They come from Leigh-on-Sea, which is now a suburb of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. I went to the same school as the lead singer, and the same church as some of the rest of the band. Despite living very near to (and working in) one of the few areas that might be called traditional and villagey in the area, their music is much more heavily involved with American folk. As a result, they have carved a distinct niche in the local scene and are in demand all over the South-East. Be sure to catch them at the Leigh Folk Festival - an annual get-together that does what it says, etc..
Leigh still retains a distinctly laid-back air, and the old town has a thriving cockle fishing industry; you can see the boats puttering back and forth with strange, corrugated hoses wrapped in the rigging. The hoses actually hoover up the shellfish that are brought back and cooked in the cockle sheds that are still a main feature of the western beach. All manner of seafood can be purchased here, short of actual white-fish. The winkles are also a locally-caught speciality. The pubs have a history of villainy and smuggling and there are four in a tiny, tiny space, so you can actually do a pub crawl and hardly travel at all! How good is that?
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