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Fiona Cowan
Vocals and reluctant guitar

Born on the aptly-named isle of Bute, off the west coast of Scotland, Fi was always musical but far too shy to perform. That is, until in the mid-90s she moved to the East Midlands. She agreed to play skiffle in a village pantomime, brandishing a hand-knitted magic leek. With bells on.

Her ‘My Old Man’s a Henchman’ was a smash hit, and led to the formation of The Collywobblers. This local group of friends did the usual round of freebie village fundraisers, playing 60s and 70s covers rather better than anyone was expecting.

Meanwhile, Fiona joined Things In Black as one of its two lead singers. TIB rehearsed Atlantic Soul numbers in a fire station in Peterborough. Occasionally the bass player would be called out to a fire but the bell came in handy for the intro to Honky Tonk Women.

Armed with a male and a female vocalist, plus a couple of saxophones, they covered Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Eurythmics, Beautiful South and Percy Sledge with equal passion and professionalism.

After two years’ solid rehearsing, TIB performed one glorious gig at a packed-out Cavalier, Collyweston and promptly split up.

These days, Fiona sings jazz once a year with the Buskrat Ramblers at Exton village fete, and every few months with Happy Jazz at Stamford Craft Fair. She co-wrote the trad classic ‘Stop It Harry’ with cornet player Ivan Huke, who’s been passing it off as a re-discovered 1930s original ever since. (Shhhh!)

A regular on the folk club circuit around Stamford, Fi actively promotes live music throughout the region via the community portals of Bourne, Stamford, Oakham, Rutland, Melton, Harborough, Lutterworth and Grantham.

She's also on the team organising Belvoir Castle Folk Weekend on May 19-20 2007 - which is handy for getting the Lying Scotsman a good slot on the programme! - and regularly hosts acoustic nights in villages in the Stamford/Oakham area.

More recently, she was press-ganged into joining the irreverent and jolly good Lincolnshire rock band 'Bootleg', along with fellow Lying Scotsman John (see below),performing admirably until the band folded in mid-2006.

Fi's own musical tastes range from Aretha Franklin to Deep Purple, via Andy Sheppard and Planxty. She says: 'I can't get on with opera, and I don't like relentlessly miserable music. Other than that, I'll try just about anything especially if it involves harmony.'

She lives near Stamford with partner Dave and big old bagpuss Daisy (who hates music) and many more musical instruments than she can play.

Armed only with a worryingly limited musical pedigree and an ability to curse loudly, John spent the nine years up to mid-2006 gigging with rock covers band 'Bootleg' as well as undertaking stints in Huntingdon-based 'Burlesque', the short-lived punk band 'Jehovah's Witless' and several cameo spots with critically-acclaimed trainspotting punks 'Eastfield'. His very first attempt at stardom, Bourne's 'Death Warmed Up' brought havoc to three gigs in the mid-1980s before splitting, one of which saw representatives of the local constabulary arrive to throw the band and their gear out into the rain...

Looking for something a little different to keep him off the streets, he decided that perhaps some gentle folk music would be in order. Having identified a batch of songs that he felt would benefit from being given an airing, the seeds of an idea started to sprout, hence the situation in which we now find ourselves.

Brought up on a self-inflicted diet of loud punk rock, his tastes have broadened a little in recent years to the extent that the likes of Enya, Kate Bush and Dido now nestle snugly among his CDs and vinyl next to such renowned artistes as Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Conflict, Crass and the like.

"I wasn't bored with playing rock covers - far from it - but I just wanted to do something a little more challenging," he says. "It's nice to fill pubs, play festivals and have people bouncing all over the place, but I also like the intimacy of small venues where the audience are right in your face. Starting to play at local folk clubs seems like an ideal starting point."

John lives just outside Bourne with his wife Julie and a menagerie of animals comprising two dogs, six rabbits and seven guinea pigs. He also has a 17-year-old son (I know - he just doesn't look old enough, does he?) who plays the bass as well. Probably better, in fact.

He has an unhealthy fixation with Liverpool and Hartlepool United Football Clubs and is unapproachable when they lose. He has, therefore, spent much of the current football season on his own. He's promising himself that he'll still get around to learning Welsh properly at some point, presumably after he learns to play the bass guitar, of which he has four - including a semi-acoustic, a five-stringer that causes him no end of problems and another that is currently sitting in twenty or so pieces in his garage awaiting the attention of the bass faeries.

Karl comes originally from Leeds in West Yorkshire, and has been playing for many years in a variety of bands with many different line ups, performing music in the Acoustic Folk/ Folk Rock genre.  A songwriter since the age of 17, he likes to experiment with different rhythms and styles. Karl plays acoustic and electric guitars, Puerto Rican Cuatro, mandolin and sings melodies and harmonies.

He played mainly with fiddler and button melodeon player John Carey (Ex Magna Carta) and then in a number of different bands over the years initially in the Leeds area, ‘Oakwood’, ‘Mr Ree’, and ‘The Fine Artistes’.

During a brief sojourn to the Isle of Man he played in a folk band with the unpronounceable name of ‘Coelmhor’ (actually pronounced ‘keelvore’). Following the tradition of obscure names, the last band  he played in was Clanjamfrie. This is a Scottish word meaning either 'rich assortment' or 'riotous assembly'. The band was capable of both so seemed like a good name! Also a brief venture into a more rockier band with ‘Scratch the Surface’. The last two bands played predominantly original material written by Karl and with collaboration with Andy Waterhouse.

Made a number of recordings over the years of original material both with John Carey and also with Clanjamfrie and Scratch the Surface.

Having played at various folk music festivals and around folk clubs and pubs, he is now based in Stamford. While he enjoys it there, he feels that there seems to be a greater emphasis around rock and covers bands so this limits the opportunities. Enjoying immensely this latest venture with ‘The Lying Scotsman’.