Spitting on a Roast

The unusual name for the Fleetwood based group derives from a Freudian slip of the tongue. Originally a duo, Mike France and Dave Ryan were the organisers and residents at Fleetwood’s “small but perfectly formed” folk club for more than a decade.

With Mike playing Indian harmonium and Dave on guitar, they eventually conscripted two regulars at the folk club to join them. Ken Hartley, a maestro on accordion and Alan Middleton on ukeleles and autoharp augmented the duo to form a unique line-up. The deaths of both Ken and Dave in the space of a couple of years are still keenly felt..

But life goes on, and with the addition of Mike Fairclough on vocals, bouzouki and five-string banjo, and Tony Mason on guitar and vocals, Spitting on a Roast continues to get people to enjoy themselves and sing along to old favourites. Mike Fairclough’s Irish and Scottish traditional songs, together with Alan Middleton’s railway and music hall material and Mike France’s humourous songs and stories truly give Spitting on a Roast a song for every occasion.