Derbyshire Uprising Inspires New Album From The Amber Band
ENGLAND’S last armed rebellion has inspired a new album from one of Derbyshire’s favourite folk bands. The Pentrich Revolution has been largely forgotten and even in Derbyshire is not widely known. The new album by The Amber Band, The Pentrich Revolution, recounts the history of the uprising in eleven songs chronicling the events and the people involved.
On 7 November 1817 three men were executed at Derby Gaol for high treason. They were leaders of an armed uprising against the government. The revolt began on 9 June 1817 when a band of around 300 men from Pentrich and other Derbyshire villages set out to march to Nottingham. They had been tricked by a government spy into believing they were taking part in a national uprising against a government that was doing nothing to help relieve the widespread and abject poverty in the country.
Before the marchers reached Nottingham they were met by a troop of dragoons who put them to flight and the “revolution” was over in just one night.
The uprising occurred against a background of spiralling unemployment as workers were replaced by mechanisation. Soldiers and sailors returning from the Napoleonic Wars made matters worse as jobs became increasingly scarce. There was a cost of living crisis too as the Corn Laws led to the price of bread being kept artificially high and the Tambora volcanic eruption in 1815 caused dramatic climate changes that resulted in failed harvests for two years
The band came across the story of the revolution whilst looking for songs about Derbyshire for their album County Fair. Guitarist, Kevin Quinlan said, “As we got to know more about the history of the uprising, it became clear that there was more than enough material to write a whole album about it.”
“There are so many individual stories to tell about the leaders of the uprising: Jeremiah Brandreth, Isaac Ludlum and William Turner, who were hanged and beheaded at Derby Gaol; the spy William Oliver; the 14 men who were transported to Australia and the families left behind, who sank into dire poverty after the Duke of Devonshire demolished the homes of all those who had been involved in the rising.”.
Simon Martin, the band’s bass player said, “The uprising is really a tragic tale of desperate men who were persuaded by a government spy that a national uprising was imminent and the rest of the country was waiting for the men in Derbyshire to rise up first. It’s a significant piece of Derbyshire’s history and deserves to be remembered. We hope our new album will help.”
The Amber Band are currently writing songs for a tribute concert on 19 December celebrating the life of Alison Uttley, the famous author from Cromford Derbyshire whose children’s books have been loved for generations. The band are also appearing at a Christmas concert by John Tams on 19 December at St. Peter’s Church in Belper.
The Amber Band
The band was formed six years ago in Ambergate and The Pentrich Revolution is their seventh album. The line-up is guitarist Kevin Quinlan, Denise Quinlan on keyboards, bass player Simon Martin, Katrina Farrell on fiddle and percussionist Ian Kirk.
The Pentrich Revolution will be available on all major streaming channels. CD versions can be obtained directly from the band by contacting them via Facebook. Alternatively they can be ordered via The Pentrich and South Wingfield Revolution Group’s Facebook page or at pentrichrevolution.org.uk. CDs cost £5, plus postage and packing.
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