‘Our style is a bit folky, a bit alternative, a bit charmingly quirky and melancholic and we can actually do what we want, play and write what we want. with who we want ..so we do..’
5 Albums later , Andy has a new solo album and a collection of songs from the poems of WB Yeats in 2025
Here is a track from Album Number 5 ‘Catch my Breath”
ALL AT SEA….. our most magnificent moment of 2016 at St Georges Bristol with huge scratch choir..
Did you come and visit after hearing us on BBCRadio 6? If so welcome…and here is the video for the track that Tom Robinson has played a handful of times..and he also added “2 Steps Forward ‘ to his 2018 best of mixtape.
‘You can emerge at any age, its all about what comes out of the speakers.’ …Tom Robinson
‘ 3 Bucket Jones – I think you did it in the right order‘ …Peter Gabriel
We have been together 11 years.
The evolution of 3 Bucket Jones started at a song writing retreat at Monnow Valley Studio in Sept 2013. The first song of the first album was written on the first day they met. We decided then and there to make an album. THREE albums down the line, (with another on its way) the collective is continually evolving . Andy and Gitika have taken the Buckets on the road in 2016 with the help of glorious guitarist Bruce Knapp, a multitude of (over 300) singers and 5 members of the Tredegar Town Band to form the 3 Bucket Jones supergroup -another chapter in the collective’s story. The music, was then described as Bjork, Kate Bush meets Sgt Pepper – acoustic folk, smart pop – with radio tracks segued next to Dave Gilmore, Kate Bush and Antony and the Johnsons, can be heard here, on the website, Bandcamp, Soundcloud , Spotify, iTunes etc. Our second album “Take These Ghosts” was released on 8th July 2016, and have release 12 singles- one a month since March 2017 which was released as album number three on 25th May 2018.
The collective continues to evolve… the core members being –
Gitika Partington
UNSTOPPABLE Singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, community choir leader ( she loves her choirs like they were her own..)composer . She made her first record at the age of 6 with the ‘Partington Family Singers’ Mum, Dad, Brother ( who is now a member of the Roaring Tromen..cool sea shanty group) and sister and has been making music full-time ever since – too many bad bands to mention, too many rejections to be reminded of. SO many glorious moments when she said ‘take me now! life can’t get any better than this!’ Poverty and Richness of spirit run deep in the family DNA – as does emphysema and PTSD ( both her granddads died at the age she is now – Coal Miners and WW1 survivors and her Dad, a magnificent singer had Tuberculosis and spent his first 10 years in a sanatorium keeping all the other kid’s spirits up). Gitika leads 3 large non-audition community choirs in London, an inner city primary school choir and writes and arranges music for voice and instrumental ensembles. Gitika has 4 acapella books published by OUP and Novello and has acapella arrangements on new website that she is a board member choircommunity.net She has twice taught the whole audience of the Royal Albert Hall a song, and has taught over 3000 kids music in Inner London Schools. She believes, as do Radio 2 folk awards, that it is never ever too late to shine brightly over the horizon. She is a massive Count Arthur Strong fan . Her personal gitikapartington youtube channel of videos of her community choirs and videos for kids has had over half a million hits ( piffle really) She has never had any laurels to sit on and has been on the coal face of the music world all her life. She
is a single handedly responsible for the websites, the designs, the distribution, the videos, the social media and often the recording and is obviously really bossy ! ( ahem …how to spot a misogynist..)
Andrew McCrorie-Shand
– Multi instrumentalist, arranger,producer and composer of music for film and tv – particularly for children, including the music for Rosie & Jim, The Twirlywoos and The Teletubbies – a national treasure – no less. Andy has a collection of things with 4 strings. He was a founder member of the Prog-Rock band, Druid, (produced by Whispering Bob Harris), and worked with all sorts of musicians including Curved Air, Steve Howe, Leo Sayer & Sarah Brightman. He spent several years helping emerging artists get a first foot on the ladder such as Jack Garratt and The Staves,
when life was a bit more fruitful and there were apples to spare – Now we are back to recording in the bedrooms and basements …..Great places to be. Don’t let anyone tell you that size is everything. Great music can happen in very small spaces with instruments with not enough strings and recorders and cheap keyboards (ours is from Argos -£35)
Other musicians who have joined us on our journey..
Ali Orbaum –
Ali – an amazing vocalist, harmoniser musician and percussionist joined us for some live work and our 4th album of Live songs. She has been in many great bands and a couple of successful acapella groups and also has been running popular singing workshops and community choirs across the UK for the past twenty years. She directs Bristol’s huge and lovely Gasworks Choir (founded with Dee Jarlett in 1997) and is MD for Sing for Water West and Handfuls of Harmony. She also runs Sing Your Socks Off holidays and teaches at Unicorn Voice Camps and the Bristol Community Choir Convention. Best bongo and Marimba player this side of the Holloway Road and a glorious singer and harmoniser.Previously co-director of the award winning acappella group Naked Voices. She loves helping people discover that nothing really bad will happen if you lift up your voice. and join in.
Bruce Knapp – joined us for our 2016 tour –Guitarist, Ukulele, Dobro Mandoline. Full -time professional musician. Bruce has over 30 years of experience playing around Britain and the rest of the world. He have played with numerous Jazz, Blues, Soul, Funk, Folk and ‘World’ music bands. Bruce has been a key player in the 3 Bucket Jones live journey and can wash-up under pressure ( a pre-requisite)
The Tredegar Town Band members joined 3 Bucket Jones on their second album and on their 2016 tour
and will hopefully be spending more time playing with them both recording and live in the future.
Singers in Every Town
– so far members of community choirs from London, Bristol, Brighton and Sheffield have sung backing vocals with the 3 Bucket Jones live shows. There were over 300 singers on this tour from many choirs including- The Bishopsgate Singers, The Tubthumping Chorus (London) The Gasworks Choir ( Bristol) Outaloud ( Sheffield) Hullaballo ( Brighton).
Val Regan
We wish she lived nearer as we would be popping round with our guitars and recorders all the time…For now we have written a couple of cracking songs with her, one has already been arranged into an acapella choir song that the Tubthumping chorus have sung already. Val is a composer, acapella arranger, and choral director in Sheffield.
Garry Hughes
He was there for the first 2 albums. Oh how we ate! A fine chef, producer, synth collector and ambient man. See six degrees records for more of his amazing work .Thanks Garry – it was a blast.
3 Bucket Jones 