Two morris tunes from Bledington. I’ve known these (to hum at least) since the 1970s: ‘William and Nancy’ was on John Kirkpatrick’s excellent LP Plain Capers, and ‘Gallant Hussar’ was on Son of Morris On, both of which were released in 1976. I’m pretty sure that Son of…was the first record of morris tunes that I heard, and it had a really big impact – not least because many of the tracks feature anglo-concertina, played variously by John Rodd, John Tams and the wonderful John Watcham. Although if you want to hear lots of really good anglo playing close-up, without the distraction of electric guitar, bass and drums, you absolutely need to check out Plain Capers.
Before recording these tunes, I went back to the Black Book to check how they’re supposed to go. So the number of A’s and B’s is probably correct, but they’re played much too fast for the serious dancer.
William and Nancy
Gallant Hussar
Played on C/G anglo-concertina
Squeezed Out 