Ophiuchus are a folk/roots rock group from Castle Combe

Castle Combe

Castle Combe is a small village in Wiltshire, England, with a population of about 350. It is renowned for its attractiveness and tranquillity, and for fine buildings including the medieval church. The 14th century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, England, formed in 1986 by twin brothers - guitarist Jon and bassist Simon Cousins

Simon Cousins

Simon Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who was a member of Liverpool indie country rock band The Onset and folk rockers Ophiuchus. He studied music at the Liverpool Music College and has a degree in philosophy from Liverpool University...

, with saxophonist Pat D'Arcy and photographer, graphic designer Martin Tom Sawyer.

A variety of musicians have performed with the band, including drummer Ed Grimshaw (later of the Warm Jets

Warm Jets

Warm Jets were a British pop indie band, who had two UK top 40 singles and a top 40 album in 1998.-History:The band formed in 1995 by Louis Jones, Paul Noble and Ed Grimshaw and signed to This Way Up records in early 1996...

) and the legendary La's co-founder Mike Badger

Mike Badger

Michael Clifford "Mike" Badger is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist and sculptor from Liverpool, England. He was co-founder of The La's and went on to form alternative country/roots rockabilly band The Onset in 1988 and The Kachinas in 1996...

. The main line-up (1987–1989) was: Jon Cousins (lead vocals/guitar/tin whistle

Tin whistle

The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...

) and Pat D'Arcy (saxophones), with Pete Causer (melodeon/flute/bodhrán), Xavier Tutein (bass), and Myke Vince (drums)

The band released the double A-side, "Serpent And The Bearded King"/"Song For Pym" (produced by Climax Blues Band

Climax Blues Band

Climax Blues Band was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and vocalist and harmonica player, Colin Cooper.In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax...

 guitarist Pete Haycock

Pete Haycock

Pete Haycock is a guitarist and composer who started his career as lead guitarist and vocalist with the Climax Chicago Blues Band. Born at 63 Tixall Road, Stafford, Staffordshire....

) on their own label, Ophiuchvs Recordvs, and an album on Liverpool's Probe Plus

Probe plus

Probe Plus is a record label based in Liverpool, England. It was founded by Geoff Davies, an enthusiastic promoter of small, unsigned bands, who describes the label as "Music to drive you to drink"....

 label.

Ophiuchus performed their last concert at the Ashton Court Festival

Ashton Court Festival

The Ashton Court Festival was an outdoor music festival held annually in mid-July on the grounds of Ashton Court, just outside Bristol, England. The festival was a weekend event which featured a variety of local bands and national headliners...

 in 1991.

In 2010, after a break of nearly 21 years, the original line-up of the band reformed to perform a number of 'Ophiuchus Reunion' concerts - including an appearance at the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

.

History

"Coming from, what I can gather, roots in punk and mummers plays, this seven-piece are something to watch out for. The folk roots are there with accordion and dulcimer weaving an intriguing pattern for a honking sax to blare over ... this rustic rock and harmony is well worth searching for."

Simon Jones (Folk Roots)

Formation

Wiltshire based progressive folk group Ophiuchus were formed in 1986 by twin brothers Jon and Si Cousins, and Pat D'Arcy. The nucleus of the group developing from the garage

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

/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...

 band Random Gender

Random Gender

Random Gender were a Wiltshire Progressive Garage band founded in 1982 by twin brothers Jon and Simon Cousins; who later went on to be prominent members of Wiltshire folk rockers Ophiuchus and Liverpool's indie rock group The Onset respectively...

 - originally formed in 1982 by Jon Cousins (guitar), Si Cousins (bass), together with school friends Eddie Deedigan (guitar) and Myke Vince (drums).

Rich Hughes (keyboards) joined Random Gender in 1983, when Deedigan left to go to drama college (later Deedigan formed the band Circus with Tom Aitkenhead and Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...

). In 1984, Pat D'Arcy (saxophone) and lighting and sound engineer Glenn Wardle completed Random Gender's line-up.

From their initial garage

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 sound, Random Gender

Random Gender

Random Gender were a Wiltshire Progressive Garage band founded in 1982 by twin brothers Jon and Simon Cousins; who later went on to be prominent members of Wiltshire folk rockers Ophiuchus and Liverpool's indie rock group The Onset respectively...

 drew on their rural Wiltshire surroundings, folklore, and the influence of the Stonehenge Free Festival

Stonehenge Free Festival

The Stonehenge Free Festival was a British free festival from 1972 to 1984 held at Stonehenge in England during the month of June, and culminating on the summer solstice on June 21. The festival was a celebration of various alternative cultures...

, to develop a distinctive progressive

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

/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...

style. Attracting the attention of ex-Climax Blues Band

Climax Blues Band

Climax Blues Band was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and vocalist and harmonica player, Colin Cooper.In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax...

guitarist Pete Haycock

Pete Haycock

Pete Haycock is a guitarist and composer who started his career as lead guitarist and vocalist with the Climax Chicago Blues Band. Born at 63 Tixall Road, Stafford, Staffordshire....

in 1985, who agreed to produce the proposed first single of the band.

Early in 1986 Random Gender

Random Gender

Random Gender were a Wiltshire Progressive Garage band founded in 1982 by twin brothers Jon and Simon Cousins; who later went on to be prominent members of Wiltshire folk rockers Ophiuchus and Liverpool's indie rock group The Onset respectively...

 disbanded - Jon and Si Cousins and Pat D'Arcy re-forming as Ophiuchus with drummer Ed Grimshaw, and designer/photographer Martin Sawyer (Sawyer providing the group's characteristic graphic/media style). Commenting on the group's unusual name in an early press interview, Jon Cousins stated: "The name Ophiuchus was taken from the ancient thirteenth sign of the zodiac, also known as Serpentarius, which has not been used (astrologically) since the time before Christ. The sign represented the idea of rebirth, and gaining new knowledge. We thought it was appropriate when the band formed, after the split of Random Gender - a band Pat, Si and I were involved with for four years."

By December 1986 both Grimshaw and Si Cousins had departed - Grimshaw to form The Fontaines with Andy West and Louis Jones (both Grimshaw and Louis Jones would later form the Brit-pop indie group The Warm Jets

Warm Jets

Warm Jets were a British pop indie band, who had two UK top 40 singles and a top 40 album in 1998.-History:The band formed in 1995 by Louis Jones, Paul Noble and Ed Grimshaw and signed to This Way Up records in early 1996...

). Si Cousins leaving Ophiuchus to join Liverpool band The Onset

The Onset

The Onset were formed in 1987 by Mike Badger after he left his former band The La's. Mike teamed up with local Liverpool legend Danny Dean on guitar, Hamish Cameron on Piano and Colin Becket on Drums. The first demo "Let's Go Home" can be found on the 2006 compilation CD, Lo Fi Electric...

 with La's

The La's

The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from the mid-1980s to early 1990s. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group is most famous for their hit single "There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1984 and Mavers joined soon after...

 co-founder Mike Badger

Mike Badger

Michael Clifford "Mike" Badger is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist and sculptor from Liverpool, England. He was co-founder of The La's and went on to form alternative country/roots rockabilly band The Onset in 1988 and The Kachinas in 1996...

. Following Grimshaw's departure the group was briefly joined by jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 drummer Simon 'Bud' Millais.

Reception

"Often whimsical and certainly literate, Ophiuchus created "rural English rock" from rustic isolation and could well have earned the tag "crusty" before The Levellers."

from NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 'Ophiuchus Biography'

Ophiuchus (mark 1)

Recruiting French bassist Xavier Tutein in February 1987, Jon Cousins and Pat D'Arcy enlisted the ex-Gender drummer Myke Vince and sound engineer Glenn Wardle (now 'front-of-house' on hammered dulcimer and bagpipes) - completing the Ophiuchus line-up with the melodeonist Pete Causer.

In the summer of 1987 Cousins and D'Arcy approached Pete Haycock to produce Ophiuchus's debut double A-side single "Serpent And The Bearded King"/"Song For Pym". The single was recorded in July and released on 11 September 1987 - on the group's own label Ophiuchvs Recordvs - to enthusiastic reviews: "a belting bit of English pop."

During the winter of 1987/spring 1988 group toured heavily throughout UK, attracting the attention of both national and independent record companies - and a growing reputation for live performances, and 'crusty' image.

Ophiuchus's own brand of "rural English rock" was heavily influenced by traditional Mumming plays and the Cotswold Morris

, mixed together with the garage

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

/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...

 style developed by Random Gender, as Folk Roots magazine illustrated in their description of the group: "In splendid rural isolation, Ophiuchus weave their own dreamy, rustic idyll. A music with diverse inspiration it trades on fat rootsy melodies and naïve lyricism. They’re merry greenwood vagabonds caught between straight ahead folk rock dancing and their own backyard pop." When asked about the group's distinctive style during a press interview with Venue Magazine

Venue (magazine)

Venue is the what's on magazine for the Bristol and Bath areas of the UK.It was founded in 1982 by journalists who had been working for another Bristol magazine, Out West, which had been consciously modelled on London's Time Out magazine....

, Cousins stated: “It just happened. The traditions of this area (Wiltshire) rub off on people. It’s not folk, it’s the rural culture. When I was a kid I remember going down to Castle Combe to see Morris-dancing, or walking into a pub and hearing some old guy singing. It’s what I grew up with.”

At concerts, although the group often performed without Glenn Wardle, they were generally accompanied by The Cruel Driver and Dick - two characters from the Lacock

Lacock

Lacock is a village in Wiltshire, England, 3 miles from the town of Chippenham. The village is owned almost in its entirety by the National Trust, and attracts many visitors by virtue of its unspoiled appearance.-History:...

 Ragged Heroes Mummers - who would introduce the show. The Dick character was a Mari Lwyd

Mari Lwyd

The Mari Lwyd , also Y Fari Lwyd, is a Welsh midwinter tradition, possibly to celebrate New Year , although it formerly took place over a period stretching from Christmas to late January...

 horse's head, and would spend most of the group's performance frightening the audience. An Ophiuchus concert would end with the distribution of cow-bells and percussion instruments - "The Bashy Bits" - to the audience, to enable the crowd to play along with the group's closing numbers.

In May 1988, Liverpool's Probe Plus

Probe plus

Probe Plus is a record label based in Liverpool, England. It was founded by Geoff Davies, an enthusiastic promoter of small, unsigned bands, who describes the label as "Music to drive you to drink"....

record label re-issued "Serpent And The Bearded King", and agreed to release the group's first LP. Arrangements were made to record a 'live' album at Moles Club in Bath, and to record a studio LP in Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

. The group moved to Bordeaux to begin a month in the recording studio in June 1988 - D'Arcy leaving Ophiuchus to join the folk rock group Red Jasper around this time. The resulting studio recordings from Bordeaux remain unissued.

In September 1988 the now four-piece Ophiuchus - Cousins, Tutein, Causer, Vince - recorded a performance at Moles Club in Bath, with additional percussive contributions from founder-member Simon Cousins

Simon Cousins

Simon Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who was a member of Liverpool indie country rock band The Onset and folk rockers Ophiuchus. He studied music at the Liverpool Music College and has a degree in philosophy from Liverpool University...

 and fellow Onset

The Onset

The Onset were formed in 1987 by Mike Badger after he left his former band The La's. Mike teamed up with local Liverpool legend Danny Dean on guitar, Hamish Cameron on Piano and Colin Becket on Drums. The first demo "Let's Go Home" can be found on the 2006 compilation CD, Lo Fi Electric...

 leader Mike Badger. Although the line-up had disbanded during the summer of 1989, an album of this concert, entitled "Pronounced Offee-ick Cuss", was released on the Probe Plus label in October of that year, and again reviews were favourable: "Ophiuchus return to give character forming shows like the one preserved here. Sometimes finding your feet is easy, in this case at Mole’s Club in Bath - a liberal sprinkling of hooting supporters, a clutch of numbers easy to clog along to, and a sweaty determination on all sides to have a damn good time. What more could anyone laying down a live scenario ask for?"

Ophiuchus (mark 2)

With the release of "Pronounced Offee-ick Cuss" in 1989, original members Jon Cousins and Glenn Wardle formed a new Ophiuchus line-up to promote the album - featuring Dave Woodward (guitar), Andy Hargreaves (bass) and Pagan Fringe drummer Steve Carvey.
Over the winter 1989/90 the group recorded an EP entitled "Lost Tribe Of England" at Ogbourne St. George

Ogbourne St. George

Ogbourne Saint George is a village on the River Og about north of Marlborough, Wiltshire.-Manor:In the Middle Ages the manor of Ogbourne St George belonged to the Benedictine Bec Abbey in Normandy. Ogbourne Priory was founded in about 1149 as a daughter house of the abbey...

 near Avebury

Avebury

Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...

. Early in 1990 Ophiuchus were in negotiations with Probe Plus to release the EP, but Probe were not able to finance the record following the collapse of the UK's national independent record distribution network - the Cartel

The Cartel (record distributor)

The Cartel, usually known as the Cartel without capitalisation but with the definite article, was a co-operative record distribution organisation in the United Kingdom, set up by a number of small independent record labels to handle their distribution to record shops...

. Probe Plus’s director Geoff Davis told the NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

: “Things have proven tough in recent times. A few months ago, the indie distribution scene fell apart. I was practically broke and it looked as if my house would have to go.” Although the "Lost Tribe" EP remains unreleased, a promotional film - including footage of 'The Cruel Driver and Dick' - was recorded by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

for one of the EP's tracks: "Big Guns (are firing out on the Plain)". This film was included in an interview/feature on Ophiuchus broadcast in January 1990 on the "Points West" magazine programme.

During 1990, Ophiuchus performed a series of high profile concerts around the UK, including the Edinburgh Fringe, Ashton Court Festival

Ashton Court Festival

The Ashton Court Festival was an outdoor music festival held annually in mid-July on the grounds of Ashton Court, just outside Bristol, England. The festival was a weekend event which featured a variety of local bands and national headliners...

, and support dates on the reformed Half Man Half Biscuit

Half Man Half Biscuit

Half Man Half Biscuit, often "HMHB", are an English rock band from Birkenhead, Merseyside, active since the mid-1980s, known for satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs. The group comprises Nigel Blackwell , Neil Crossley , Ken Hancock , and Carl Henry...

tour.

In August 1990, both Carvey and Wardle left the group. Carvey was briefly replaced by Red Jasper's drummer Dave Clifford (who had previously performed with Cousins during the late 1970s, in the punk band The So!). A permanent replacement for Carvey was found in drummer George Laidlaw and Ophiuchus continued performing as a four-piece until December. The group disbanded following a support concert with Half Man Half Biscuit at Leeds Coliseum on 20 December 1990.

Ophiuchus (mark 3)

In May 1991, Cousins reformed Ophiuchus to play a series of concerts - including more dates with Half Man Half Biscuit - culminating in a second appearance at the Ashton Court Festival (July 1991). The group's line-up for these concerts was: Cousins (guitar), Laidlaw (drums), ex-Whiskey Priest - Gary Price (cittern), and Paul 'Wil' Wilson (bass). At the Ashton Court concert the group was joined by founder-member saxophonist Pat D'Arcy.

Cousins, Laidlaw, Price, and Wilson (occasionally assisted by D'Arcy) went on to form the roots/rock band Wicca Man.

Reunion

Prompted by Ophiuchus Reunion, a fan page on the social networking internet site Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

, original members: Jon Cousins, Simon Cousins

Simon Cousins

Simon Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who was a member of Liverpool indie country rock band The Onset and folk rockers Ophiuchus. He studied music at the Liverpool Music College and has a degree in philosophy from Liverpool University...

, Pat D'Arcy, Myke Vince, Xavier Tutein, Pete Causer, Glenn Wardle, and Mike Slater reformed Ophiuchus in April 2010.

The group, which also included Jon's son Jack 'WestWayy' Cousins on percussion and ex Random Gender

Random Gender

Random Gender were a Wiltshire Progressive Garage band founded in 1982 by twin brothers Jon and Simon Cousins; who later went on to be prominent members of Wiltshire folk rockers Ophiuchus and Liverpool's indie rock group The Onset respectively...

 keyboardist Richard Hughes on Piano Accordion, performed a number of concerts including an appearance on the Bandstand Stage at the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

on June 27, 2010. Si Cousins commenting to Merseyside journalist Nick Cook, stated "The band creates a magical sound - playing unusual instruments such as melodeon and hammered dulcimer. Glastonbury, with its legends and mysteries, was the perfect place for us to play.".

Discography

• "Serpent And The Bearded King" / "Song For Pym" Single (1987), Ophiuchvs Recordvs OPH001
• "Pronounced Offee-ick Cuss" LP (1989), Probe Plus
  Probe plus
  Probe Plus is a record label based in Liverpool, England. It was founded by Geoff Davies, an enthusiastic promoter of small, unsigned bands, who describes the label as "Music to drive you to drink"....
  
  PROBE23