Bob studied traditional music at Leeds University, where he also ran the folk club, and in the early seventies founded the cult folk/rock band Mr. Fox. The band made two albums for Transatlantic Records, and soon developed a substantial following in the burgeoning folk/rock scene of the time. With Bob's then wife Carol on fiddle and vocals, Mr Fox were renowned for their live show, which veered between the unbelievably good and the unbelievably awful!
When Mr. Fox foundered, Bob made two L.P.'s (as they were known then) with Nick Strutt and released his solo album 'Ancient Maps' in 1975. Since then Bob's work has found a broad base in education and the arts. Song cycles were commissioned by the Hebden Bridge and Ilkley Literature Festivals, he published two books on folklore and took part in many schools projects. He was Oral Historian at the Arvon Foundation in Heptonstall in 1976/7 and writer in residence in Cleveland from 1982-4. For the next three years he organised the Legal and General nationwide songsearch competition whilst writing music for T.V. and film, including the score for the Ken Loach feature 'Black Jack'.
In 1990 Bob moved to the Highlands, becoming Ross and Cromarty's musician in residence until the Council was dissolved in 1998. During this time he organised many workshops and concerts and wrote music and songs for the community productions of 'MacBeth' and 'Storm'. He also performs regularly as a storyteller, and runs workshops for children, especially at Whitby Folk Week, where his 'Children In Performance' sessions have been running to great acclaim for many years.
Bob's Rhiannon album was his first new recording since The Shipbuilder. "The Last Wolf" (RHYD5009) contains material from all stages of Bob's life and career, starting with 'Fiddler's Cross', written in the early '70's when Bob was living in Leeds, through the Calderdale cycle of songs, written for and performed at the Hebden Bridge Literature Festival of 1978, through to 'The Mermaid' and 'A Dram For The Singer', written for the Ross and Cromarty Arts production 'Storm'. Bob is now working as a freelance arts advisor, combined with gigs as a solo artist and his new love, storytelling.
Releases by Bob Pegg
RHYD5009
The Last Wolf