Featuring musicians Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, Mike Waterson, Jim Boyes, Lester Simpson, and Barry Coope, Blue Murder have been a treat for folk festival attendees since the 1980s. The group came together at England's Whitby Festival in 1988, claiming they did the show just to let loose and have some fun. Originally a collaboration between Swan Arcade and the Watersons, they played regularly in 1988 and 1989, but stopped to work on their own material until 1994. It was then that they added Coope, Boyes, and Simpson to the lineup and recorded a track for the Joseph Spence tribute album Out on the Rolling Sea. They occasionally reunited at festivals until 2002, when they started recording their first album. Using traditional British folk songs but performing them in a method that best resembles a folk choir, the group maintained legendary status because of their live shows. Recorded in the spring of 2002, No One Stands Alone appeared that summer and was followed by several live appearances. Vocalist Barry Coope died on November 6, 2021 at the age of 67. ~ Bradley Torreano