History of Ewell St. Mary's Morris Men
ESMMM started in 1979 when the then vicar needed some Morris Men for the local Church Fete - but couldn't find any! Since then the side have blossomed - danced into The Morris Ring in 1986 & are still dancing!
Nowadays a large repertoire of our dances are from Ewell - there's so many great old dances tunes about - we've tapped in to a few of them!
Main Influences on Ewell St. Mary's Morris Men
The old tradition of tunes handed down continues! Centuries ago Morris teams only met perhaps once a year & heard other tunes that they took back to their villages. Over the years these airs changed from village to village - so a tune with the same roots then sounded distinctively different. We keep this tradition alive by adapting tunes we like to suit our dances!
Influences, apart from endless Morris sources are as varied as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Lonnie Donegan - Sir Edward German, Gustav Holst + many of the old folk doyens over the years - the various Albion Band guises, Rattlebone & Ploughjack,Steeleye Span, The Old Swan Band, Cock & Bull Band, The Amazing Catsfield Steamers, Flowers & Frolics & many more ... could go on forever (& usually do!) We continue to be influenced by many new bands, too ... it's a moving feast!
Click on the tune titles for a short insight into them.