JSD Band -

JSD Band was a Scottish folk-rock combo from Glasgow that released the 1970 album Country of the Blind on Regal Zonophone, followed by two albums in 1972/73 on Cube.

Members: Jim Divers (bass, cello, vocals), Sean O’Rourke (harmonica, banjo, vocals, piccolo, flute, guitar), Des Coffield (guitar, vocals, mandolin, tenor banjo, piano), Chuck Fleming (fiddle, mandolin), Colin Finn (drums, percussion), Rob Mairs (banjo, Dobro), Lindsay Scott (fiddle, vocals)

Background

JSD Band formed in 1969 in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, from a teenage trio of bassist Jim Divers, banjoist-guitarist Sean O’Rourke, and twelve-string guitarist Des Coffield. The name combined their three first-name initials.

Divers, O’Rourke, and Coffield attended St Mark’s Primary School from 1957 and began playing together around age fourteen or fifteen, rehearsing in the Divers family garage for youth-club dances and private functions. O’Rourke also busked in Glasgow and Edinburgh on guitar and banjo, with material by Bob Dylan and the Incredible String Band. Rutherglen musician Rob Mairs gave him early banjo guidance, while folk LPs brought home from America by Coffield’s sister introduced the trio to the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners.

Colin Finn, another Rutherglen pupil who entered St Mark’s a year earlier, first worked as roadie and then joined JSD Band on drums and percussion. The quartet secured regular floor spots at local folk clubs. Humblebums comedian Billy Connolly heard JSD Band on a triple-bill with Barbara Dickson and gave the group a support slot at Glasgow City Halls. The engagement prompted the four members to leave their jobs and pursue JSD Band full time.

Northeast England dates introduced the quartet to Chuck Fleming, a classically trained fiddler from Loanhead, Midlothian, who expanded JSD Band to a quintet. The five stayed in Tynemouth and secured a residency at North Shields Police Club through a private party for local CID officers.

JSD Band won the Scottish Folk Group Championship at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall in 1970. The £500 prize led to a contract with EMI imprint Regal Zonophone. Producer Brian Ferguson then took the quintet into Craighall Studios in Edinburgh to record Country of the Blind.

Discography: