THE SEDGEMORONS

In 1984 the Sheep Worrying Organisation had got itself into debt and needed funding to keep it going. No-one involved had any money-and so the editorial team determined to form a band to gig themselves out of debt.

   The Sedgemorons was  formed to play cabaret style music in pubs and clubs simply to raise money quickly.. Although this started to happen and during the 2 years of the groups existence, the debt was paid off the initial remit  was ditched as the individuals involved began to write their own music and  came up with a classic rock-send up stage show.

   The band Brian Smedley /Rockin’ Brian (Lead Guitar), Stuart Croskell/Ghengiz 2-Stroke (bass), Gareth ‘Bing’ Beasley (Rhythm Guitar), Kevin ‘Nervo’ Freeman (drums), Anne Dixey/Betty Bonkers & Lianne Bruce/Bobby Bland (lead vocals) and later Barry ‘Bazza’ Thompson (sax), developed a cult following and ended up being reviewed in Sounds & Melody Maker, courted by Cherry Red Records and being played several times on John Peel.

   After their initial ‘live’ cassette album ‘We’re Bonkers’ the band brought out ‘Drop Dead Darling/I Need a Girlfriend’ on the Sheep Worrying label.

   The Sedgemorons also wrote and toured a stage musical ‘Rock n Roll is Pretty Exciting’ in which  Car Park Attendant (Rockin Brian) faces the threat of his beloved car park being pulled down and replaced with a Disco. The Musical features such songs as ‘Car Park Attendant of my Dreams’-written by Smedley, West Quay record shop owner Adrian Fraser and George the Window Cleaner-who was sat outside the building whistling melodies while the others were trying to write the song.

   A regular feature of Sedgemorons gigs was the purposefully appalling poetry of Stuart Croskell-who also occasionally took lead vocals with his Johnny Cash covers and the Norman Wisdom style punk antics of Beasley constantly stage-henpecked by Dixey.

   By the end of 1985 the band changed from being a bunch of wacky friends with a purpose (raising money) to being a pair of couples with different interests. Beasley and Dixey formed ‘The Inflatable Ducks’-a more contemporary pop outfit whilst Smedley and Bruce formed  the political satire outfit ‘Red Smed & the Hot Trot Smash the System Boogie Band’. Croskell went back to College and formed student band ‘The Bernard’ whilst Freeman-always in great demand as a drummer, played particularly with The Alkaloids-a hippy/reggae outfit.

Anne Dixey-a trained journalist at the time working with the Bridgwater Mercury, went on to become Editor of Regional papers and is currently a producer for BBC radio 4’s the ‘World at One’. Lianne Bruce went to RADA after the Sedgemorons and became a Stage manager with Internationally touring Opera  companies.