# Bill Caddick > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bill_Caddick > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bill_Caddick.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Caddick > Source revision: 1311649493 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the English footballer, see [Bill Caddick (footballer)](/source/Bill_Caddick_(footballer)). **Lewis Frederick William Caddick** (27 June 1944 – 19 November 2018)[1] was an English [folk](/source/Folk_music) singer-songwriter and guitarist, particularly noted for his songwriting and as a member of the innovative and influential group [Home Service](/source/Home_Service). ## Career outline He was born in [Hurst Hill](/source/Hurst_Hill), [Wolverhampton](/source/Wolverhampton), England.[1][2] Singing since the 1960s in [folk clubs](/source/Folk_club) and [festivals](/source/Folk_festival), in 1973 Caddick joined the [street theatre](/source/Street_theatre) group [Magic Lantern](/source/Magic_Lantern_(street_theater)), formed by [Taffy Thomas](/source/Taffy_Thomas) and described by Mel McClellan on the [BBC](/source/BBC) website as "legendary".[3] He left Magic Lantern in 1975 to concentrate on his solo career,[2] becoming well known as a festival artist in Britain and overseas. In 1977, he joined the [Albion Band](/source/Albion_Band) in the [National Theatre](/source/Royal_National_Theatre) productions of *[Lark Rise](/source/Lark_Rise_to_Candleford)* and *The Passion*. Caddick later collaborated with [Tim Laycock](/source/Tim_Laycock) and [Peter Bond](/source/Peter_Bond) in a stage show and album about [circus](/source/Circus) life, called *A Duck on his Head*. About this time, he wrote songs for radio and TV, and performed his own songs in a film about the [Tolpuddle Martyrs](/source/Tolpuddle_Martyrs). From 1980 to 1985, Caddick was a member of the renowned [folk-rock](/source/Folk-rock) band [Home Service](/source/Home_Service).[2] He continued to write and perform at clubs and festivals, albeit in a more low-key way than before, as well as continuing his involvement with the National Theatre, writing and appearing in several plays which included *[Don Quixote](/source/Don_Quixote)*, and *[The Mysteries](/source/The_Mysteries_(play))* (an award-winning trilogy performed in the [West End](/source/West_End_theatre), on TV and throughout Europe, as well as at the National). In later life Caddick ran a folk club in his home village of [Jackfield](/source/Jackfield) and, as well as his solo career, was a member of three groups: local band the Jackfield Riverbillies, ceilidh band All Blacked Up and as part of the [Anne Lennox Martin](/source/Anne_Lennox_Martin) Band.[4] His songs, such as "[John O'Dreams](/source/John_O'Dreams)", "Unicorns", "Oh to Be a King", and "She Moves Among Men", have been [recorded](/source/Sound_recording_and_reproduction) by numerous other musicians including [June Tabor](/source/June_Tabor), [Faustus](/source/Faustus_(band)), [Chris Foster](/source/Chris_Foster_(folk_singer)), [Alex Campbell](/source/Alex_Campbell_(singer)), [Christy Moore](/source/Christy_Moore), [Priscilla Herdman](/source/Priscilla_Herdman), Dan Evans, [Peter Rowan](/source/Peter_Rowan), [John Kirkpatrick](/source/John_Kirkpatrick_(folk_musician)), [Artisan](/source/Artisan_(group)), [Coope Boyes and Simpson](/source/Coope_Boyes_and_Simpson) and [The Yetties](/source/The_Yetties).[4] ## Personal life and death Caddick's marriage, to June Powell, ended in divorce. He married his second wife, illustrator Katherine Soutar, in 1996.[5][6] He died on 19 November 2018, aged 74.[1] He is survived by his wife Katherine their son, Tam, and by Christy, his son from his first marriage.[6][5] ## Discography ### Solo recordings - *Rough Music* (1976) - *Sunny Memories* (1977) - *Reasons Briefly Set Down* (1979) - *Wild West Show* (1986) - *Urban Legend* (1991) - *Winter With Flowers* (1995) - *[Unicorns](/source/Unicorns_(album))* (2002) In 2009 *Two-Fisted Heroes* from *Wild West Show* was included in [Topic Records](/source/Topic_Records) 70-year anniversary boxed set *[Three Score and Ten](/source/Three_Score_and_Ten)* as track seventeen on the fifth CD. ### Group recordings - (With The Albion Band) *Lark Rise To Candleford* (1979) - (With Bond, Caddick & Laycock) *A Duck On His Head* (1980) - (With Home Service) *Doing The Inglish* (1981) - (With Home Service) *Home Service* (1984) - (With Home Service) *The Mysteries* (1984) - (With Home Service) *The Mysteries* EP (1985) - (With Home Service) *Wild Life* (1995) - (With Home Service) *Early Transmissions* (1996) - (With The Jackfield Riverbillies) *Cherokee* (1999) ### As session musician - [John Kirkpatrick](/source/John_Kirkpatrick_(folk_musician)) – *Going Spare* (1978) - [Richard and Linda Thompson](/source/Richard_Thompson_(musician)) – *[First Light](/source/First_Light_(Richard_and_Linda_Thompson_album))* (1978) - Peter Bond – *See Me Up, See Me Down* (1979) - Tim Laycock – *Capers & Rhymes* - Various Artists – *All Through The Year* - Ashley Hutchings – *The Guv'nor Vol 2* (1997) - Jan Davies – *Magpies* - [Les Barker](/source/Les_Barker) – *Tubular Dogs* - Various Artists – *Festival* - Anne Lennox-Martin – *Born to the Breed* (2004) ## References 1. ["Bill Caddick obituary"](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/28/bill-caddick-obituary). *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2021. 1. [Colin Larkin](/source/Colin_Larkin_(writer)) (ed.) (1992). *[The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Popular_Music)*. First ed. [Guinness Publishing](/source/Guinness_Publishing). p. 389. ISBN 0-85112-939-0. 1. ["BBC - Radio 2 - Folk and Acoustic"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/reviews/unicorns.shtml). *Bbc.co.uk*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070902202125/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/reviews/unicorns.shtml) 2 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 August 2021. 1. [\[1\]](http://www.sabrinaflu.co.uk/Bill%20Caddick.htm) [dead link] 1. Schofield, Derek (28 November 2018). ["Bill Caddick obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/28/bill-caddick-obituary). *Theguardian.com* 1. ["English folk singer-songwriter Bill Caddick dies at 74"](https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2018/11/bill-caddick-dies/). *Folkradio.co.uk*. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018. ## External links - [Bill Caddick's website – Archived 15 September 2017](https://web.archive.org/web/20170915091933/http://billcaddick.co.uk/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Caddick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Caddick) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Caddick?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.