Tommy Pearce - Romany Gypsy Melodeon Player.

 

​From a long settled Romany family, living in and around mid-Devon and the edge of Exmoor, Tommy Pearce continues the musical tradition of his forebearers.

 

Tommy's great grandfather, Leonard Penfold, was well known in the locality for his melodeon playing and step dancing and would sing, dance and play at family gatherings and horse fairs such as Bampton Charter Fair - an event that Tommy and his family still attend.

 

Tommy considers himself lucky to have some hugely talented musicians in his extended family - the Birch's, Holland's and Small's, and the best known and most revered custodians of English Gypsy music, the Orchard family.

 

Tunes soon came from outside the Romany fraternity - Bob Cann, Mark Bazeley, Jason Rice and Simon Ritchie have all been influential in his playing and he wouldn't be half the musician he is today without guidance from Ed Rennie.

 

For Tommy, the true spirit of Romany music can come from any tune - it's about the pride, passion and feeling that delivers the music, and Tommy endeavours to uphold the tradition.