Home Service

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For the British radio station, see BBC Home Service.

Home Service was a British folk rock band.

Formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band.

Members:

• John Tams - vocals, melodeon, guitar
• Bill Caddick - vocals, guitar
• Graeme Taylor - electric guitar
• Jon Davie - bass guitar
• Michael Gregory - drums, percussion
• Howard Evans - trumpet
• Roger Williams - trombone, tuba
• Steve King - keyboards

Debut single - 'Doing The Inglish' b/w 'Bramsley' - came out in August 1981 on Jo Lustig's Luggage label. It was followed in 1983 by the first LP, 'Home Service', on the Jigsaw label.

Like the late-seventies Albion Band from whom they had split, Home Service ended up spending much of their existence working in the theatre, most notably as part of Bill Bryden's 'The Mysteries' at the National Theatre. Here the band line-up was augmented by Phil Langham, Eve Matheson, Philip Pickett, Linda Thompson and Andy Findon (on Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Flute and Clarinet - he subsequently became a regular member of the band). An abridged version of the music from 'The Mysteries' was released on an album on the Coda label in 1985.

1985 saw the departure of Bill Caddick, who with Tams had been joint lead singer and song-writer. However the LP which followed Caddick's departure, 'Alright Jack', was in many ways the band's strongest. Tams' songs of social and political comment, such as 'Scarecrow' and 'Sorrow', were set alongside a folk-rock rendition of 'Lincolnshire Posy', a setting of folk songs by Percy Grainger (originally scored for large wind ensemble).

Home Service split - or perhaps just faded away - in the late 1980s. They reformed briefly, with a slightly changed line-up (but once again including Bill Caddick) in 1992. Recordings from this tour appeared on a final, live album, released as 'Wild Life' (Fledgling Records).