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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{primary sources}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name = The Spooky Men's Chorale
| name = The Spooky Men's Chorale
| image = Spookylogo01.png
| image = The Spooky Men's Chorale with Kate Rowe (6001368799).jpg
| caption = Official logo
| caption = With Kate Rowe
| background = group_or_band
| background = group_or_band
| origin = [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]], [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]
| origin = [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
| genre = [[Folk music|Folk]]
| genre = [[Folk music|Folk]]
| years_active = 2001–present
| years_active = 2001–present
| label = Independent
| label = Independent
| website = [http://www.spookymen.com/ www.spookymen.com]
| website = [http://www.spookymen.com/ spookymen.com]
| current_members =
| current_members =
| past_members =
| past_members =
}}
}}
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'''The Spooky Men's Chorale''' is a group of Australian male singers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/spooky-mens-chorale-review-spookily-good-20140721-zvdyr.html|title=Spooky Men's Chorale review: spookily good|first=John|last=Shand|date=21 July 2014|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/13/the-spooky-mens-chorale-warm-review-harmony-song-troupe-go-beyond-a-joke|title=The Spooky Men’s Chorale: Warm review – harmony-song troupe go beyond a joke|last=Denselow|first=Robin|date=13 August 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=2 October 2015}}</ref> Most reside in the [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]] region of [[New South Wales]], but some are from [[Western Australia]]. Their repertoire consists largely of songs either written or arranged by their director (or "spookmeister") [[Stephen Taberner]], on topics ranging from power tools to covers of [[ABBA]] songs. They also perform traditional [[Music of Georgia (country)|Georgian music]], a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocal style.

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'''The Spooky Men's Chorale''' are a group of [[Australia]]n male singers. Most reside in the [[Blue Mountains (Australia)|Blue Mountains]] region of [[New South Wales]], but some are from [[Western Australia]]. Their repertoire consists largely of songs either written or arranged by their director (or 'spookmeister') [[Stephen Taberner]], on topics ranging from power tools to covers of [[ABBA]] songs. They also perform traditional [[Music of Georgia (country)|Georgian music]], a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocal style.

The group performs in a humorous, idiosyncratic manner that is informed by archetypical male behaviours and demeanour.
<blockquote>''"It is not possible to state when the existence of the Spooky Men first came to light . Early settlers in the Blue Mountains reported attacks on livestock and evidence of scats and the occasional pawprint. It is only in recent years that sceptics have been disabused of the notion that the Spooky Men's Chorale is the stuff of fanciful legend."'' <ref>[http://www.spookymen.com/origins.php The Origins of the Spookymen]</ref></blockquote>


==History==
==History==
The Spooky Men's Chorale were created by Stephen Taberner and made their first appearance in August 2001 as part of an evening called "This was nearly my life" at [[Paddington, New South Wales|Paddington]] Uniting Church, Sydney. Taberner claims he called up every man he knew who could sing and "taught them 3 songs, and asked them to show up wearing black and with an interesting hat."<ref name="taberner">[http://www.stephentaberner.com/index/extras/Entries/2010/6/2_The_foolishness_came_later-a_history_of_the_spookymen.html “The foolishness came later” - a history of the spookymen] Stephen Taberner's Blog, 2 June 2010</ref> The three songs were "Vineyard", a Georgian church song, "Georgia", a mock Georgian original, and "The Mess Song".<ref name="taberner"/> The latter was an existential rumination on the aftermath of breakfast written by New Zealand’s [[Don McGlashan]] and Harry Sinclair of [[The Front Lawn]].<ref>[[The Front Lawn]] (1993) [http://www.last.fm/music/The+Front+Lawn/_/Breakfast%2BAnthem%252FMess%2BSong More Songs from the Front Lawn].</ref>{{not in citation given}}
The Spooky Men's Chorale were created by Stephen Taberner and made their first appearance in August 2001 as part of an evening called "This was nearly my life" at [[Paddington, New South Wales|Paddington]] Uniting Church, Sydney. Taberner claims he called up every man he knew who could sing and "taught them 3 songs, and asked them to show up wearing black and with an interesting hat."<ref name="taberner">[http://www.stephentaberner.com/index/extras/Entries/2010/6/2_The_foolishness_came_later-a_history_of_the_spookymen.html "The foolishness came later" - a history of the spookymen] Stephen Taberner's Blog, 2 June 2010</ref> The three songs were "Vineyard", a Georgian church song, "Georgia", a mock Georgian original, and "The Mess Song".<ref name="taberner"/> The latter was an existential rumination on the aftermath of breakfast written by New Zealand's [[Don McGlashan]] and [[Harry Sinclair]] of [[The Front Lawn]].<ref>[[The Front Lawn]] (1993) [http://www.last.fm/music/The+Front+Lawn/_/Breakfast%2BAnthem%252FMess%2BSong More Songs from the Front Lawn].</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2014}}


In the first couple of years the group performed and rehearsed sporadically until the [[National Folk Festival (Australia)|National Folk Festival]] of Easter 2004, held in [[Canberra]], which effectively launched the group and where, thereafter, they became cult heroes. The gig at the National was also the debut of what would become the Spooky theme song ("We are the Spooky Men, We dream of [[mastodon]]s…") which typified the brand of humour they were beginning to define. The attention received at the [[National Folk Festival (Australia)|National Folk Festival]] 2004 gave rise to a series of opportunities to put their music before a wider audience. This included a wide range of festivals in Australia, appearances on the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] and regular annual tours of the United Kingdom.
In the first couple of years the group performed and rehearsed sporadically until the [[National Folk Festival (Australia)|National Folk Festival]] of Easter 2004, held in [[Canberra]], which effectively launched the group and where, thereafter, they became cult figures. The gig at the National was also the debut of what would become the Spooky theme song ("We are the Spooky Men, We dream of [[mastodon]]s ...") which typified the brand of humour they were beginning to define. The attention received at the National Folk Festival in 2004 gave rise to a series of opportunities to put their music before a wider audience, and they are now a staple at folk festivals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/07/the-spooky-mens-chorale-silly-thoughtful-folk-and-world-music|title=The Spooky Men’s Chorale – silly, thoughtful and in perfect harmony|last=Denselow|first=Robin|date=7 September 2015|work=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=2 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lep.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/review-the-spooky-mens-chorale-winter-gardens-morecambe-3779654|title=Review: The Spooky Men’s Chorale - Winter Gardens, Morecambe &#124; Lancashire Evening Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/02/cambridge-folk-festival-review-billy-bragg-seasick-steve-gypsy-kings-suzanne-vega|title=Cambridge Folk festival review – a safe but charming return|date=2 August 2022|website=the Guardian}}</ref>
In the words of Taberner, the Spooky Men's Chorale is still "a work in progress, and more than every so often we are no more than spectators to the pure spirit of manbooferie [sic] which inspires us."<ref name="taberner"/>


==The Men==
==Members==
[[File:Spooky Mens Chorale Rudolstadt 11.jpg|thumb|The Spooky Men's Chorale performing "Dies ist keine Männergruppe" ("This is not a Men´s Group") at [[Rudolstadt-Festival]] 2019]]
The Spooky Men's Chorale typically perform with between 12 to 16 singers, the exact number at any one time depending on the particular circumstances, locations and so on. When touring in the UK, the group are joined by some local singers.
The Spooky Men's Chorale typically perform with between 12 and 16 singers, the exact number at any one time depending on the particular circumstances, locations and so on. When touring in the UK and Europe, the group are regularly joined by up to 6 UK based singers. The UK contingent also perform in their own right as A Fistful of Spookies.


==Discography==
==Discography==


===Albums===
===Albums===
* ''[[Tooled Up]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Tooled Up]]'' (2004)
* ''Stop Scratching It'' (2007)
* ''Stop Scratching It'' (2007)
* ''Urban Sea Shanties'' (2009) - [[Iain Campbell Smith|Fred Smith]] & The Spooky Men's Chorale
* ''Urban Sea Shanties'' (2009) - [[Iain Campbell Smith|Fred Smith]] and the Spooky Men's Chorale
* ''Deep'' (2009) with DVD
* ''Deep'' (2009) with DVD
* ''The Spooky Man in History'' (2013)
* ''The Spooky Man in History'' (2013)
* ''Warm'' (2015)
* ''Welcome To The Second Half'' (2019)


===EPs===
===EPs===
* ''Big'' (2011) containing 3 tracks (Big, The Thing, The Man in the 17th Row)
* ''Big'' (2011) containing three tracks ("Big", "The Thing", "The Man in the 17th Row")

==Touring==
The group mainly performs in Australia, appearing regularly at the [[National Folk Festival (Australia)|National Folk Festival]] and other similar events. Since 2006 the group have regularly toured in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] including gigs at various festivals such as the [[Sidmouth Folk Week]], [[Shrewsbury Folk Festival]] and the [[Towersey Village Festival]].


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.spookymen.com Official website]
*[http://www.spookymen.com/ Official website]
*[http://www.stephentaberner.com/index/home.html Stephen Taberner]
*[https://www.facebook.com/fistfulofspookies/ A Fistful of Spookies]

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2011}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spooky Men's Chorale, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spooky Men's Chorale, The}}

Latest revision as of 21:17, 25 January 2023

The Spooky Men's Chorale
With Kate Rowe
With Kate Rowe
Background information
OriginBlue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
GenresFolk
Years active2001–present
LabelsIndependent
Websitespookymen.com

The Spooky Men's Chorale is a group of Australian male singers.[1][2] Most reside in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, but some are from Western Australia. Their repertoire consists largely of songs either written or arranged by their director (or "spookmeister") Stephen Taberner, on topics ranging from power tools to covers of ABBA songs. They also perform traditional Georgian music, a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocal style.

History

[edit]

The Spooky Men's Chorale were created by Stephen Taberner and made their first appearance in August 2001 as part of an evening called "This was nearly my life" at Paddington Uniting Church, Sydney. Taberner claims he called up every man he knew who could sing and "taught them 3 songs, and asked them to show up wearing black and with an interesting hat."[3] The three songs were "Vineyard", a Georgian church song, "Georgia", a mock Georgian original, and "The Mess Song".[3] The latter was an existential rumination on the aftermath of breakfast written by New Zealand's Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair of The Front Lawn.[4][failed verification]

In the first couple of years the group performed and rehearsed sporadically until the National Folk Festival of Easter 2004, held in Canberra, which effectively launched the group and where, thereafter, they became cult figures. The gig at the National was also the debut of what would become the Spooky theme song ("We are the Spooky Men, We dream of mastodons ...") which typified the brand of humour they were beginning to define. The attention received at the National Folk Festival in 2004 gave rise to a series of opportunities to put their music before a wider audience, and they are now a staple at folk festivals.[5][6][7]

Mitglieder

[edit]
The Spooky Men's Chorale performing "Dies ist keine Männergruppe" ("This is not a Men´s Group") at Rudolstadt-Festival 2019

The Spooky Men's Chorale typically perform with between 12 and 16 singers, the exact number at any one time depending on the particular circumstances, locations and so on. When touring in the UK and Europe, the group are regularly joined by up to 6 UK based singers. The UK contingent also perform in their own right as A Fistful of Spookies.

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]
  • Tooled Up (2004)
  • Stop Scratching It (2007)
  • Urban Sea Shanties (2009) - Fred Smith and the Spooky Men's Chorale
  • Deep (2009) with DVD
  • The Spooky Man in History (2013)
  • Warm (2015)
  • Welcome To The Second Half (2019)

EPs

[edit]
  • Big (2011) containing three tracks ("Big", "The Thing", "The Man in the 17th Row")

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Shand, John (21 July 2014). "Spooky Men's Chorale review: spookily good". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ Denselow, Robin (13 August 2015). "The Spooky Men's Chorale: Warm review – harmony-song troupe go beyond a joke". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b "The foolishness came later" - a history of the spookymen Stephen Taberner's Blog, 2 June 2010
  4. ^ The Front Lawn (1993) More Songs from the Front Lawn.
  5. ^ Denselow, Robin (7 September 2015). "The Spooky Men's Chorale – silly, thoughtful and in perfect harmony". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Review: The Spooky Men's Chorale - Winter Gardens, Morecambe | Lancashire Evening Post".
  7. ^ "Cambridge Folk festival review – a safe but charming return". the Guardian. 2 August 2022.
[edit]
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