The Band

Shamus O`Blivion have been plying their trademark super fast jigs and reels and powerful folk rooted songs at festivals and music events across the country and occasionally in mainland Europe since 1989.
Their mission is simply to make people dance and laugh. When you walk away from a Shamus O`Blivion gig dripping in sweat with a huge grin on your face, they consider it 'Job Done !'.

Not easily pigeonholed, their music appeals to all ages and tastes , they are not limited to one type of venue or event. Audience participation is insisted upon, to which end they furnish the audience with colourful morris dancing sticks to aid the raucous dancing and frolics.
Bounding on stage like five real life cartoon characters their performance is humorous, colourful and theatrical.

This band mean business and their business is FUN !

'Shamus' Mick (Accordion).

Mick (Accordion & Vocals)
Front man of the band in name only, Shamus O`Blivion do everything as a co-operative effort there is no boss & everyones opinion caries equal weight. The band are more akin to a family where we all look out for each other. Mick began playing the accordion as a child, and has been a regular busker since his teenage years. He also plays in several morris dancing sides for fun.
Favourite Bands : Motorhead, The Chieftains, John Otway

Mel Gardner (Bass).

Mel Gardner
(Bass Guitar ,Electric Guitar, Whistle)
Mel, like most of the rest of the band, is a multi-instrumentalist, swapping between bass and electric guitar, vocals and penny whistle. She shares bass duties with Steve-the-fiddle, but insists her bass is prettier than his. She is mum not only to her two daughters but also to the entire band , referring to us as 'Her Boys'.

Steve the fiddle (Violin).

Steve-the-fiddle (Violin , Bass, Vocals)
Steve is the bands sound engineer and guru of all things technical. A classically trained violinist and multi-instrumentalist, he shares bass guitar duties with Mel and vigorously disputes her claim to have the best bass amp.
Within the band. Steve is playfully known as; Steve 'am I Evil', because of a humorous comment once made about him some years ago. For the record, he isn`t actually Evil. (Well maybe just a little bit)

Dave Wolfie Moon (mandolin) at new moon.

Dave (Wolfie) Moon
(Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar, Bass & Vocals)
Dave's stage attire is a contemporary expression of traditional border morris costume, and his face painted according to the phase of the moon (a reference to his name).
Dave is the bands in-house folklorist. As well as being a multi-instrumentalist and professional busker, Dave is a historian and published author, (useful attributes when instigated my Mick to write songs about fornication and dying). Influences are:
Monty Python, George Formby and loads of obscure people others have never heard of.

Paul Rhodes (Drums).

Paul Rhodes (Drums)
Paul was a founder member of Shamus O`Blivion, in fact he played our first ever gig back in 1989. He is the power house behind everything we play driving our music like a train. Affectionately known inside the band as 'Pounding Paul'. He often looks glorious with his bright purple hair.