History

The band was formed by four climbing friends who had travelled up to Langdale to climb on Raven Crag, but got rained off so did a quick scramble up Jack's Rake and spent the rest of the day in the Sticklebarn Tavern where the local folk festival was taking place.

At around 11pm the four, in the true spirit of punk rock, and drunkenness, decided that they could do this and the band was born.

Jack's Rake 1.0: Mark Pugh, Ruth Ellis (now Goff), Matt Goodwin and John Taylor

A Soodlum's book was bought and a mandolin and guitar borrowed and "Star of the County Down" quickly became the first number on the set. Shortly afterwards a fifth member, Hellen Bolton - on Flute, further enhanced the line up and, over the next couple of years, the repertoire grew and a band identity and sound developed.

Ruth Goff	John Taylor

The first big break came when Mark's sister & future brother in law invited the band to play at their wedding and Uncle Albert Pugh kindly allowed them to play a warm up gig at his pub the week before. Fortunately, there is no remaining evidence of the first gig and the video of the wedding remains firmly under lock and key in an undisclosed location.

Soon after this, however, the band was greatly enhanced by the addition of Mick Greenwood on guitar and, soon afterwards, Rob Whale on violin. Thanks to these two the quality of the band's performances as a whole, plus the playing of the other members, grew in leaps; confidence increased and Jack's Rake were well on the way to becoming the band you see today.

Hellen Bolton	Mick Greenwood	Alan Corish

 

Of course, nothing lasts forever and, over time, changes in circumstances & commitments and, in Mick's case, country have meant that various members have come and gone. As some of the earlier members moved on, we were joined by Paul Hartley, Catherine Colston (now Pugh!) and Hannah Smalley.
A further dimension was added when Kate Smith and Sarah Drake joined us to bring a touch of youth, fantastic female harmonies and, of course, an increase to the violin count – never a bad thing! Rachel Curry joined us, initially as cover for Hannah while she was at university but her playing and singing ability plus her immediate contributions to the band ensured she quickly became a full member. Rob, Rachel and Kate have now moved on due to too many other commitments but still join us for the occasional gig. Ella Sprung and Rebekah Foard are our most recent additions.

Honourable mentions here, also, to Chloe Jade Simmons, Vickie Elliott, Gareth Jones, Katrina Whale, Colm Mullaney, Alan Corish, Frederieke Blok and Sean Finn who have also added their skills into the mix over the years!

Former Members Rob Whale, Kate Smith and Rachel Curry:

Kate	Rob	Rachel