I first came across Gareth Turner in 2000 and 2001 as a member of The Phil Beer Band. Looking back at photos from that time he appears far too young to have been the consummate musician that he clearly was. One might be tempted to offer youthfulness as the reason he, along with Nick Quarmby, nipped out for a smoke straight after the gig and never did sign the sleeve of my CD. But, despite the baby face, he was just turning 30 and already had a few years with Little Johnny England under his belt to add to almost two decades of experience, learning and playing melodeon for the Morris side in his home village of Moulton. It wasn’t until a few years later that I finally caught an LJE gig and, standing alongside GT at the bar, he more than made up for the missing signature, genuinely remembering and buying me a drink. And so started a friendship that grew and grew until the tragedy of his death last year. A friendship nurtured at innumerable festivals, most especially Cropredy, where Gareth’s G&Ts were the legendary cause of many a “morning after”. From time to time, when close by for a gig, he’d drop in for a meal and wax lyrical over Jeanie’s seafood chowder. Despite always asking, he didn’t ever get the recipe and I guess now is the time to come clean. There never was a recipe, each one a unique creation, just like Gareth. 

In 1997 Gareth was involved in plans for the band that shortly after emerged as Little Johnny England while Simon, having recently joined the lineup of Edward II, had released one album with them and was working on the next. Both were also still heavily involved with the Moulton village morris side and thought, if the side needed two melodeons, maybe the rest of the world could benefit as well? They recorded the 11 track album Two’s Up and admit to having been genuinely surprised at how well it was received. So much so that a follow up album seemed the obvious next step and, 27 years later, here it is, Two’s Up Two. Paired with the original Two’s Up for release as a two album set, it is, naturally, dedicated to Gareth’s memory and all profits will go to The Cynthia Spencer Hospice whose care and compassion was invaluable to Gareth and his family during the last year of his life.

The gatefold sleeve carries a small selection of before and after photos of the pair and a short summary of the when, the how and the why of the album, making the reader fully aware of how great an achievement it was for them to complete the recording of these tracks. Simon summed it up, (Gareth) “being a total legend, we managed to capture this recording. I’m so glad that we did because we didn’t know we would lose him so soon.” 

Also on the sleeve are the usual production credits, engineer Angus Wallace, mixing Stefan Care, mastering Andrew Thompson. But also listed are four guest musicians and the tracks on which they played. Put the track numbers together and you find there’s at least one guest on every track. So, before even listening to the album, this definitely ramps up the anticipation level as does the wide range of writing credits shown in the track listing. Matching information for the 1997 album isn’t given on this re-issue, I guess there just wasn’t room on the sleeve, but a little digging reveals there’s one name common to both albums, that of Phil Beer. He played a big part in the 1997 production, credited as engineer and producer and as playing fiddle, mandocello, mandolin and guitar. And, true to form, he’s been around to again contribute fiddle and guitar 27 years later.

Two’s Up Two opens with one of the most instantly recognisable morris tunes, Princess Royal. Both melodeons weave around the melody line supported by Nick Ellison on fiddle and add beef to the arrangement with chords from their lower register. For the final run through of the melody they mix humour into their arrangement of this most traditional of pieces, injecting staccato pauses into the slow final phrase. Next up is a pair of Simon’s tunes, Snowchains and Burning Bridges with Tim Walker, Simon’s bandmate in Banter, keeping up the lively rhythm with a variety of tapping and jangling percussion. A second guest on the track is Guy Fletcher, Gareth’s colleague from Little Johnny England. Guy is present on a total of four tracks adding mandocello, fiddle and guitar to the mix. Both these guests also contribute to the next track, a three tune set. The first tune, Brilliant Pebbles, was written by Rees Wesson the Edward II melodeon player prior to Simon joining. This merges into Mampy Moose, another tune written by a one time member of Edward II, trombone player John Hart, and a tune that Gareth relished playing with The Phil Beer Band. The final tune in the set is Barroom Brawl. 

With Bonnets So Blue/ Upton on Severn we’re back to traditional dance music and also a further appearance for Nick Ellison, this time adding some pizzicato fiddle. There are two further tracks of traditional dance tunes, Webley Twizzle/Highland Mary with Nick Ellison again and Border Morris Medley, snippets of several tunes that provide an opportunity for Tim Walker to again contribute percussion and also use his trumpeting skills to add a brass part. The Gaslight March turns a spotlight once more on Tim’s trumpet and stands out as the only Gareth and Simon joint composition on the album.

It’s not until track 7 that Phil Beer’s name appears in the credits. The track opens with Goldrush, a Gareth composition and the second and third tunes, Thomas’ Morris and Chasing the Jack are Phil’s, previously appearing on his Hardworks compilation album. His guitar backs the melodeons on both tunes and on Chasing the Jack his fiddle is certainly there, battling the boxes for a slice of the melody. Phil also plays on the final two tracks along with Guy Fletcher. Battle before Bedtime/ A Reel for Kelly, are both Gareth’s tunes and the last track, Midnight on the Water/ Eliza’s Waltz, pairs Texas fiddler Luke Thomasson’s well known tune with one that Gareth wrote for his granddaughter. With both Phil and Guy in the mix, the melodeons don’t have it all their own way in these final tunes, both fiddle and mandocello making their presence felt.

Two’s Up Two is, naturally, a lot of melodeon but the tune selection and guest contributions have ensured that, just as with the 1997 album, the music has a broad appeal. Plus, there’s a weird comfort to be drawn from knowing these tunes are the final gift Gareth wanted to leave us and, don’t forget, buying Two’s Up Two helps fund the hospice that was crucially important in Gareth’s last months. For me, listening to it keeps alive the memories of Gareth on stage, wrestling with his melodeon as if it were a wild animal that only he could tame.

Johnny Whalley.