Formed way back in the swamps of time by Phil Butler, Nick Barber and Phil's lodger Dave Moreman, the Bees were almost called the "Mumbo Gumbos" until the Boat Band's Allison Parkes (who played accordion on our first E.P) threatened to have nothing to do with us if we called ourselves that.... Our first gig was a private booking at the King's Arms in Stoke, with the above line-up. Nick then taught himself the accordion and the three blokes busked at the Crewe Arms in Crewe and at the Meynell Arms in Shropshire before the line-up expanded to include Di Johnson on frottoir and percussion and Ian Campbell on various guitar shaped objects.This drummer-less line-up continued gigging until a gig at the Manchester Cajun Club, when we were joined by Tim Clarey. Thereafter we went through fiddle players like Spinal tap went through drummers - basically ; * none could play in the style we wanted *one had a pet rat which she kept under her hat *and another was an Anerican Sci-Fi writer.. Ian decided that Japan was the place for him and he toddled off to pastures new, while Dave Moreman went and got married to be replaced by the humungous (6 foot 8 inches tall) Craig Beverley. We sacked