Alex

Alex started playing the fiddle in Scotland at the age of 5, then moved to England and got caught up in classical music. Violin lessons gave way to tuba lessons, then trombone, then clarinet, then nothing.

In 1978 he went to a folk festival and got interested. He picked up a tin whistle and began teaching himself tunes off of Corries and Clancy Brothers tapes. He joined a band playing for English Barn Dances, and picked up more tunes. Soon he joined Bedford Morris Men and picked up some more tunes. Soon he had a trio, "The Three Cornered Hat" (Harvey Smith on fiddle, Alex Monaghan on whistles, Tim Billington on piano box). The group were playing for Playford Dances twice a month (17th/18th century English dances, each to a specific tune), Barn Dances in the summer, weddings etc, and busking round England.

Then Tim and Alex left school (Harvey was younger), and he spent a year in France. At that point he had just bought a button box, and joined a traditional group in Vierzon ("Les Berriauds") where he picked up a repertoire of Central French tunes on the box and whistle. He also began to get into Irish music.

After France, Alex was off to Edinburgh University. There he joined the Folk Society performing and teaching whistle, and booking traditional artists from all over Scotland to play in Edinburgh venues. He joined Lothians Morris Men, Beltane Rapper Sword Dancers, and New Scotland Country Dancers, and performed at festivals all over Europe. Alex was also was a founder member of the Edinburgh University Piping Society, and the Eriskay Ceilidh Band (a foursome with Iain Greig on button box, Neville Browne on fiddle, Trevor Brown on guitar and Alex onwhistles, button box and stringed things. In between times, he found himself playing in sessions in the Fiddler's Arms, Royal Oak, Arches Bar and West End Hotel.

The Eriskay Ceilidh Band performed all over Scotland for about three years, but eventually split up when two members left Edinburgh. Alex formed a new band which gloried in the name "The Muckle Tumshie": himself, Colin Matheson (keyboards and guitar), Alex Hudson-Craufford (bass) and Dave Kidd (drums) and continued to play ceilidhs, weddings, and so forth, until he left Edinburgh in 1993.

For the next 7 years Alex lived in Dublin, playing in traditional sessions and picking up the Irish repertoire. He was soon playing for set dances in Hughes' Bar twice a week. The move from Edinburgh coincided with the launch of the Living Tradition magazine, and Alex has been writing for that since the magazine started. Then Irish Music Magazine was launched, and he started writing for that too! Alex also launched himself into a career in radio, scripting and presenting almost 100 shows with a high traditional music content.

Alex left Ireland in 2000, moved back to Bedford and soon joined the local sessions. After an invitation to join "Hair of the Dog", he ended up playing with "Life of Riley" for a year or so before his job made regular gigs impossible. Since then he has been playing in sessions around Europe, writing tunes, practicing in hotel rooms, and playing occasionally as a soloist or with various outfits including Bedford Ceoltas, Bedford Morris Men, Kelso Connection, Muckle, and now An Broc.

So there you go. If you want more, google him!