Red Jasper - A Midsummer Night's Dream (1993)

This Bradenstoke, Wiltshire-based band mix folkist sentiments with out and out heavy metal. A kind of Anthrax -go-rustic, they are restricted, but when ‘live’, the stops are pulled out and it is all guitars, leather and thunder. Formed in the 80s by main songwriters Davey Dodds (vocals, mandolin, tin whistle) and Robin Harrison (guitar), the band also comprised Tony Heath (bass, keyboard) and Mark Ollard (drums).

Red Jasper’s second release, Sting In The Tale, brought in Ric Sanders on fiddle and Pat D’Arcy on saxophone. For the third album onwards Jonathan Thornton (bass), Lloyd George (keyboards, vocals) and Dave Clifford (drums, percussion, vocals) replaced Heath and Thornton in the band’s line-up. Their final album in 1997 was released by the Dutch record label, Cymberline.