BiogRichard Grainger is one of the most prolific and diverse artists on the Folk Scene today, working tirelessly to promote the music and folk arts in general to an ever widening audience .
Born in Middlesbrough, an industrial town on the North East coast of England, he was brought up in a musical family, and sang with them from a very young age. He now resides in a small moorland village in North Yorkshire.
At school Richard showed little interest in any of the subjects except, of course, music and English. He sang in the school choir, listened to recordings of folk and blues musicians and took up the guitar inspired, like so many of his generation by the early recordings of Bob Dylan and Martin Carthy.
Richard toured the north east folk clubs and was invited to join the Teesside Fettlers, a very popular Folk Group, in the 1980’s. He’d followed in the footsteps of Vin Garbutt and his mentor, Ron Angel and his songs achieved wider recognition in the process.
In 1984 his first solo album was released by FELLSIDE. Produced by Paul Adams, it received great reviews – some comparing him to the ‘incomparable’ Nic Jones and Martin Carthy.
Before long, Richard was touring throughout the UK at folk clubs and major festivals and was regularly heard ‘live’ and on record on BBC’s Folk on 2.
During the 1990’s Richard performed with well known folk musician, Dick Miles and then accordion genius, Chris Parkinson. Both partnerships were recorded and received critical acclaim. Both partnerships have been renewed during 2008.
Since 1995 Richard has been filling the role of artistic director to several festivals. He is in demand by local authorities and arts organisations to use his expertise in developing new events and staging productions.
In recent years he has added several musical plays to his repertoire. Among the most notable of these is ‘The Journey Home’ – a rewrite of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, which was premiered in Sicily at The University of Catania, in 2003. That was preceded by 'Eye of the Wind' telling the tale of the world renowned explorer James Cook. The play was produced for radio with BBC's David Attenborough narrating.
His latest production,'The Moorland Whalers’, was inspired by his long association with the Yorkshire Coast town of Whitby and work he carried out for The Ryedale Folk Museum in North Yorkshire . It tells the story of The Yorkshire Whaling Industry through the recollections of those who took part.
Richard released his 11th album ‘WAR HORSE’, in January 2008. The CD has received much critical acclaim and was described by folkradio.co.uk as: “a classic folk album that will stand the test of time”.
Richard is a guitarist, singer, songwriter , writer and entertainer . An innovator who likes to perform to a wide audience. Watch out for his new band and his on - going solo tour.
For more information contact: World Festival Artists on 01287 660965