Recorded at Magritte Studios, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, September 1987;
Engineered and produced by Eric Hine;
Photo David W. Macdonald;
Design by Sean Clark and Dave Bulmer;
Industrial scene: Wendy de Russet

The Wild Side of Town is a BBC Programme Title and is used with the BBC’s consent.

Chris Baines’ book The Wild Side of Town is published by BBC/Elmtree.

Musicians

Cathy Lesurf: vocals, bodhrán and tambourine;
Phil Beer: electric and acoustic guitars, fiddle, mandolin, vocals;
Eric Hine: keyboards;
Ashley Hutchings: bass guitar;
Trevor Foster: drums, percussion;
Chris Baines: vocals, spoons;
with
Bill & Pete Zorn: backing vocals;
Brass [11]:
    Paul Nieman: trombone;
    Andy Grappa: tuba;
    Pete Whyman: clarinet;
    Steve Waterman: trumpet

Tracks

LP Side 1

1. Bird-Watching (4.00)
   (inspired by young Lester Holloway and his campaign to save Wormwood Scrubs Wood)
2. Harvest Anthem (3.06)
3. Laura’s Song (2.50)
   (Laura was the young girl in Lark Rise to Candleford)
4. Butterfly Galliard / Falling Star (2.55)
5. I Was the Child (4.01)
6. Another World in the Night (3.06)

LP Side 2

7. Fox on the Rails / Dance of the Starlings (3.06)
8. Woodlands of England (4.00)
9. See This Lake, Son? (2.10)
10. My Beautiful Bomb Pit (4.15)
11. Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer (Roud 32497) (5.26)
12. Tomorrow’s Too Late (3.48)

CD Bonus Track

13. Why Have You Stolen Our Earth? (3.52)

Tracks 1, 10 Cathy Lesurf;
Track 2 Cathy Lesurf arr. Eric Hine;
Track 3 words Ashley Hutchings, tune Cathy Lesurf arr. Eric Hine;
Tracks 4, 7 Phil Beer;
Tracks 5, 13 Chris Baines;
Track 6 words Ashley Hutchings, tune Cathy Lesurf;
Track 8 words Ashley Hutchings, tune Dave Whetstone;
Track 9 words Ashley Hutchings, tune Phil Beer;
Track 10 new lyric adaption Cathy Lesurf; original tune Jimmy McHugh, original words Harold Adamson;
Track 11 Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson, Cathy Lesurf;
Track 12 words Chris Baines, tune Cathy Lesurf arr. Eric Hine

Sleeve Notes

Chris Baines is a tireless champion of urban wildlife, who has done a great deal to bring city people closer to the nature on their doorstep. With his books and T.V. programmes he has converted millions to the idea of wildlife gardening, and The Wild Side of Town has taken that campaign over the fence and into the parks and open spaces beyond.

The great strength of the Albion Band has always been in marrying the voices of our largely rural past to the innovative sounds of new urban music. They have created a style which has always been a beacon for anyone with a love of British traditional music - be they performers or audience.

Chris Baines felt the Albion Band were the ideal musicians to write and perform the music for his T.V. series, The Wild Side of Town, since he too is trying to bring the best of traditional British countryside into the spaces of our modern towns and cities.

Now Chris and the Band have taken their partnership much further. They have combined their talents to create all these new songs which celebrate the wildlife that lives in towns, highlighting the pressure it is under in a very inspiring way.

A live album from the Albion Dance Band recorded in 1987;
Compiled by Mark Hutchinson at Rooksmere Studios, Overstone, Northamptonshire in 2009

Musicians

Cathy Lesurf: vocals, bodhrán, tambourine;
Phil Beer: electric and acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, vocals;
Eric Hine: keyboards;
John Shepherd: keyboards;
Ashley Hutchings: acoistic and electric bass guitar, vocals;
Trevor Foster: drums, percussion

with naturalist and broadcaster Chris Baines: vocals, spoons, introductions;
The Wing and a Prayer Brass Section

Tracks

1. Fox on the Rails / Dance of the Starlings (3.06)
2. Laura’s Song (2.49)
3. Foxy Comes to Town (2.18)
4. Bird-Watching (4.10)
5. Woodlands of England (6.37)
6. Gentlemen’s Agreement / Busy Gardener (2.25)
7. Another World in the Night (3.13)
8. My Beautiful Bomb Pit (4.41)
9. Big Yellow Taxi (2.36)
10. Tomorrow’s Too Late (5.59)
11. See This Lake, Son? (2.10)
12. Butterfly Galliard (1.22)
13. Harvest Anthem (3.05)
14. I Was the Child (4.00)
15. Coming In on a Wing and a Prayer (Roud 32497) (5.27)

Tracks 1, 12 Phil Beer;
Tracks 2, 7 Ashley Hutchings, Cathy Lesurf;
Tracks 3, 14 Chris Baines;
Tracks 4, 8 Cathy Lesurf;
Track 5 Ashley Hutchings, Dave Whetstone;
Track 6a Bell;
Track 6b Cathy Lesurf;
Track 9 Joni Mitchell;
Track 10 Chris Baines, Cathy Lesurf arr. Eric Hine;
Track 11 Phil Beer, Ashley Hutchings;
Track 13 Cathy Lesurf arr. Eric Hine;
Track 15 Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson, Cathy Lesurf