SOME 50 years after The Wurzels made their Concorde debut the band is returning to the club in Eastleigh on Thursday March 23.

It follows less than a year after they last played the club.

Songs about cider drinking and combine harvesters reaped success for the band from Somerset which became sixties and seventies chart sensations.

Formed in 1966 as the backing group for singer/songwriter Adge Cutler, the Wurzels' name is short for mangelwurzel, a crop grown to feed livestock.

The Wurzels particular genre of music was named Scrumpy and Western after the group’s first EP of the same name issued early in 1967.

They played at The Bassett in Burgess Road in the early sixties, which was The Concorde’s home before moving to Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh.

Accordion player Tommy Banner is the longest serving Wurzel, joining the band in November 1967.

The Wurzels became pop stars overnight when their single, Drink Up Thy Zider hit the charts in 1966. The B side, Twice Daily was banned by the BBC for being too raunchy.

Other hits included The Combine Harvester and I Am A Cider Drinker.

Sadly, Adge Cutler was killed in a car accident in 1975 when he was just 44.

Adge’s death marked a turning point in the history of The Wurzels. Deprived of the main song writing talent, the remaining Wurzels recorded The Wurzels Are Scrumptious! in 1975.

It was an album containing many favourites from the back catalogue, including a number of previously unrecorded Cutler written songs.

To survive, the band needed its own songs and these mostly took the formula of re-written popular pop songs of the time with the lyrics changed to include the usual Wurzel themes – farming, local villages, Cheddar cheese and of course cider making.

In 1976 the band released The Combine Harvester, a re-work of the song Brand New Key by Melanie which became a UK hit, topping the charts for two weeks.

The Wurzels quickly followed its success with the release of a number of similar themes such as I Am A Cider Drinker.

As well as a series of appearances in the sixties, The Wurzels were back at The Concorde in 1970 when the club moved to its current Eastleigh home.

Even in the new millennium, the latest line up has remained as busy as ever.

In 2000 a new CD was issued The Finest Arvest of the Wurzels – a massive collection of the Wurzel’s hits. This major seller was closely followed by The Wurzels Collection – more back numbers reissued and Never Mind The Bullocks, which consisted of covers of modern pop songs.

Two singles from this album were to put the band back on the map. The first was Combine Harvester remix 2001 – an upbeat version of their 1976 chart topper, closely followed by Don’t Look Back In Anger, originally by Oasis.

Further albums of fresh recordings followed along with numerous appearances on TV shows. Requests for gigs poured in – it is not uncommon for the band to play to crowds numbered in their thousands and their fan base increased massively taking in children, university students and adults alike.

They have even played at Glastonbury Festival!

For tickets, call 023 8061 3989 or visit theconcordeclub.com