# Nigel Eaton

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nigel_Eaton
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nigel_Eaton.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Eaton
> Source revision: 1350900467
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Nigel Eaton** is a British [multi-instrumentalist](/source/Multi-instrumentalist) and composer best known for playing the [hurdy-gurdy](/source/Hurdy-gurdy). Born in [Lyndhurst](/source/Lyndhurst,_Hampshire), Eaton played the [piano](/source/Piano) and [cello](/source/Cello) before switching to the hurdy-gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began manufacturing them.[1] Eaton has been described as the "foremost hurdy-gurdy player in popular music in North America and Europe".[2]

## Career

Eaton has performed as a member of a number of different bands, including Whirling Pope Joan (with [Julie Murphy](/source/Julie_Murphy_(singer))), [Blowzabella](/source/Blowzabella), Ancient Beatbox, The Duellists, and Firestarters of Leiden. He has released six solo albums, *Panaterra* (2024), *The Music of the Hurdy-Gurdy* (1987), *Pandemonium* (2002), *Fezziwig* (2024), *Lymington Fair* (2025), and *Fête Trompêttre* (2025), as well as the collaborative album *Panic at the Café* (1993) with [Andy Cutting](/source/Andy_Cutting).

As a session musician, Eaton has contributed to the film scores for *[Robin Hood](/source/Robin_Hood_(2010_film))*, *[The Shipping News](/source/The_Shipping_News_(film))*, *[Kingdom of Heaven](/source/Kingdom_of_Heaven_(film))*, *[Aliens](/source/Aliens_(film))*, *[Mansfield Park](/source/Mansfield_Park_(1999_film)),* *[Tulip Fever](/source/Tulip_Fever)*, and Carl Davis's [1980 score](/source/Napol%C3%A9on_(1927_film)#Music) for the 1927 silent film [*Napoléon*](/source/Napol%C3%A9on_(1927_film)).[3] Eaton wrote "The Halsway Schottische", a tune which later became "The Halsway Carol" (with lyrics by friend and collaborator Iain Frisk) and has seen hundreds of versions performed.[4] He has performed [Howard Skempton](/source/Howard_Skempton)'s *Concerto for Hurdy-gurdy and Percussion* (written for himself and [Evelyn Glennie](/source/Evelyn_Glennie)) with the [Scottish Chamber Orchestra](/source/Scottish_Chamber_Orchestra) and the [Bournemouth Sinfonietta](/source/Bournemouth_Sinfonietta).[5]

Eaton has collaborated and recorded with a wide range of other artists including [Afro Celt Sound System](/source/Afro_Celt_Sound_System), [Loreena McKennitt](/source/Loreena_McKennitt), [Jimmy Page and Robert Plant](/source/Page_and_Plant), [Scott Walker](/source/Scott_Walker_(singer)), [Shelleyan Orphan](/source/Shelleyan_Orphan), [New London Consort](/source/New_London_Consort), [Heidi Berry](/source/Heidi_Berry), [Gary Kemp](/source/Gary_Kemp), [Bombay Bicycle Club](/source/Bombay_Bicycle_Club), [Blue Aeroplanes](/source/Blue_Aeroplanes), [Martin Simpson](/source/Martin_Simpson), The Palladian Ensemble, [Moya Brennan](/source/Moya_Brennan), [Robert Plant](/source/Robert_Plant), [Maddy Prior](/source/Maddy_Prior), [June Tabor](/source/June_Tabor), [Silly Sisters](/source/Silly_Sisters), The Tavener Consort, Jake Walton, and [Hamish Moore](/source/Hamish_Moore).

In addition to his work in music and film, Eaton is a designer and maker of built-in furniture in South London.[6]

## Discography

**Solo albums**

- *The Music of the Hurdy-Gurdy* (1987)
- *Pandemonium* (2002)
- *Fezziwig* (2024)
- *Lymington Fair* (2025)
- *Fête Trompêttre* (2025)

**Collaborative albums**

- *Panic at the Café* (with Andy Cutting) (1993)

**With Blowzabella**

- *Wall of Sound* (1986)
- *The B to A of Blowzabella* (1986)
- *Pingha Frenzy* (1987)
- *A Richer Dust* (1988)
- *Vanilla* (1990)

**With Ancient Beatbox**

- *Ancient Beatbox* (1989)

**With Whirling Pope Joan**

- *Spin* (1994)

**With The Duellists**

- *English Hurdy-Gurdy Music* (1997)

## Recording credits

Year Album Artist Credit(s) 1987 Mother Fist and Her Five Daughters Marc Almond & the Willing Sinners Hurdy-gurdy, percussion 1987 Spitting Out Miracles The Blue Aeroplanes Hurdy-gurdy 1987 No More to the Dance Silly Sisters Hurdy-gurdy 1991 Humroot Shelleyan Orphan Hurdy-gurdy 1993 Fate of Nations Robert Plant Hurdy-gurdy on "Come Into My Life" and "I Believe" 1994 The Mask and Mirror Loreena McKennitt Hurdy-gurdy 1994 No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Hurdy-gurdy 1997 Big City Secrets Joseph Arthur Hurdy-gurdy 1997 Les Saisons Amusantes The Palladian Ensemble Hurdy-gurdy 1997 The Book of Secrets Loreena McKennitt Hurdy-gurdy, lira da braccio, rebec 1998 Green Electric David Rice Hurdy-gurdy 1999 Magic & Mayhem Afro Celt Sound System Hurdy-gurdy 1999 Volume 2: Release Afro Celt Sound System Hurdy-gurdy on "Release" and "Release It" 2000 OVO Peter Gabriel Hurdy-gurdy 2001 Volume 3: Further In Time Afro Celt Sound System Hurdy-gurdy on "North" and "Life Begins Again" 2003 Two Horizons Moya Brennan Hurdy-gurdy 2005 Volume 5: Anatomic Afro Celt Sound System Hurdy-gurdy 2006 An Ancient Muse Loreena McKennitt Hurdy-gurdy 2007 Nights from the Alhambra Loreena McKennitt Hurdy-gurdy 2007 The Imagined Village The Imagined Village Hurdy-gurdy 2009 True Stories Martin Simpson Hurdy-gurdy 2011 Mànran Mànran Composer 2018 Lost Souls Loreena McKennitt Hurdy-gurdy

## References

1. ["Nigel Eaton age, hometown, biography"](https://www.last.fm/music/Nigel+Eaton/+wiki). *Last.fm*. Retrieved 2021-12-23.

1. Shepherd, John; Wicke, Peter; Laing, Dave; Horn, David; Oliver, Paul (eds.) (2003). *Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World*. Vol. 2. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 438. ISBN 978-1-84714-472-0. [OCLC 276305444](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/276305444)

1. ["Nigel Eaton"](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0247867/). *IMDb*. Retrieved 2021-12-23.

1. ["Halsway Schottische & Halsway Carol"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220118110316/https://halsway.musicwebdesign.nl/). Archived from [the original](https://halsway.musicwebdesign.nl/) on 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2023-03-02.

1. Hugill, Robert (2020-04-14). ["A profound sense of imagination: music for unusual combinations of instruments by Howard Skempton on 'The man hurdy-gurdy and me'"](https://www.planethugill.com/2020/04/a-profound-sense-of-imagination-music.html). *Planet Hugill*. Retrieved 2023-03-02.

1. ["Nigel Eaton: Built-In Cupboards and Bookcases"](https://www.nigeleaton.co.uk/). Retrieved 2023-03-02.

## External links

- [Nigel Eaton](https://nigeleaton.bandcamp.com) at [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp)
- [Nigel Eaton](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0247867/) at IMDb

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nigel Eaton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Eaton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Eaton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.