Pete Coe is an English folk singer, songwriter and dancer from Northwich in Cheshire, born in 1946. He develops a reputation as a central figure in the modern English folk revival, working across performance, songwriting, dance and community organising.

Early work and duo performances

He begins performing at the Songwainers Club while at Cheltenham College, where he is drawn to less familiar traditional folk songs. In Birmingham he meets Chris Richards, a blues and jazz singer, and the pair perform together as Richards & Coe at Birmingham’s Black Diamond Folk Club at the Drover Arms. After a radio broadcast attracts attention, they turn professional in 1971 as Pete & Chris Coe, later taking the name Pete and Chris Coe after they marry.

Groups and collaborations

Coe is a key member of several important folk groups over three decades. These include Pete & Chris Coe, the dance band New Victory Band, the folk supergroup Bandoggs and the politically minded Red Shift.

New Victory Band includes John and Suzy Adams, Roger and Helen Watson, and Ian and Linda Wordsworth. The group plays polkas, waltzes, jigs and reels, and also performs occasional music hall songs. Their album One More Dance And Then is later reissued with bonus tracks.

Bandoggs forms in 1978, bringing together Pete & Chris Coe with Nic Jones and Tony Rose. The group is short-lived because the members live in different parts of the country, but it records one album and becomes particularly remembered for its version of Loudon Wainwright III’s “Swimming Song”.

Solo work and songwriting

Coe also develops a solo career, with songwriting that includes “It’s A Mean Old Scene”, “The Alimony Run” and “Rolling Down The Ryburn”. His album Mean Old Scene appears in 1985 and leads to the creation of his own label, Backshift.

Red Shift and activism

In the late 1980s he forms Red Shift, strengthening his standing as a political writer. Songs such as “Sold Down The River Again” and “Waves Of Tory” reflect the Thatcher years directly.

He continues as a solo performer and also works as an activist for folk music, founding Ryburn 3 Step and running folk clubs, dances and workshops in the Ripponden and Halifax area. He also teaches music and dance in schools.