Gally's Folly - Mickey Ripley (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica) & Mandy Gustafsson (vocals, flute, whistles, ukelele, concertina, percussion) - are an acoustic-based duo writing, recording and performing their own original material, which has enabled them to establish a wide repertoire of deep rooted songs inspired by everything from Mickey's memories of his native North East, stories from the first world war, spiritual snapshots of the wild Cornish landscape and its ancient standing stones, to tales invoking characters and scenes from the drinking haunts of London's old Soho. (Oh, and let's not forget the continuing fascination and concern for all matters metaphysical!) Their music is imbued with a love and knowledge of traditional folk, but in the live forum they perform with an energy and passion that tips a hat to rock'n'roll. Incidentally, for any rockers interested in Mickey's past exploits, here's a quick profile; He cut his musical teeth as frontman/vocalist with hard-rockin' tearaway boogie boys the Red Dogs and recorded and toured with them to outstanding reviews and packed houses throughout the early nineties. They released the Sweet Little Ruby ep before going on to record the Wrong Side Of Town album with former Jethro Tull drummer Barriemore Barlow on production duties. This was followed by the Working Late cd, the ten tracks for which were recorded at legendary bassist John Entwistle's own home Hammerhead Studio with The Who's long-serving soundguy Bob Pridden engineering. After the Red Dogs split (with their guitarist Paul Guerin later going on to join former touring buddies the Quireboys) Mickey formed the folk/rock outfit Josh, gigging extensively and producing the Head in the Clouds ep before swallowing the acoustic/folk bug completely and teaming up with Mandy to hit the long, winding road (and many's the untrodden path too!) as Gally's Folly. However, that journey has really only just begun, and the story is still to be written.!
Gally's Folly relocated to Cornwall's beautiful far west through 2001-03. Basing themselves in St.Ives they also hosted the weekly Songwriters' Night which at the time was held at The Lifeboat Inn on the wharf by the harbour. Here they forged lasting friendships with many of the local musicians, writers and artists who continue to perform and work in the area.
After moving back to London, Mickey and Mandy enjoyed a successful return to St.Ives as "host band" for the September Festival 2005, on a bill which included Show Of Hands, Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies, Patrick Street, Flook, Last Night's Fun, and 3 Daft Monkeys.
They've shared stages with many of their musical idols, such as Martin Carthy and Vin Garbutt, while more recent highlights include a sold out support slot with Seth Lakeman, and a night Mickey will never forget, playing with one of his early heroes (and using the great man's guitar to boot!), the legendary Wizz Jones.
CDs currently available include "Tall Tales", "Time and Tide" and "Boskednan" and with lots of new material in the pipeline, recording of a new album should begin in the near future. CDS AVAILABLE TO BUY AT ECHO BEACH, THE WARREN, ST IVES
Lately Gally's Folly's line-up has been supplemented with the addition of concertina, melodeon and violin.
We also now have a Facebook page, so send us a friend request, if you haven't already received one from us!
