Show of Hands
Sturdy West Country folk with a sharp political edge. Rich baritone vocals and intricate mandocello rhythms that feel like the soil and soul of rural England.
Sturdy West Country folk with a sharp political edge. Rich baritone vocals and intricate mandocello rhythms that feel like the soil and soul of rural England.
Show of Hands delivers a sound that is deeply rooted in the English landscape, specifically the rugged beauty of the West Country. It is music that feels hand-built and sturdy, centered around the resonant, gravelly baritone of Steve Knightley and the fluid, virtuosic multi-instrumentalism of Phil Beer. Their songs carry the weight of tradition but are never trapped by it, often pulsing with a rhythmic drive that borders on rock energy despite the acoustic instrumentation.
What truly distinguishes them is their ability to marry historical narrative with biting contemporary social commentary. They are the rare folk act that can make a song about the 2008 banking crisis feel as timeless and essential as a centuries-old murder ballad. The interplay between the mandocello, fiddle, and Knightley's rhythmic guitar work creates a dense, earthy texture that supports their powerful vocal harmonies, resulting in a sound that is both intimate enough for a village hall and expansive enough for the Royal Albert Hall.
For those new to the duo, their mid-2000s work offers the perfect entry point. It captures their transition from traditional folk heroes into a more experimental 'world music from the West Country' phase, where African rhythms and ambient textures began to seep into their rural English foundations without ever diluting their core identity.
Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mandocello). Joined by singer and double-bassist Miranda Sykes for a tour in 2004, Show of Hands continued to regularly perform as a trio with Sykes, as well as in their original format. The line-up was further expanded in 2019 by the addition of Irish percussionist Cormac Byrne. Known for their songs with rousing choruses that address contemporary social issues, (notably their "singalong attack on the bankers," Arrogance Ignorance and Greed) these often illustrate current concerns through historical narratives and have earned Knightley the label the 'Gravel voiced spokesman of the rural poor'. Rooted in English traditional music the songs are shot through with diverse influences from music across the world, including the blues, Americana, and Latin rhythms. Nominating Knightley as 'songwriter of the '90s,' Tom Robinson of BBC Radio 6 noted that the songs spring from "the soil of the West Country," where, as Robin Denselow writes in the Guardian, "Beer and Knightley have become folk heroes". Widely recognised as pioneers in the folk/roots arena, both for their enduring emphasis on stagecraft and their radical business model, Show of Hands are noted for the high level of professionalism they bring to their performances, whether in a small club or the Royal Albert Hall. Their "much vaunted cottage industry," set up Show of Hands as an independent concern before the internet made this common practice. Beer and Knightley, with their then manager, Gerard O'Farrell, built on their close relationship with their growing and "devoted" fanbase to create a completely self-contained way of working. This included their record label and production company Hands On Music, that gave them control of their consistently 'classy' output. Show of Hands have received widespread critical acclaim over their 30 album (and continuing) career, and in 2006 were voted "Greatest Devonians Ever" in a poll run by Devon Country Council beating Sir Francis Drake, Agatha Christie and Chris Martin amongst others to the title.
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