"The greatest thing to come out of Barnsley,
since the A61 to Sheffield"
Jarvis Cocker, musician
"Always enjoy the boys from The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican. When the North goes independent I am suggesting ' Too Good To Be Jus' is our national anthem. Great fun"
Jason Manford, comedian
"Some of the funniest men on the planet... parodists extraordinaire"
Mike Harding, comedian, folk-musician, author & broadcaster
THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE UK'S HARDEST-WORKING COMEDY BAND
Put on yer finest knitted gladrags, style your barnet, put on your dancing shoes and bring your finest singing voices, as we cordially invite you to witness the Greatest Show On Earth (in tank-tops).
Hailing from Barnsley Rock City in t'North, The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican are on a mission! Determined to follow in their spiritual father’s immortal footsteps and keep his legacy alive, they have a talent for Bar-Stewardizing other famous people’s songs with new comedy lyrics, on acoustic geetar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, accordion, keyboard, keytar, and the world's first synthesiser ukulele! To complete their squeaky-clean image, brothers-from-other-mothers Scott, Björn and Alan have become instantly recognisable for their immaculate hair and their stylish choice of knitwear.
A band that is both perpetually on the move and joyously independent, since forming in 2006, they have played over 1200 side-splitting shows to date, and have brought smiles and belly-laughs to audiences across the UK; from Barnsley to Barnstaple, from Glastonbury to Glasgow. They continue to wow audiences with their anarchic live shows and a fine selection of their greatest hits, including the likes of “Jump Ararnd”, “The Lady In Greggs”, "How Deep Is Your Glove?", "Paint 'em Back", "Walking In Manpiss" and “If I Could Punch A Face… It’d Be Justin Bieber’s”.
They have written and recorded eleven studio albums, independently released over 40 live recordings, successfully crowd-funded eight separate independent vinyl releases, played on top of mountains, wowed-festival goers across the length and breadth of the UK, had six different beers brewed and named in their honour by four different breweries, sold-out five consecutive shows on a Mississippi paddle-steamer on the Norfolk Broads in less than 30 seconds, hosted their own sell-out music and comedy festivals, written & performed in their own musical, are featured in the Experience Barnsley Museum Music Archives, hold the bar-takings record for at least ten theatres, have been the recipients of six different individual awards, as voted for by the public in the Barnsley Music Awards, played the Avalon Stage at Glastonbury Festival, and to 20,000 people at Fairport's Cropredy Convention (twice!), and even scaled the dizzy heights of a #1 and a #2 single and a #2 album on the iTunes Comedy Charts (plus a National chart position in the Top 100)!
Not bad for a daft little unsigned comedy folk band from Barnsley, eh?
Photo by Graham Whitmore
As well as appearances at festivals and venues across the UK, including Glastonbury Festival, Fairport Convention's Cropredy Convention, Cambridge Folk Festival, The Levellers' Beautiful Days Festival, Bearded Theory's Spring Gathering, Rebellion Punk Festival, Kate Rusby's Underneath The Stars Festival, Wychwood Festival, Warwick Folk Festival, Towersey Festival, Watchet Live, Wickham Festival, Camper Calling and many, many more), they have also had the pleasure to collaborate with, tour with, support or share the same bill as many of the world's finest live acts from a wide range of genres, including (in absolutely no particular order):
Levellers, Fairport Convention, Frank Turner, Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band, The Darkness, Chas & Dave,
The Flaming Lips, The Hives, The Selecter, The Wurzels, Gipsy Kings, Shed Seven, The Blockheads, Roy Wood, Afro Celt Soundsystem, Mike Harding, Dreadzone, 3 Daft Monkeys, Richard Thompson, John Otway, Nizlopi, Richard Digance, Oliver/Dawson Saxon, Focus, Toyah, The Wildhearts, Van Der Graaf Generator, The Sweet, Simon Friend (Levellers), Matthews Southern Comfort, Chumbawumba, Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, Maartin Allcock (Fairport Convention/Jethro Tull), Carter USM, Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls (The Wonder Stuff), Ben Ottewell (Gomez), Danse Society, Tony Christie, Mark Chadwick (Levellers), Tom Hingley (Inspiral Carpets), The Urban Voodoo Machine, Heaven 17, Bananarama, Spiers & Boden, Lil' Jimmy Reed, T'Pau, Dub Pistols, Jeremy Cunningham (Levellers), The Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Sound Of The Sirens, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Reverend & The Makers, Tony Wright (Terrorvision), Hugh Whitaker (The Housemartins), Chris Difford (Squeeze), Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys), Billy Bragg, Level 42, Reef, Dave Pegg & Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention), Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq, Sleeper, Lemar, Show of Hands, Seth Lakeman, The Bay City Rollers...
and even Dick & Dom!
The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican can’t wait to bring their shindig to a festival field or venue somewhere near you and they promise that they WILL rock you… but gently!
Photo by At The Barrier