Please Sing A Song For Us – The Transatlantic Anthology

The Humblebums were a Scottish folk band, based in Glasgow. Its members included Billy Connolly, who later became a renowned stand-up comedic actor, guitarist Tam Harvey and the singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty.

Connolly co-founded the band with Harvey in 1965 and played in the pubs and clubs around the city, most notably the Old Scotia Bar. Connolly sang, played banjo and guitar, and entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to the songs. Harvey was an accomplished Bluegrass guitarist.

Rafferty joined later and for a short time they performed as a trio. However, the nature of the act had changed and Harvey departed shortly afterwards. The remaining duo broke up in the early 1970s after recording two albums of material: The New Humblebums and Open Up the Door, the former graced by a cover by John “Patrick” Byrne, marking the beginning of a long working relationship between Byrne and Rafferty. Connolly embarked on a solo career while Rafferty formed Stealers Wheel with Joe Egan before eventually emerging as a major recording act with “Baker Street”.

This Tranatlantic Anthology features material from both albums plus a few different versions.