Kate started to learn the accordion in Cardiff in 1977 when she shared a flat with the Cardiff Ladies Morris musician, John Diston. She bought her first accordion for £25 from a Cardiff junk shop. On returning to Nottingham in 1980, Kate became the musician for the then newly formed “Maids of Clifton” clog dancers. At this time she purchased a 120 bass Hohner accordion and started taking lessons with Mavis and Fred Parnell. This took her along a more classical route and culminated in her achieving an Honours Performing Diploma in 1990.
Kate’s first public performance was for the Bastille celebrations at a garden party near Southwell in Nottinghamshire. Following that she had a residency at a small French restaurant in Duffield, Derbyshire, played in the “Scheme” Irish folk band and accompanied Trish Nelson in the “Piaf Experience”. Since then she has played at folk clubs, and performed background music for many different occasions including parties, weddings and one Barmitzvah! She played with the “Moonshine” ceilidh band where she met Tony and ran her own band, “Two Left Feet” for eight years.
Kate is now concentrating on playing in the “Syzygy” duo with Tony and writing her own compositions and harmonies to complement the other well loved tunes in their repertoire.
Tony has been involved in music in various forms since his early childhood, learning piano and playing the organ for his local church. He moved into the folk scene in his late teens playing guitar and singing in folk groups “Pint Pot” in Leeds and “Toby’s Round” in Bury. In the mid nineties he played with the “Moonshine” ceilidh band and more recently with Andy Brooke-Lawson in leicestershire band “Folkus”. Tony has played many instruments over the years including the flute and the fiddle but It was in 2000 when he bought his first melodeon that he realised that this was the instrument for him. He now plays a Castagnari Mory. |
