Band
History
 The
original idea of creating a Wurzel's tribute band is hard
to pin-point. Perhaps it was Jethro Tool
watching The Wurzels at the Guildford Festival in July 1999,
or perhaps it was a New Years Eve spent at the Fox &
Badger in Wellow listing to Wurzels songs. Or perhaps it
was the hidden ambition of Seth Pitt to
recapure the glory days of The
Scrumpy Bashers...
After
toying with the idea for a while, Jethro and Seth invited
two friends - singer Hedge Cutter and drummer
Old Git along to the band's first practice
in Seth's front parlour in January 2005. Armed with sheets
of lyrics, piles of biscuits and mugs of coffee - and no
scrumpy whatsoever (as everyone had to drive home afterwards!),
The Mangledwurzels were born.
 The
band made their debut (pictured left) supporting local glam
rock band The Glambusters at The Weston Hotel in
Bath on Friday 13th May 2005. Not an auspicious date, but
it matched the thirteen-song set they were performing. Fortified
by the fine ales the pub serves, a rowdy crowd - mostly
players and officials from Odd Down FC - convinced the foursome
that perhaps a Wurzels tribute band wasn't the stupid idea
they had originally feared. More gigs were planned, and
The Mangledwurzels were on their way.
 The
band had slimmed to a three-piece by the time of their second
gig - the first full gig by the band - which took place
at the Somerset Wagon in Chilcompton in July 2005. They
are pictured (right) a few hours before the gig ordering
the scrumpy at Jethro's local, the Fox & Badger pub
in Wellow. From left to right, they are Hedge Cutter
on vocals and percussion, Jethro Tool on
electronikal wurzelhorns and backing vocals, and Seth
Pitt on guitars, bass drum and backing vocals.
 By
the end of 2005, the trio had played 30 gigs including the
Mid-Somerset Show in front of
several thousand show-goers and the Hotwells
Street Fair - and their first ever wedding
reception where they serenaded the bride and her weddng
party under the trees (pictured left). They ended the year
with a brilliant New Year Eve party in Adge Cutlers' home
town of Nailsea, deep in Wurzels' country!
 2006
saw the band start to establish their name across the county.
They were interviewed live on
Jo Phillips' Live Music Friday Show on BBC Somerset Sound
in February, where they performed three songs (pictured
right).
They were also interviewed for the BBC
Somerset website a few months later, and Seth had his
own interview with the Somerset
Guardian in August. And the gigs poured in, with the
band playing over 80 shows by the end of the year including
the Bridgwater Carnival, the Frome
Medieval Street Fayre, the Clevedon
Flower Show, the Sherston International
Boules Festival in Wiltshire, and of course,
their regular slot at the Mid-Somerset
Show. But the highlight of the year took place
on
Saturday 25th November, when the band took over the Charlton
Inn in Shepton Mallet, and recorded their debut album.
In
2007, the band moved to a new level starting with a traditional
Somerset Wassail; something which has become a tradition
of the band's now too.
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