Oldham Tinkers

The Oldham Tinkers are an English folk music band, formed in 1965 by John Howarth and brothers Larry and Gerry Kearns in a pub in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England.^[1] They sing in Lancashire vernacular with subjects ranging from childhood, music hall, to poetry and historical subjects, mainly about Oldham and surrounding parts of southern Lancashire.^[2]

Members

Larry Kearns died in June 2016.^[3] but David Howard has taken his place for the performances they continue to give.^[4]

Discography

Their work is published by Topic Records, initially with various other artists, Deep Lancashire (1968) and Owdham Edge (1970), but subsequently by themselves on:

• Oldham's Burning Sands (1971)
• Best o't Bunch (1974)
• For Old Time's Sake (1975)
• Sit Thee Down (1977)
• That Lancashire Band (1979)
• An Introduction to The Oldham Tinkers (2018)
• A Lancashire Grace (2021)

Their songs also contributed to the Topic Records anniversary compilations:

• Three Score & Ten (2009)
• Vision & Revision (2019)

Their song Peterloo about the eponymous massacre was also included on the Ozit Records CD:

• Chris Hewitt and the late John Peel Present Peterloo (2010)

They recorded various radio sessions for the BBC from 1969.