Biography
-
Members
- Bonny Sartin
The Yetties, the trio of John "Bonny" Sartin, Pete Shutler (died 21 September 2014) and Mac McCulloch, was, during their long career, one of England's most popular folk groups. They took their name from the Dorset village of Yetminster which was their childhood home. Their obvious love of the West Country, it's songs, stories and humour won them friends wherever they went.
Since turning professional in 1967 their music and their enthusiasm took them far beyond the villages of Dorset. They travelled extensively in Europe and, under the auspices of the British Council, performed successfully in many countries, including Thailand, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, Sudan, India, Bangladesh, The Maldives, The Philippines, Ethiopia and Canada. They had the knack of breaking down language barriers and getting people involved in what they did. Audience participation in a Yetties show was a very important ingredient and people joined in from the word go whether they were 9 or 90.
Over the years they recorded no less than 45 albums for different companies. Most of these were a mixture of songs and music but they have also been involved in some other fascinating projects. Thomas Hardy (the Dorset writer and poet) was also a musician. He and his family, over several generations, collected hundreds of folk tunes. The Yetties have done 2 recordings Thomas Hardy's own fiddle and other Hardy family instruments. So, because of The Yetties, Hardy's violin was brought back to life and so were his favourite jigs, polkas, reels and waltzes. Another recording of which they are extremely proud is a collection of songs and stories about cricketers of the past with John Arlott
For years they have had a regular series on BBC Radio 2 called 'Cider & Song'. They also have numerous other Radio and TV appearances to their credit. They must be about the only performers to have worked on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Despite all this The Yetties have never lost their genuine feeling for the countryside. They now live in Sherborne (just a few miles from Yetminster) and they draw on their personal experiences of country life for their concert programme. Some of the songs they sing recall what life was like when they were kids helping the farmers at harvest time, scrumping when the farmers weren't looking, raiding the hedges, fields and woods for food and eating rabbit for practically every meal. They talk of village characters and village occasions and create the atmosphere of the village social.
The Yetties announced that they were retiring, with their final event being a ceilidh, concert and "everything must go sale" in April 2011 in their home town of Sherborne.
The Yetties represented the heart and soul of England, which is still there if you dig deep enough. Modern technology has changed our life styles a tremendous amount but people don't change that rapidly they still, given the chance, like a good old sing-along of a Saturday night.
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
