Pete had done comedy skits between sets and, encouraged by the reaction, formed a group that combined music and humour. Joe had already experimented on the concept with We Don’t Want the Peanuts We Want the Plantation dance band.

They hosted a monthly Old Rope String Band Club in Newcastle and soon the fans were flocking. However Ian Carr was an in-demand guitarist, and his multiple activities eventually forced him, reluctantly, to leave the band, and he was replaced by Scottish accordion and piano player, Tim Dalling. Tim, who was already a fan and a friend of The Old Rope String Band, joined as the third member in 1990.

With Joe on fiddle, Pete juggling fiddle and banjo (sometimes literally) and Tim on accordion, the group soon hit its stride and – in their words – continued immaturing over the next decade and beyond.

The group recorded a total of three albums and toured the world for almost twenty years until Joe’s tragic passing in 2005.

THE NEW ROPES

It was the end of The Old Rope String Band. “Pete and I didn’t know what to do,” recalls Tim. “It seemed a sad way to stop and we were also a bit concerned that we’d got so used to doing it that we couldn’t do anything else.” Rather than just try to replace the irreplaceable Joe Scurfield – a force of nature as anyone who saw him on stage would attest – they brought in two close friends, fiddle player Jock Tyldesley and Dutch singer, guitarist and fiddler Vera van Heeringen.

In a moment of sublime inspiration, the band name was changed to The New Rope String Band. The Band released an album of “Myoosick” in 2010. Vera stayed with the band for five years until having a second child and then the four-piece became a three-piece once again.

The New Rope String Band trio continued touring for five more years. In 2015 the band performed their last gig at the Tyne Theatre & Opera House in Newcastle upon Tyne. However the wonderful music lives on – do visit our band members page to learn all about the latest Post-Rope projects and our Bandcamp shop to listen and buy our long sold-out records.

The New Rope String Band plans to call it a day after one uproarious final gig
Newcastle Chronicle, 20 Oct 2015