Adge
Cutler & The Wurzels
biography
| discography | gigs
| gallery | audio | links
Who
Are Adge Cutler & The Wurzels?
Adge
Cutler and The Wurzels, renamed The Wurzels
after Cutler's death in 1974, are a Scrumpy and Western band from
Somerset. The
band is best known for its 1976 number one hit Combine
Harvester (Brand New Key),
but the band's history stretching back over 40 years - and they
still perform to this day.
The
Wurzels were formed in 1966 as a backing group for singer/songwriter
Adge Cutler. With a thick Somerset accent, Adge played on his West
Country roots, singing many folk songs with local themes such as
cider making (and drinking), farming, local villages and industrial
work songs, often with a comic slant. During the 1960s, the band
became immensely popular regionally, and the release of the single
Drink Up Thy Zider led to national fame
and number 45 in the UK charts.
Adge
Cutler was killed in May 1974 in a car crash near Chepstow and is
buried in his native Nailsea. Adge's death marked a turning point
for the band; deprived of the main songwriting talent, the remaining
band members renamed the band The Wurzels and augmented the dwindling
supply of Adge's unrecorded songs by re-working existing songs to
include the usual Wurzel themes of cider, farming, dung, etc. This
paid off with the The Wurzels single Combine Harvester
(a re-working of the Melanie song Brand New Key) topping
the UK single charts for 2 weeks. This was folowed by
similarly-themed songs such as I Am A Cider Drinker
(a rework of Una Paloma Blanca) and Farmer
Bill's Cowman (words added to the instrumental I
Was Kaiser Bill's Batman), but by the end of the decade sales
dropped off and they were dropped by EMI.
Although
the band never stopped playing live, it was in the mid-1990s that
cult status amongst students and a resurgence in their popularity
in the West Country that things started to pick up again. After
hard work of Paul Gunningham from the Wurzelmania! website, EMI
started to re-issue the band's songs on CD; whilse the band also
released their own albums through their manager's label Cruisin'.
A look at their gig guide
shows that there is no shortage of demand for the band's services,
and although well into their seventies, there's still a lot of life
in the old dogs yet (as can be seen from the picture of Tommy Banner
below!)
The
Wurzels on stage in 2001.
|
The
Wurzels pictured with Scrumpy and Western founder Paul Gunningham.
|
Pete
Budd
|
Tommy
Banner
|
to
top of this page
The
Wurzels and Adge Cutler Discography
Here
are shown the CD singles and CD albums releases by The Wurzels,
and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels. A full discography
can be found in the Wurzelmania!
website.
CD
Singles
| Catalogue
No. |
Title
/ Tracks |
Issue
Date |
WURZEL
CDS1
|
I
Want To Be An Eddie Stobart Driver - The Wurzels
I Want To Be An Eddie Stobart Driver / You Can't Kid A Kidder
/ Forty And Bone Dry / Rig Jig |
1995 |
EMI
Gold
879 4482
|
Combine
Harvester 2001 Remix - The Wurzels
The Combine Harvester - 2001 Remix / The Blackbird (Original
Version) / The Combine Harvester (Original Version) |
Jun
2001 |
Universal
CDREC22
|
Come
On Santa! - The Wurzels
Come On Santa! (Get Yer Act Together) - Radio Edit / Come
On Santa! (Get Yer Act Together) - X-Rated Version / Drink
Up Thy Zider (Live) |
Dec
2001 |
EMI
Gold
7243 5 51508 2 0
|
Don't
Look Back In Anger - The Wurzels
Don't Look Back In Anger / (What's The Story? It's One For
The) Morning Glory / I Am A Cider Drinker |
Sep
2002 |
EMI
Gold
3926537
|
I
Am a Cider Drinker 07 - The Wurzels with Tony Blackburn
I
Am A Cider Drinker 2007 (Paloma Blanca) / Combine Harvester
(Brand New Key) / Ferry To Glastonbury |
23
April 2007 |
Absolute
CIA 004
|
One
For The Bristol City / Drink Up Thy Zider (Live)
- The Wurzels with Bristol City FC
|
24
Sep 2007 |
CD
Albums
| Catalogue
No. |
Title
/ Tracks |
Issue
Date |
EMI
Ideal
CD IDL 22
|
The
Wurzels - The Wurzels
Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp-A Bomp-A Bomp)? / Don Juan Of
The West / The Wurzel Rock / Willie Friese-Greene / Tremble
On / Base Over Apex / Pheasant Plucker's Son / Good Old Somerset
/ Short Time Livin' / Drink Up Thy Zider / The Market Gardener
/ Ferry To Glastonbury / Somerset Born & Proud / Keep
Yer 'And On Yer 'Alfpenny / Middle For Diddle / Down In Nempnett
Thrubwell / Call Of The West / Two Milk Churns / Somerset
Jigolo / Farmer Jonesie's Travellin' Disco Show |
1988 |
EMI
Ideal
CD IDL 114
|
The
Wurzels and Adge Cutler & The Wurzels
I Am A Cider Drinker / The Tractor Song / Our Village Band
/ I Got Me Beady Little Eye On Thee / The Blackbird / Speedy
Gonzales / Give Me England! / Farmer Bill's Cowman / Funky
Farmyard / I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here / My Somerset Crumpet
Horn / Drunk On A Saturday Night / The Combine Harvester /
Easton-In-Gordano / Twice Daily / The Wurple-Diddle-I-Doo
Song (The Village Band) / Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee / Saturday
Night At The Crown / Ferry To Glastonbury / The Shepton Mallet
Matador / When The Common Market Comes To Stanton Drew / The
Champion Dung Spreader / All Over Mendip / I Wish I Was Back
On The Farm / Drink Up Thy Zider |
1991 |
HMV
Easy
5 32071 2
|
The
Wurzels Collection
I Am A Cider Drinker / The Combine Harvester / Drink Up Thy
Zider (disco version) / The Blackbird / Drink, Drink Yer Zider
Up / One For The Bristol City / Cabot Song (Big 'Ead) / Look
At 'Ee Lookin' At I / Captain Of A Dredger / Let There Not
Be Light / My Somerset Crumpet Horn / Don Juan Of The West
/ Mevagissey / Farmer Jonesie's Travellin' Disco Show / Funky
Farmyard / Wurzel Rock / Give Me England! / Who Put The Bomp
(In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)? / Ferry To Glastonbury / Haggis
Farewell / Middle For Diddle / Pheasant Plucker's Son / Springtime
/ The Tractor Song (Pushbike Song) |
Apr
2001 |
EMI
Gold
527 0462
|
The
Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler
The Combine Harvester / I Am A Cider Drinker / Morning Glory
/ The Blackbird / Farmer Bill's Cowman / Drink Up Thy Zider
/ Twice Daily / Chitterling / All Over Mendip / The Champion
Dung Spreader / Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee / Drunk On A Saturday
Night / My Threshing Machine / Pill, Pill / Down In Nempnett
Thrubwell / I'd Love To Swim In The Zuider Zee / I Got Me
Beady Little Eye On Thee / Keep Yer 'And On Yer 'Alfpenny
/ The Market Gardener / The Back Of My Old Car / I Wish I
Was Back On The Farm / The Wurple-Diddle-I-Do Song (The Village
Band) / I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here / Rock Around The A38 |
3
July 2000 |
EMI
Gold
534 4102
|
The
Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels featuring Adge Cutler (Reissue)
The Combine Harvester / I Am A Cider Drinker / Morning Glory
/ The Blackbird / Farmer Bill's Cowman / Drink Up Thy Zider
/ Twice Daily / Chitterling / All Over Mendip / The Champion
Dung Spreader / Don't Tell I, Tell 'Ee / Drunk On A Saturday
Night / My Threshing Machine / Pill, Pill / Down In Nempnett
Thrubwell / I'd Love To Swim In The Zuider Zee / I Got Me
Beady Little Eye On Thee / Keep Yer 'And On Yer 'Alfpenny
/ The Market Gardener / The Back Of My Old Car / I Wish I
Was Back On The Farm / The Wurple-Diddle-I-Do Song (The Village
Band) / I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here / Drink, Drink Yer Zider
Up / Combine Harvester 2001 "Cowshed" Remix
Buy
it on   |
Aug
2001 |
APR
Media Centre
07000 10 20 30
|
The
Wurzels Live - The Wurzels
The Blackbird / The Champion Dung Spreader / I Wish I Was
Back On The Farm / Twice Daily / The Combine Harvester / Somerset
Jigalo / The Wurzel Rock / All Over Mendip / Morning Glory
/ Malt 'n' Barley Blues / Drink up Thy Zider / Am A Cider
Drinker |
2002 |
Cruisin'
ZEN 00262
|
Never
Mind The Bullocks - 'Ere's The Wurzels - The Wurzels
Rock DJ / You'm Gorgeous / Country 'Ouse / Why Do It Always
Rain On I? / Ooh Arr! Just A Little Bit / Dead Vrom The Waist
Down / Tubthumping / 'T Weren't I / Don't Look Back In Anger
/ Come On Santa
Buy
it on  |
18
Nov 2002 |
EMI
Gold
584 8072
|
Cutler
Of The West - Adge Cutler & The Wurzels
Drink Up Thy Zider (Play On) / The Charlton Mackrell Jug Band
/ In The Haymaking Time / Five Foot Flirt / Thee's Got'n Where
Thee Cassn't Back'n Hassn't? / Dorset is Beautiful / Up The
Clump / Drink Up Thy Zider (Play On) / The Chandler's Wife
/ The Bristol Song / The Marrow Song (Oh! What A Beauty) /
A Pub With No Beer / Oh! Sir Jasper / The Wurple-Diddle-I-Doo
Song (The Village Band) / Drink Up Thy Zider (Play Off)
Buy
it on 
|
7
July 2003 |
Zenith
CIA 001
|
A
Taste of the West - The Wurzels
Pill
Pill / Sunny Weston Super Mare / Virtuet Industrial / Down
In Nempnett Thrubwell / When The Common Market Comes To Stanton
Drew / The Shepton Mallet Matador / The Charlton Mackrell
Jug Band / Ferry To Glastonbury / Bridgewater Town / Rock
Around The A38 / Mevagissey / Good Ol Somerset |
28
Jun 2004 |
Cruisin
CIA 002
|
Top
Of The Crops - The Wurzels
The
Blackbird / Champion Dung Spreader / Marrow Song (Oh What
A Beauty) / Farmer Bill's Cowman / Shepton Mallet Matador
/ Chitterling / Don't Tell I Tell 'Ee / Give Me England /
I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here / I Am A Cider Drinker / Don't
Look Back In Anger / Combine Harvester / Drink Up Thy Zider
Buy
it on |
4
Sep 2006 |
EMI
Gold
|
The
Wurzels Greatest Hits - The Wurzels
I
Am A Cider Drinker 2007 (Paloma Blanca) - with Tony Blackburn
/ Combine Harvester (Brand New Key) / The Blackbird / Drink
Drink Yer Zider Up / When The Common Market Comes To Stanton
Drew / Don't Look Back In Anger / Ferry To Glastonbury / Farmer
Bill's Cowman / Pill Pill / Ooh Arr Just A Little Bit / Morning
Glory / Somerset Jigolo / Drink Up Thy Zider / I Am A Cider
Drinker (Paloma Blanca) / Rock Around The A38 / I've Got Me
Beady Little On Thee / Good Old Summerset / Why Does It Always
Rain On Me / Tractor Song (The Pushbike Song) / Shepton Mallet
Matador / Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)
Buy
it on |
7
May 2007 |
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top of this page
Adge
Cutler & The Wurzels Links
There are also various Wurzels MySpace sites, too
many to list here!
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