The Tansads

Infobox musical artist |
Name = The Tansads


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Origin = Wigan, England
Genre = Rock Folk
Years_active = c.1990 to c.2001
Label = Musidisc
Transatlantic Records
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Past_members = See Discography section

The Tansads were an English band from Wigan, Greater Manchester who were active during the 1990s. Playing a mix of folk, punk and indie music they developed a strong following on the festival circuit and on the crusty/traveller scene but never managed to achieve a commercial breakthrough. Their ultimately unsuccessful career later became the subject of a book by former member Ed Jones.

Career

The core members of the group throughout their career were vocalist Janet Anderton and the three Kettle brothers: John (guitarist and principal songwriter), Bob (mandolin, guitar, harmonica and jumping around) and Andrew, sometimes credited simply as "Kek" (vocalist). The band's name came from a brand of child's pushchair. [ Interview with the band in "Folk Roots" issue 120, June 1993] The band's style blended elements of folk, punk and indie with lyrics generally focussing on the vagaries of Northern working-class life. Anderton and Andrew Kettle shared lead vocals, with some tracks featuring one or other alone and others featuring the interplay of Anderton's clear voice with Kettle's raspy delivery.

The band achieved significant local success in their home town of Wigan, and in the early 1990s were supported on tour by another local band, The Verve. At the time the two acts were seen as the two big names on the local Wigan scene. [ "This is Music: A Verve History" in "Record Collector" issue 219, November 1997, reproduced [http://www.musicsaves.org/verve/interviews/35.shtml here] ] Other bands who supported the Tansads included Pulp, Cast and Kula Shaker. In 1991 they released their debut album "Shandyland" on an independent label, its title track featuring a lyric (reproduced on the album's front cover) which summed up their vision of Northern life and people: "Chips and egg would make them high/But God has poked them in the eye". Two years later they released "Up the Shirkers" on the more established MusiDisc label, which had previously released the debut album by The Levellers, a band to whom the Tansads were often compared. Their chaotic, frenetic live shows were generating much interest but they also began a series of regular line-up changes, with only Anderton and the three Kettle brothers remaining constant members. Guy Keegan, formerly of The Railway Children, was a member for one album.

In 1994 they moved to Transatlantic Records for the album "Flock", from which the single "Iron Man" stalled just outside the top 75 of the UK singles chart, [ The band's fan club newsletter claimed that the single's peak position was number 110.] the closest they ever came to a commercial breakthrough. After 1995's live album "Drag Down the Moon", the band went on hiatus. Three years later they returned with a stripped-down line-up featuring only Anderton and John Kettle from their heyday and a new sound which dispensed with the folk elements in favour of a more conventional indie rock sound. This line-up released the album "Reason to Be" on an independent label before disbanding. In 2001 there were reports that the band had reformed once again, with Anderton now replaced by a teenaged vocalist named Laura Follin, but no new recordings surfaced.

Former bass player Ed Jones, who returned to journalism after leaving the band, wrote a book, "This is Pop: The Life and Times of a Failed Rock Star", detailing his time in the band and the personality clashes which he felt caused their career to fail. [cite book | author=Jones, Ed | title=This is Pop: The Life and Times of a Failed Rock Star | publisher=Canongate Books | year=1999| id=ISBN 0-86241-880-1]

John Kettle works as a producer in his own studio called [http://www.jarafhousestudios.co.uk Jaraf House Studios] , and has been working on new recordings with his brothers under the name "The Dregs". [ Wigan Today [http://www.wigantoday.net/the-big-interview/Setting-the-record-straight.2141040.jp Setting the record straight] ]

Albums

References