Raise a glass to the humorous new single “The Drunken Bellringers” from Scottish folk artist Wave Of The Flood. Inspired by a historical visit to Bath Cathedral, where the bell ringers were once asked to stop for becoming a health and safety hazard due to overindulging in merriment, the song playfully celebrates this lost British tradition with wit and warmth. Lindsay Strachan, the creative force behind Wave Of The The Flood, explained that the long history of bell ringing for community events and holidays struck him, and the comical story of the overly merry ringers who caused their tradition to stop became the inspiration for the track.
Strachan shared: “I visited the belltower on a tour a few years ago and was struck by the beautiful sound of the bells, and the long history that bell ringing has across the land – chiming for weddings, Christmas, and community events. But, they were once a fun regular hobby too, until the bell ringers were asked to stop for being a health and safety hazard The idea really tickled me, so I wrote a comical take on the characters I imagined.” “The Drunken Bell-Ringers” is the seventh in a series of twelve monthly singles released in tribute to the golden era of the forty-five-rpm record and to mark Strachan’s own forty-fifth-birthday year.
The track was produced by acclaimed folk artist Kris Drever of Lau, who lends his signature guitar and rousing vocals to the recording. It also features John McDonald on double bass and Dylan Cairns on fiddle, creating a joyful, toe-tapping slice of festive folk that is the perfect soundtrack to a cheerful Christmas pint.