Draft:Critterhill Varmints
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Submission declined on 9 August 2026 by Theroadislong (talk).
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Critterhill Varmints | |
|---|---|
 In preparation for the Letter from America Tour, 1988 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Genres | Indie folk, celtic rock, country folk, folk rock, post-punk |
| Years active | 1986–1991 |
| Label | None |
| Members | Micky Marr Nick Schad JJ Jamieson Gary Mackenzie James Lumsden Craig Gaskin Ben Ivitsky Molleson |
The Critterhill Varmints were a Scottish bluegrass band active between the mid-1980s and 1991.
History
[edit]Formed in Edinburgh as part of a burgeoning and diverse music scene there in the 1980s, which included the likes of the short-lived bluegrass psychobilly contemporaries Swamptrash (many of who went on to form the widely successful Shooglenifty), We Free Kings, The Dogfaced Hermans, HeeHaw, and many more, the Critterhill Varmints played both traditional and contemporary acoustic bluegrass and Appalachian-style tunes, initially busking in bars on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
The line up included Micky Marr (guitar and vocals), Nick Schad (fiddle 1986 - 1988), JJ Jamieson (banjo), Gary Mackenzie (drums), James Lumsden (bass), Craig Gaskin (mandolin) and Ben Ivitsky Molleson (fiddle (1988 - 1991).
After seeing them perform, The Proclaimers invited the Varmints in 1988 to join them on a 12 date UK and Irish tour[1] to promote their 1987 debut album This is the Story. The Varmints continued to play and tour extensively thereafter on the UK folk and festival circuit [2], [3], [4], [5], until their demise in late 1991, even as their legacy lived on[6] .
The band recorded a number of sessions in Edinburgh and released these off label, including on cassette, Pump Up The Turkey, Ghost Train, and L’entente Cordiale, recorded at Chamber Studio, Pier House Studio and Sonic Studios respectively.
Their first TV appearance was on the Channel 4 arts programme 'Halfway to Paradise' in 1989.[7].
Many of the band continued to play (Marr and Molleson with Kith and Kin, Jamieson with Bongshang). Schad's other band HeeHaw, by then demised, has since featured in film maker and author Grant McPhee's 'Scene Within A Scene: Scottish Independent Music 1992-2001'[8] and on the Cherry Red Records 3 cd box set 'Something for the Longing'[9]. Lumsden is now an internationally represented artist[10].
Finally, historian and TV presenter David Olusoga's BBC Two 'A House Through Time' programme includes the Varmints in his 6th Series which features 20 Calton Hill, Edinburgh as the band used the house in which to practice[11].
References
[edit]- ↑ Dave Jennings (27 February 1988). "THE PROCLAIMERS/CRITTERHILL VARMINTS". Melody Maker.
Source is a review of the Birmingham gig available as a photograph of the original newspaper clipping in a private archive.
- ↑ "1989 Festival Archive". Shetland Folk Festival. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ "The Big Day at Night. The Haugh, Glasgow Green". The Herald. Herald Scotland. 4 June 1990. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ "Record Mirror" (PDF). World Radio History. Spotlight Publications. 3 June 1989. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ Lindsay Reid (1989). "The Varmints". Evening News.
Source is a review of the band available as a photograph of the original newspaper clipping in a private archive.
- ↑ Wilson, Sue (21 May 2012). "Gig review: The Coal Porters, Woodend Bowling and Lawn Tennis Club, Glasgow". The Scotsman. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ "Critterhill Varmints". YouTube. caleythistleineurope. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
- ↑ Scene Within A Scene: Scottish Independent Music 1992-2001 - Grant Mcphee's Scottish Indie Scenes. Omnibus Press.
- ↑ Something for the Longing (Scottish Independent Pop 1985–1999) (Media notes). Various Artists. Cherry Red Records. 2026. ASIN B0GKWFSKGS.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ↑ [James Lumsden], "James Lumsden", https://www.jameslumsdenartist.co.uk/, accessed 11 August 2026
- ↑ David Olusoga (presenter), Jonathan Rowlands (director) (13 August 2026). "Edinburgh". A House Through Time. Series 6. Episode 1. 59 minutes in. BBC. BBC Two.
Category:Musical groups established in 1986 Category:Scottish folk rock groups Category:Scottish Celtic rock groups Category:Scottish post-punk music groups
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