Dave Levett (bass guitar, melodeon, banjo, mandolin)
Ben Paley (fiddle)
Bing Lyle (accordion)
Tina Smith (concertina)
Vic Smith (mandola, guitar, caller)
Listen to The Sussex Pistols
The Quaker (2 mins 43 secs), 3842Kb
The College Hornpipe (6 mins 05 secs) 8560kb
The Sussex Pistols also have a "My Space" site where six tracks of their playing can be heard. Click here to go to it.
To book the band or for more details, please e-mail Tina Smith
No dancing experience is necessary, the caller (Vic) gives clear instructions and calls through the dance before you start and during the dance but if you make a mistake it can all add to the fun. Vic chooses appropriate dances from his wide repertoire to suit the abilities and experience of the dancers and the occasion. For much of their existence the band was graced with the wonderful musical presence of the late Naomi Russell and this will always be sorely missed.
The band have Public Liability insurance and all the PA equipment is regularly safety checked (PAT)
Ian Kearey was founder member and bass and sometime guitar player for The Oyster Band (as they were then known), appearing on their albums until 'Wide Blue Yonder'. He has worked as producer with Michelle Shocked and Sheffield band Boot Fare, while recording and playing live with, among others, John Fahey, Texas fiddler Erik Hokkanen, Billy Bragg and Leon Rosselson, Sandra Kerr, Ivor Cutler, Anne Lister and singer/songwriters Heidi Berry, Pete Astor and Caroline Trettine - not to mention street-corner busking in LA with Ry Cooder. He also plays in Duck Soup alongside Dan Quinn and Adam Bushell. He has been a constant on albums by Bristol poetry/rock legends The Blue Aeroplanes, and in 1987 released a guitar/vocal album, 'Siamese Boyfriends' with Aeroplanes leader Gerard Langley, which was described in the Melody Maker as 'joining up the dots between Martin Carthy and Ry Cooder - brilliantly'. A solo album, 'Preaching to the Convertible', received very good reviews on its release in 2001.
He has released three well-received solo albums, encompassing songs, improvisations with a drummer and instrumentals; see www.danlenorecords.com.
Dave Levett has worked with a great variety of country and folk rock, blues and rock bands over the years. As well as this band, he currently plays with a glam-rock band! He is a real multi-instrumentalist but with the Sussex Pistols, he is mainly heard playing bass guitar, although he also plays banjo, melodeon and whistle. He has had a long association with barn dance bands and has played with The Catsfield Steamers, Chequered Roots, Banjax and Maxwell's Demon.
Ben Paley has been playing the traditional music of Sweden, Ireland and the USA (as well as blues, jazz and rock of various kinds) since he was six, on the stages, screens and street corners of two continents. His book of Swedish traditional tunes is one of the classics of that music. As a fully professional musician, he has toured and recorded extensively with his famed father Tom, both as a duo and with Joe Locker as the New Deal String Band, the leading Old Timey band in Europe. He was a member of the prominent country/rock band, The Wild Turkey Brothers. In that band, he played alongside the guitarist, Tab Hunter, whom he still plays with regularly as a duo. He has been in considerable demand as a session musician and he has worked with Chris Wood, the Levellers, the Sawdoctors, Mandragora and Murray Lachlan Young, He has been called "The finest folk fiddler of his generation" by fROOTS magazine.
Bing Lyle is the powerhouse of the band with his mighty accordion playing. He started his musical career as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, which gave him a lasting love of modal music. His classical training studies derailed by exposure to Punk Rock and traditional music, he took up the accordion and busked for five years round Europe. Bing was musical director of the Brighton community arts organisation Same Sky from 1989-96 since when he has been working with all Ireland concertina champion Mandy Murray, singer-songwriter Pete Morton, singer and storyteller Pete Castle. He is a regular tutor for the folk arts project Trads and Herbie Flowers' Rockshop. In 1998 he joined the Travelling Light Theatre Company's production of Tir na n'og. touring the UK, Ireland, Canada and the USA. Although he plays accordion, piano, flute and guitar, Bing is essentially a singer and composer; his original songs and tunes make up a large part of the Lyle/Paley repertoire.
Tina Smith plays English concertina. She has been involved with folk music
for over 40 years,
both as a musician and an organiser. She was co-resident and
organiser at two London folk clubs in the mid-sixties and at
clubs in Brighton, Isfield and Lewes from 1968 onwards. She was
one of the organisers of the popular Lewes Folk Days and has
been involved in many other Sussex folk events both as performer
and organiser. She was one of the residents at the Coppersongs
folk club in Peacehaven. Up until 1975 she was one of the
founding presenters of the BBC Radio Brighton folk music
programme, "Minstrels Gallery".
She has played in several bands, including The Creepy Crawley Concertina Combo,
The Dodgy Button Band, The Lewes Band and Four Piece Suite. She is one of the
resident performers at the Royal Oak Folk evenings in Lewes.
Vic Smith plays guitar and mandolo and is the band's caller.
He has been involved in folk music activities for more than
40 years as singer, folk dance band musician and caller, club,
festival and event organiser, broadcaster, journalist, critic
and writer and magazine editor Along with Tina, he has been
running folk clubs in Woolwich, Blackheath, Brighton, Isfield
and Lewes. The current very successful venture at the Royal Oak
has been running since 1992.
Again with Tina, he has played and called with a number of successful folk dance
bands.
Along with Jim Marshall, he organises and edits "The Sussex
Folk Diary" and has been doing so for over 30 years. Again
in partnership with Jim, he was presenter/producer of
"Minstrels Gallery" the weekly local radio programme
which catered for folk music enthusiasts in the south of England
for 25 years. He writes for a range of folk and traditional
music publications including "Musical Traditions" and "fRoots".
A demo CD of their playing is available:-
Here are some unsolicited comments written by people after they have booked us:-
Dear Tina,
I just wanted to write and thank you so much for making my party the success it was - everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and loads of people mentioned how much they enjoyed having a live band and how good they thought you were. The music certainly made the evening go with a swing and I felt completely relaxed, knowing that you were in control of the music and entertainment! It was lovely that all ages including the children joined in - I don't think the little girls stopped dancing at all! The boys were not quite so forthcoming, apart from my youngest grandson Arthur, who thoroughly enjoyed your music and couldn't stop jigging around in time to it!
I thought you were all so lovely, going with the flow of the party, and playing us a tune occasionally instead of just the dancing I thought was inspired, everyone enjoyed that and it gave those of us who had been dancing, a chance to watch you play.
It all added up to one of the happiest evenings of my life and certainly one I will always remember with joy.
My best wishes to you and all the band.
Jean
October 2009
Vic and Tina -
A big thank you to yourselves and Ian, Dave, Ben and Bing for really fun and successful evening at Godalming Borough
Hall. As it was a charity event there was a very large number of people new to barn dancing and yet you had them
up on the floor and dancing right to the end - and enjoying themselves, which was the main thing!
I can also confirm that the dance made £410 for WaterAid.
Congratulations and thanks again.
Cheers
Lawrence
September 2009
Dear Tina & Vic, and your fellow musicians,
Thank you so much for entertaining us last saturday. Everone enjoyed the dancing and it created a fun and lively atmosphere. We thought you managed the crowd very well, especially as it's probably rather unusual for you to come in half way through a party, but you got the mix that we hoped for, people could dance and others could chat.
Thank you for helping our 60th go with a swing.
Best wishes,
Annie & John
August 2009
Dear 'The Sussex Pistols'
Thank you so much for your outstanding performance at our wedding.
Many guests who assured us that they would not be dancing did in fact get up and join in! We also received many
compliments about the variety and range of the music.
We hope that you enjoyed the evening as much as we certainly did.
With best wishes
Fran & John
(The new Mr & Mrs Trimming)
July 2009
Dear 'The Sussex Pistols'
THANK YOU
so much for playing at out wedding. You rocked the house (....or tent)! We hope that you had as much fun as we did.
Keep up the good work!
Gerard and Becky
(the new Mr & Mrs Carr)
July 2009
Dear Tina, Vic and band:
Thank you all so much for giving us a real day to remember on Sunday - it was fantastic!
I did wonder at first how we would manage to get the French up on the floor, but they really loved it!
I hope we can arrange another occasion before too long so we can see you again.
All best
Pam
June 2009
Dear Tina,
I think we had all had a lot of fun and exercise. Thank you for helping to make the occasion such a happy one.
Best wishes
Julia
May 2009
Hi Tina
Just a quick email to thank you for the great Ceilidh you did for our wedding reception at the Elephant and Castle
last month. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the music even if they didn't dance. Many people said how nice it
was and miles better than a disco! Please pass on our thanks to the other band members.
Vicky & Rob
May 2009
Hi Tina,
Just wanted to say again how much we enjoyed Saturday. You and the boys were
superb and everyone was very complimentary about your performance.. Hamish
was pleased it went well and I'm grateful to him for the recommendation.
A great night that Ros really appreciated. Thank you so much.
Regards
Phil
April 2009
It was a great evening and most of the thanks must go to you all for
making it so. People really enjoyed themselves and many have said how uplifting it
was in these times of Credit Crunch & terrorists threats etc. Also
they have a good laugh when they get it wrong which is fun in itself
and great to watch by those sitting out.
Thanks to you both and all the Band for helping to make our pre
Infirmity Party so successful!!
Lots of love from us both.
Anne & David x
From "The Sunday Times" - December 7, 2008
Britain's best Christmas events -
Over in Brighton, the best family party is the Winter Ceilidh at the Corn Exchange on December 20. Local maestros
the Sussex Pistols will have you reeling and jigging to frantic fiddle tunes from 7pm. Parents get a bar to
cool down, while kids have their own staffed chillout room. Really.
This event was also selected on page 31 of "The Guide" in "The Guardian" for December 20th as one of the three
best events for Christmas week!
October 2008 (Though the event was in June!)
Hi Tina
First of all, so sorry that it has taken me so long to send this email!
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to the Sussex Pistols, on behalf of Matt and myself, for the amazing
set you played at our wedding!! Our guests are still commenting on how much they enjoyed it. It was so lovely
to see all our friends and family, young and old, having such a fantastic time. The calling and playing were
equally brilliant. I have been to a few barndances in my time and that was absolutely the best!!
Thank you once again.
Best wishes
Megan
September 2008
Hi Tina
Thanks very much to you and the band for helping to make our party so memorable.
Your sound is excellent and you actually seem to enjoy making music!
Chris
Ps I’ll always recommend you in future
August 2008 Hi Tina!
I just wanted to say everyone really enjoyed the Sussex Pistols at Hove Rugby Club, and it was great for you to get
everyone up and dancing!
I will definately be using you for future events.
Kind regards
Rebecca
August 2008
Can I say how pleased we were that we chose your band to play at our wedding. You were brilliant and to have got
the French out of their seats was a real achievement! Everyone that has been in contact with my parents since the
wedding have praised you really highly.
August 2008
Thank you for playing for series of the weekly ceilidhs for the Open University Summer Schools. we would like you
to know that in our surveys, we got nothing but positive feedback for your events. We hope that you will be able
to play for us again next summer.
July 2008
Just wanted to say a huge big 'thank you' for making our party go so well. I have had so many phone calls today
saying thank you and how brill you were. You certainly made it a success.
With best wishes
February 2008 Dear Tina,
Just wanted to drop you a line and say a very big thank you for last night. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and
were very complimentary about the band. It was great to look around and see so many laughing, smiling faces! Ellie
especially had a great time and felt her birthday was brilliantly celebrated.
Please pass on our thanks to the rest of the band,
With best wishes,
Claire & Brian
January 2007
Hello Tina,
May I take this opportunity to thank you and the band for making our Burns night such a success.
Everyone really enjoyed your music. It was wonderful to see so many happy faces dancing the night away.
We have had so many positive comments about the evening, so on behalf of Brighton College Family society- Well done!
October 2006
"Dear Tina and the rest of the band
Just wanted to do a quick note to thank you so much for the barn dance last week.
Those that came had a fantastic time and said it was so much fun! You were all brill.
We loved the music. Thanks again. We'll be in contact again - no doubt."
September 2006
"Dear Sussex Pistols,
Thank you so much for playing at my 60th birthday party - you were wonderful! Did I pay
you enough? - you worked so hard, it didn't seem much."
September 2006
"Dear Tina & the band,
Thank you for the wonderful barn dance last weekend. Everyone has been telling us how
much they enjoyed both the music and the dancing."
May 2006 "Can you please thank the band for playing at our wedding reception. We had a wonderful time, as did all our guests. You really made the reception the party we wanted! Thank you."
"Dear Tina,
We would like to thank you and the rest of the Sussex Pistols for playing at our
wedding last Saturday at Walton's Oak Barn. The music was great and played with huge
enthusiasm and energy throughout. The caller was wonderful and made it very easy to
follow even unfamiliar dances."
May 2005 "Festival ceilidh was the perfect send-off for this year's festival….Vic Smith and The Sussex Pistols talked everyone through the simple moves before each dance began so no-one needed to know the moves beforehand. It was wonderful to see whole families, often spanning three generations, laughing and enjoying the same thing." (extract from the Brighton Argus)
September 2003 "Thank you so much for playing at our wedding. Everyone there said how great you were and we thought your playing was wonderful! If we ever have another big party I'd love to have you play again."
July 2002 "Thank you so much for playing at our wedding. The video we have of the barn dance makes hilarious watching, and it really stands out that everyone is happy and had such a great time. Please pass our thanks on to the caller who did a great job coaxing reluctant guests."
October 2001 "We have been reliving the happiness of a week ago! what a super evening. Thanks to your excellent group - wonderful musicians who entered into the spirit of the occasion and gave us such a brilliant time."
February 1999 "We would like to thank The Sussex Pistols very much for playing at our wedding reception. We thoroughly enjoyed the music and the dancing, and so did our guests. Thank you once again"
July 1993 "This is to say a huge thank you to you and the rest of the band for all you efforts last Saturday. Everyone I have spoken to had a really great time. This was mostly due to the quality of your music and the wonderful calling.
May 1993 "I would like to thank The Sussex Pistols for providing such a lively entertainment during the evening. We have received many compliments on the success of the evening and this was largely due to such an excellent band and caller."
March, 1992 " It was the best evening we've had for ages and we've had lots of appreciative letters. The band was great and really exciting and uplifting. Many, many thanks."
For bookings or other information, Email Tina
or phone 01273 478124
To book Vic & Tina for a song event, Email them.
To book Bing & Ben for a song event, Email them.
Go to Royal Oak Folk Club Home Page
Go to Sussex Folk Guide
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since 5th November 2000
