Essential John Tams Pictures

Pictures of John Tams

Click on the small images to load the larger files in separate browser windows. Some are very large, sorry.

Reminder - where I have linked to pictures on other sites I am not responsible for any copyright issues, which should be taken up with the owners of those sites. OK - More or less in chronological order, and "including one of me smiling - I need to have a word with you about that, I think it must have been touched up."John Tams Oh aye, they can do anything with computers these days...

Muckram Wakes in 1973, from the sleeve of the album "A Map of Derbyshire". l-r John Tams, Helen Wainwright, Roger Watson. The picture was taken in the grounds of Cecil Sharpe House by Janet Kerr, and I'm afraid this one is reproduced without permission.

From the homepages of Phil Beer, who was in the Albion Band with JT. Right at the bottom are some 1970's photos featuring a particularly tasteful tie.

(Since writing that, the second picture has disappeared. It is so good I have put it here. It was taken by Keith Tapscott but is reproduced without permission, which I don't like doing, so if anyone knows who has the copyright please let me know. It gets much more legal from here down.)

Mr Exton has put lots of pictures of Albion album covers on his page. John Tams lounges elegantly on the back of Rise Up Like the Sun.

Photo taken by Tony Fisher of the Albion Band around 1978. Anybody know who the guy on the squeezebox is?

On Bill Caddick's homepage there is a picture from Home Service's days in the National Theatre. You will have to click on "About Bill" until I figure out how to link to it directly.

For Home Service pictures and article.

With Home Service at Bracknell festival in 1986. Photo is by Ian Anderson of fRoots. (144kb)

Different year, same tent, different jacket

With Home Service, again at Bracknell festival but taken by Mike Barnes. (399kb)

From 1995, Steeleye Span Concert pictures.

	During the shooting of the TV series Sharpe (thanks to Jason Salkey for photo). Is that a regulation forage cap, Rifleman Hagman?
	Thanks to Jason Salkey for this one too, which is a still from his film "The Video Diaries of Rifleman Harris". See Film page for link to ordering details.

From the 1999 run of The Mysteries. Far left: Rehearsal picture taken by Nobby Clarke, l-r John Tams, Trevor Ray, Iain Robertson. Left: John Tams before a performance, melodeon at the ready.

Here is a picture taken by another fan, Julie Mitchell, at Towersey Folk Festival 2000. Andy Seward is in the background and the lovely Keith Angel in front. (321kb)

If you type "John Tams" into the search box on this archive from the Maidenhead Advertiser you will find an article, which tells us not much, and a stunning picture! If you've got Acrobat Reader, that is.


BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2001 "Oh it's hard, this. If this was the Oscars, you know, they wouldn't ask Alan Bates and Oliver Reed, after they got their award, to do the nude wrestling scene from Women In Love..." John Tams These are all reproduced from www.bbc.co.uk.folk and are copyright of the BBC. John Tams receives his Best Album award from Sue Johnston, Best Original Song from Martin Carthy MBE, and plays "Harry Stone", with Andy Seward on bass in the background

Thanks to Ed the soundman (Ed's site) for this "action shot" of the band at Morecambe in 2001. l-r Barry Coope, Andy Seward, Keith Angel, John Tams, Graeme Taylor, Alan Dunn.

And some more taken by Karl Greenow, at Cambridge 2001.

John Tams in a cricket hat signing autographs at Cambridge Folk Festival 2001

And here's my picture from Cambridge... see, it is him, it says so on the table! It was very hot that day, even for the normally well layered JT. He's not wearing a scarf, it's a towel.

A sepia toned John Tams looking actorly with Bill Bryden

This one is a rehearsal photograph from from the programme of The Good Hope, so must have been taken in 2001 before the play started to run and he got his hair cut! Photo by Nobby Clark. l-r William McBain, John Tams, Bill Bryden, Ken Anderson, Charlotte Emmerson, Howard Ward

From the inlay of the EP "No.47: Music of the Good Hope" (see Merchandise page). Left to right: John Tams, Charlie Hart, Chris Coe, Alan Dunn, Keith Thompson, Graeme Taylor. Photo by Nobby Clark.

John Tams and Barry Coope - appearing soon at a folk club near you!? Photo by Bob Owen.

John Tams and Barry Coope doing their stuff at Westhoughton Folk Club. Photo by Roger Liptrot - click on the picture to go to the rest of his 'Folkimages' gallery and look out for photos from Fylde Folk Festival 2003 as well!

The Borderline, London, March 2003: Photo by Chris Bates Concert Photography

Fylde Folk Festival 2003, Fleetwood, Lancs. Always a great crowd and the scene of my first ever encounter with Mr Tams, so delighted to have this photo by Martin Woodhead - click on the picture to go to his Imageacoustic site.

A review of a 2004 Tams/Coope gig at Arreton on the Isle of Wight also includes a picture of them at the soundcheck.

A breathtaking shot by Tony Fisher taken at the Christmas Concert 2004, with Barry's wife Fi in the background.

Now for some Moving Pictures

Here you used to be able to watch the entire cycle of The Mysteries, as filmed in the mid 1980's You probably still can but I think you'll have to pay. Those who saw the plays back in the eighties would probably say watching it on video doesn't capture the experience. I didn't see them, but this captures enough of the atmosphere to show there was something very special going on.