The JSD Band were a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 based celtic rock

Celtic rock

Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock and a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context...

 band

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

, and one of the leading folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

 bands of the early 1970s. Following a split up, they reformed to produce two further albums due to the amount of interest in their early albums. The band were influential on the folk scene during their boom years.

The band

The band took its name from the initials of the three members who formed it in 1969, Jim Divers, Sean O’Rourke, and Des Coffield. They were also joined by Chuck Fleming and Colin Finn, who completed the standard JSD Band line up - the exception being the temporary addition of fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 player Lindsay Scott, who deputised for Chuck Fleming around the time of the Black Album.

When the JSD Band started, they played the folk club circuit with Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly

William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...

 and Gerry Rafferty

Gerry Rafferty

Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty was a Scottish singer songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "Days Gone Down", "Night Owl", "Get It Right Next Time", and with the band Stealers Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Rafferty was born into a working-class family in...

 (the Humblebums

Humblebums

The Humblebums were a Scottish folk band, based in Glasgow. Its members included Billy Connolly, who later became a renowned stand-up comic and actor, guitarist Tam Harvey and the singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty...

) and Barbara Dickson

Barbara Dickson

Barbara Ruth Dickson, OBE is a Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well" and "January February"...

. After getting noticed for their lively electric rock approach to traditional Scottish folk music when they won the 'Scottish Folk Group Championships' at Edinburgh's Usher Hall

Usher Hall

Usher Hall is a concert hall, situated on Lothian Road, in the west end of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,900 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its acoustics...

, they made appearances on BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 with DJ

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

 and on BBC Two

BBC Two

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

's Old Grey Whistle Test

Old Grey Whistle Test

The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...

hosted by 'Whispering' Bob Harris

Bob Harris (radio)

Robert Brinley Joseph "Bob" Harris, OBE , known as "Whispering" Bob Harris, is British radio host who currently works for BBC Radio 2, presenting music two nights a week...

. In 1972, they were invited to be the support band for David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 in his UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Ziggy Stardust Tour

Ziggy Stardust Tour

The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by David Bowie in United Kingdom, North America, and Japan in 1972-73, to promote the studio albums Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane.-The band:*David Bowie - vocals, guitar, harmonica...

.

Their first album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 was Country of the Blind (1971), released by the Regal Zonophone label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

. They then went on to issue two more albums. Following the release of their third album, the JSD Band released three singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

; "Sarah Jane", "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)" and "Hayes and Harlington Blues".

In July 1974, pressure from various sources took its toll and the band split up. They have since reformed to record two further albums; For the Record and Pastures of Plenty. The latter was issued by KRL/Lochshore, a Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

-based label specialising in Scottish traditional music. It also introduced Rob Mairs, a long time friend of the group, on five string banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

.

Discography

• Country of the Blind (1971) - Regal Zonophone

1. "Take Off Your Head and Listen"
2. "Country of the Blind"
3. "Cooleys; Childhood Memories"
4. "Sara Jane"
5. "Old Time Heartaches"
6. "Nancy" / "Jenny Picking Cockles"
7. "Wonders of Nature"
8. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
   Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
   "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962, and released on the 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.-Context:...
   
   "
9. "Darling Corey"
10. "Morning Dew"
11. "Cousin Caterpillar"
12. "Over and Over" / "Hope"

• Black Album (1972) - Cube
  Cube Records
  Cube Records was launched on 26 May 1972 by independent music publisher David Platz, and was based at his UK offices for Essex Music.-History:...
  
  

1. "Open Road"
2. "As I Roved Out"
3. "Betsy (The Serving Maid)"
4. "Barney Brallaghan"
5. "Johnny O'Braidislea"
6. "Going Down The Road"
7. "Sylvie"
8. "Irish Girl"
9. "Honey Babe"
10. "Groundhog"

• Travelling Days (1973) - Cube

1. "Galway Races"
2. "Fishin' Blues"
3. "Sarah Jane"
4. "Travelling Days"
5. "King's Favourite"
6. "The Cuckoo"
7. "The Dowie Dens O' Yarrow"
8. "Down the Road"
9. "Young Waters"
10. "The Green Fields of America"

• For the Record (1997)

1. "Sarah Jane"
2. "As I Roved Out"
3. "The Cuckoo"
4. ""The Irish Girl" / "The Musical Priest"
5. "Groundhog; Johnny O' Breadislea"
6. "The Sunshine Hornpipe" / "The Mountain Road"
7. "Darlin' Corey"
8. "The Galway Races"
9. "Going Down the Road"
10. "Don't Think Twice It's Alright"
11. "Down the Road"
12. "Morrison's Jig" / "Cooley's Reel"
13. "Over and Over"

• Pastures of Plenty (1998)

1. "The Bonnie Lass of Albany"
2. "Unknown Polka" / "The Dancing Master's Reel" / "As I Went Out Upon the Ice"
3. "Pastures of Plenty"
4. "The Downfall of Paris" / "The Chanter's Tune"
5. "Shake Loose the Border"
6. "Seamus's Jig" / "The Monaghan Jig"
7. "Patrick's Island"
8. "The Gypsy Laddie"
9. "The Sligo Maid" / "The Humours of Tulla" / "St Anne's Reel" / "The Green Fields of Rossbeigh" / "O'Rourke's Reel"
10. "Shady Cove"
11. "Rodney's Glory" / "An Spalpeen Fanach"
12. "The Spanish Lady"

External links

• Lochshore record label
• Kinemagigz JSD Band