Magenta Music | Bulldog: The Band

Bulldog

BRITISH BULLDOG were formed in the early 1980s when local musicians Paul Temple and Geoff Teague teamed up with ex-Blackcountryman singer and musician, Paul Darby to play folk clubs and venues in and around Weston Super Mare. It soon became apparent that the blend of energetic popular folk music and stand up comedy was an irresistable combination. Enquiries and bookings came thick and fast and BRITISH BULLDOG were soon appearing at venues throughout the West Country.

After a couple of years, the trio were joined by Arthur Brown. The musical line up now comprised Paul Darby’s driving vocals and accordian together with guitars, fiddle, mandolin and a whole range of other incidental instruments and props brought in for particular effect.

BRITISH BULLDOG's popularity kept growing, sometimes squeezing in up to 5 separate appearances in a single weekend. This line-up produced a live cassette recording entitled ‘Geoffrey goes to Pieces’ , which will be available early in 2009 on CD through Magenta Music.

By1987, they had dropped the 'British' and were known simply as 'BULLDOG'.

In 1988, ‘front man’ Paul Darby left the band and subsequently embarked on a highly successful career in the world of Feng Shui (see Links page). Paul's departure could have been the end of the band, which had already lost Geoff Teague (very careless!). However, the remaining members, Paul Temple and Arthur Brown decided to continue, and recruited Jan Macauley, Arthur’s sister and ex-Magenta, to add her considerable keyboard skills to the line-up.

Paul and Arthur also decided to split the responsibility for the ‘fronting’ of the band, previously taken solely by Paul Darby. This was the start of what developed into BULLDOG in the 90’s. The stand up comedy style was replaced by more onstage banter and repartie between Paul and Arthur, and more audience participation.

The accent was firmly on entertainment, but the music also developed. In addition to folk, the set list began to include original material, country, rock, and all manner of standards, comedy songs and ‘production numbers’. The transition worked and BULLDOG’s reputation as one of the West’s top musical comedy bands continued to grow, with a diary of bookings many fully professional acts would be happy with.

Over the next few years other musicians were featured in the line up, including Gaynor and Ian Paul and Ken Spencer, who played on the second album entitled ‘It’s Just not Cricket’. In 2000, Pete Thompson started playing a few gigs with the band adding a further dimension and expanding the musical scope still further. This remains the BULLDOG line-up today.

Bulldog’s appeal stems from the years of experience gained in different musical spheres which has produced a mix of styles that never fails to give real value for money entertainment. It is this adaptability which saw them booked to perform in venues as diverse as the NEC, Birmingham, Cafe Royal, London, Lakeside Country Club, Surrey, and a London Marathon Pasta Party in Hammersmith, as well as village halls, clubs, weddings, holiday camps, caravan parks, colleges, universities, theatres and forces bases up and down the country.

BULLDOG have released two albums. A third album of retrospective material is in the pipeline.