Churchyard, Roger

He was a fiddler, mandolin and guitar player and arranger born in England who was active in the music business from the 1960s.

He was a member of The Coal Creek Trio, who originated in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, and went from them to become an original member of the Orange Blossom Sound, which was regarded as one of the first bluegrass bands from Britain. They appeared as contestants on the BBC Television programme Opportunity Knocks, performing on three separate shows, and their popularity saw him touring Britain with Buck Owens in 1969, recording the album Orange Blossom Sound and touring Norway the following year. Also in 1969 he performed with the group Matthews Southern Comfort , appearing on the album Second Spring.

Going into the 1970s he featured with the singer Krysia Kocjan in 1974, worked with The Walker Brothers and Dolphin in 1977 and performed with the successful group Voyage who charted in the UK in 1978 and 1979 with songs such as “From East to West”, “Souvenirs” and “Let’s Fly Away”.

He could be heard performing gigs with the group Roger Churchyard and Friends and at bluegrass festivals such as Kentucky to Kent UK which is held annually in Kent, England. At this event he also held fiddle workshops.

He passed away in February 2015.

Here he is performing “Joli Blond” with The Dawgs..

Sources:

Churchyard, Roger (??-February 2015)

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