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A
History of Adge Cutler & The Wurzels
Part 3: The Wurzels - The Glory Years (1974-1980)
work
in progress!
When
Adge Cutler was killed in a car accident so suddenly and so tragically,
the reamining Wurzels did not think that they could carry on without
him. Adge had created that 'Zummerset' sound which was their trademark
- and who could replace Adge Cutler? At
a meeting at John Miles' offices, the future of the band was very
much in doubt. However, the band had a book full of gig dates which
people kept asking if they were going to fulfill; so Pete Budd was
offered the lead vocal role in the band; and they
decided to carry on.
According
to the Wurzels World
book, in the summer of 1974 The Wurzels make their debut post-Adge
with several nights at The Globe Inn in Newton
St Loe (on the A4 near Bath). The success of these gigs gives John
Miles and the band members the confidence to carry on without Adge.
Adge's
death marked a curious turning point in the history of The Wurzels.
Deprived of the main song-writing talent, the remaining Wurzels
recorded The Wurzels Are Scrumptious!
in 1975, an album containing many favourites from the back catalogue,
as well as a number of previously unrecorded Cutler-written songs
put to music by Henry Davis. This attracted a lot of favourable
attention.
In
1976, the Wurzels released Combine Harvester,
a re-work of the song Brand New Key by American singer/songwriter
Melanie. This became a huge UK hit, topping the charts for two weeks
and staying in the Top Fifty for thirteen weeks. An
album Combine Harvester stayed in the
Top Fifty Album Charts for eighteen weeks and their follow-up single
I Am A Cider Drinker (a re-work of Una
Paloma Blanca which had been a hit for Jonathan King the year
before) reached #3. The band quickly followed that success with
the release of another parody Farmer Bill's Cowman.
The
Wurzels worked constantly all over the country - they appeared in
nearly every town in Great Britain, in venues ranging from cowsheds
through top nightclubs to what they called 'posh' concert halls.
They still performed much of Adge's material but started adding
new songs of their own to their repertoire. The Wurzels also did
a lot of radio and television work, appearing in Top of the Pops,
Blue Peter, The Ken Dodd Show, Pebble Mill etc., and in 1977 they
toured Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
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