Polly Bolton
An extremely talented vocalist who rose through the Coventry acoustic band Dando Shaft, before joining Bert Jansch, and then finally giving up music at the end of the '70s. She left to become a market gardener—using her degree in botany. A revival gig with her old partner, Kevin Dempsey, impressed Ashley Hutchings, and she became involved in several of his projects: The Albion Dance Band's I GOT NEW SHOES (1987) (she sang the female part in the tangled love of By Gloucester Docks I Sat Down And Wept), and the live, AS YOU LIKE I by The Hutchings Allstars. She subsequently worked as a session singer, before releasing her own album in 1989. With John Shepherd (keyboards) and Steve Dunachie (fiddle), she formed The Polly Bolton Band. Their musical plan, a mixture of traditional songs in an almost baroque, pastoral setting, was effectively displayed on SONGS FROM A COLD, OPEN FIELD, on which Bolton adopts some jazz phrasing. She is at last receiving the recognition she deserves, and is one of the most in-demand singers on the folk scene.