Folkal Point was a great yet quite underrated English folk rock band from Bristol. Underrated in the sense that it was not as popular as it deserved to be, in my humble opinion, and also not given enough critical acclaim or credit for their great talent and technique. It was, however, and still remains, a great musical group in English music history.
The history of the band starts in 1971 when the group was formed in Bristol by several talented teenagers interested in English folk music. The group’s line-up was as follows:
- Cherie Musialik (lead vocals);
- Stuart Amesbury (rhythm guitar, backing vocals);
- Mark Steed (lead guitar);
- Paul Cook (lead and rhythm guitar);
- Brian Murray (bass, backing vocals).
The band’s name is a play on words between the word folk and the notion of a focal point in optics/physics. Shortly after its formation, in 1972, the band released its debut eponymous studio album through Midas Recordings. While not so many units/copies of their first (and only) studio album were initially sold, the LP became a much sought after item in the collection of English folk music fans many years later. A sad story regarding the initial release of Folkal Point’s debut album is that many copies of it were lost in a flood. However, many years later, the studio album was remastered and reissued through Hoxa Recordings.
The frontal cover artwork of the remastered version of Folkal Point’s debut studio album released through Hoxa Recordings. Image source: personal photograph of the CD copy sent to me by band member Stuart Amesbury
The band’s only studio album contains both original material by the band as well as a selection of covers. The covers are represented by both traditional English ballads and songs by American and Canadian folk rock artists such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, or Joni Mitchell.
Inside the CD copy of Folkal Point’s debut eponymous studio album, remastered and reissued through Hoxa Recordings. Image source: personal photograph
The group’s overall sound is a mixture of folk rock, medieval folk rock, folk baroque, and ‘psych-folk’, as in the words of rhythm guitarist Stuart Amesbury (that is, short for psychedelic folk). Below you can listen to a personal selection of most favourite songs from the band’s first and only studio album released in 1971.
Trivia
Band members of Folkal Point had also collaborated in the past with ex-Led Zeppelin multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones for a couple of concerts in Bristol. I also had the privilege and honour to interview this great band in early 2022 in an episode of my rock music podcast entitled ‘Let’s Get Rocked!’. Below you can integrally listen to it:
- The band’s Wiki page on www.wikipedia.org (in English; article created and initially written integrally by me there, with further subsequent modifications on behalf of other both registered and non-registered Wikipedia users)
- The official website of the band on www.folkalpointmusic.co.uk