Friends of Fiddler's Green
Friends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto founded in 1971 and still active as of 2018. The members of the group at the time of its first recording, 1981's This Side of the Ocean, were Alistair Brown, Tam Kearney, Grit Laskin, David Parry, Ian Robb, Laurence Stevenson, and Jim Strickland. Another half-dozen former members from the band's first 10 years are listed on the back of the album. In all the years since, the lineup has stayed remarkably consistent, with only Jim Strickland having left the ensemble. David Parry remained performing with the group until his death in 1995, as did Tam Kearney until his death in 2013. Additions to the line up have included singer & musician Ian Bell, and also Jeff McClintock on keyboards. Jeff was later replaced by Cherie Whalen, only to rejoin the band after Cherie's departure for family reasons. The name of the group is derived from Fiddler's Green, a mythical place of dancing and happiness. Tam Kearney and Jim Strickland, both Scottish immigrants living in Toronto in the 1960s, founded Fiddler's Green Folk Club on Eglinton Avenue, behind the YMCA. Gradually a nucleus of musicians developed, initially doing