The Fivepenny Piece are, as the name suggests, a five-piece band from Stalybridge near Manchester, England and all the band members are from Stalybridge or nearby Ashton-under-Lyne. They were originally called The Wednesday Folk and regularly met at the Broadoak Hotel in Ashton to entertain the locals on Wednesday evenings. They played in Stalybridge Town Hall (now demolished) from time to time and in 1968 soon after they formed, they won the TV talent show "New Faces" which earned them a reco...
The Fivepenny Piece are, as the name suggests, a five-piece band from Stalybridge near Manchester, England and all the band members are from Stalybridge or nearby Ashton-under-Lyne.
They were originally called The Wednesday Folk and regularly met at the Broadoak Hotel in Ashton to entertain the locals on Wednesday evenings. They played in Stalybridge Town Hall (now demolished) from time to time and in 1968 soon after they formed, they won the TV talent show "New Faces" which earned them a recording contract with EMI Records.
Much of their output was northern dialect songs, including a great deal of comedy and they even gave a new lease of life to a couple of well known songs by Gracie Fields. They could also present more serious music with a unique style and gained local and universal fame as a result.
The band members are John Meeks (guitar, vocals); Lynda Meeks (vocals and John's sister); Eddie Crotty (guitar,vocals); George Radcliffe (bass, vocals) and Colin Radcliffe (guitar, vocals and George's brother).
The Meeks family were shoe retailers - well known and respected in the area - and music ran in the family with Mr Edward Meeks (grandfather to Lynda and John) often indulging his skills as a pianist to the delight of drinkers in the local pubs where he enjoyed an occasional drink with the locals.
Eddie Crotty died in April 2009 and is sadly missed. He was a modest family man and a true performer but in spite of modest fame he continued to work as a butcher until ill health prevented him, demonstrating how he and other members of the band never neglected their northern roots.
It is likely that the work of this unique band will become collectable by those who enjoyed their unique, regional style of music and also by future local historians who will no doubt glean factual detailsand a flavour of Northern culture upon which some of their songs are based.
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