Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds

Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds

Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds is a folk-punk group associated with actor and musician Adrian Edmondson, who performs the project under the shorter name the Bad Shepherds as well as the longer billing with his own name. The group forms around Edmondson’s interest in playing punk songs on mandolin and acoustic instruments, drawing on material by bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Jam and the Stranglers, which he listens to on acoustic guitar as a teenager in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Formation and line-up

The project begins in 2007 after Edmondson buys a mandolin in Denmark Street and starts adapting the songs he has been playing at home. While touring with the Bonzos, he tries the idea with Neil Innes on acoustic guitar, then contacts Troy and Maart, who agree to join. The initial concept is described as punk songs with a Celtic feel, and the first rehearsal sessions quickly produce eight arranged songs. After that, the group completes a line-up with Andy Dinan on fiddle. The band also tests the material in St Lucia, where it plays six shows in six days in small bars before touring England later in 2008.

Recording

The band records Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Methera! at Blue Moon Studios in Banbury. The album is recorded live in the studio. Its title refers to an old Cumbrian shepherds’ counting system meaning “one, two, three, four”.

Style and repertoire

The Bad Shepherds build arrangements around punk and new wave songs given a folk and Celtic treatment. The project’s material includes songs associated with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Jam, the Stranglers and Kraftwerk, with the latter represented in the band’s early discussions about what might suit the format.