Blyth Power

Blyth Power is a London-based British group active since 1983. Formed by singer and drummer Joseph Porter, who previously plays in Zounds and The Mob, the band works at the intersection of folk punk and punk, with a sound also described by its members as drawing on punk rock and folk music.

Background and style

The group takes its name from Blyth, the locomotive shed 52F in Northumberland. Its songs often focus on historical subjects, ranging from the Trojan War and the Cod War to themes from English life such as cricket, village life and trains. Porter's long-standing interest in trains is a notable part of the band's identity, and the group has included references to trainspotting and railway culture in its public profile.

Line-up and membership

Porter remains the constant figure in a line-up that changes frequently. The listed members include Bambi, Steven Cooper, Jessi Eastfield, Annie Hatcher, Jamie Hince, Protag, Wob and Curtis Youe, alongside Porter. Over the years, the band has also included Neil Keenan, Jerry Hatcher, Andy Morgan, Sarah Lewington, Martin Neish, Steve Ardcorr, Sian Jeffreys, Julie Dalkin, Helen Rush, Darren Tansley, John Rutherford, Chris Hopkins, Andrew Adams and Gary Miller. Several former members have links to other groups, including The Mob, Alternative TV, Eastfield, Scarfo, The Kills and The Whisky Priests.

Recordings and label

Since 1993, Blyth Power releases its recordings on its own label, Downwarde Spiral Records. The band is associated with a range of song styles, from acoustic arrangements to more direct punk material, and its performances can move between gentle folk passages and louder, more forceful songs.

Activities and side projects

Porter also takes part in solo guitar and vocal performances and collaborates in the bands Red Wedding and Mad Dogs And Englishmen. Since 2000, the group has reduced its touring because of personal commitments, but it continues to operate and to organise the Blyth Power Ashes, an annual mini-festival combining live music with a cricket match. The event begins as the Tallington Ashes in Lincolnshire, is cancelled in 2007, and then moves to Ripley in Derbyshire from 2008.

Media appearance

In August 1998, Porter appears on the LWT television programme Holy Smoke!, in a segment about musicians and religion, where trainspotting is described as his religion.