Mad Dogs and Englishmen (2000-2002) was a unique, albeit short-lived collaboration between myself, my twin brother Glenn (both of The Whisky Priests) and Joseph Porter (of Blyth Power). This acoustic trio combined the songwriting and vocals of Joseph and me with Glenn's inventive accordion arrangements.
“This collaboration draws the template for what folk-rock could and should be in a world anxiously wrestling with newfound fashions and freedoms… should generate a tremendous buzz and excitement as well as positioning them to build upon their previous successes.”
(Geoff Wall, Folk on Tap)
Mad Dogs and Englishmen's sole album, 'Going Down With Alice', released in 2000, captured our spontaneity and vision, and features arguably some of my finest songs up to that point, including ‘A Rich Seam’ (later covered in a spellbinding version by English Folksinger Marie Little), the acclaimed ‘Seven Hills’, and an acoustic reworking of ‘Full Circle’ (which previously held the distinction of being the final song recorded by The Whisky Priests).
"A damned fine album!"
(Sean McGhee, Rock 'N' Reel')
Mad Dogs and Englishmen never progressed beyond the side project it was always intended to be, but, between commitments to our respective primary projects, we still managed to perform a total of thirty-three live shows in England, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.
“Porter and the Millers actually write great songs with words that mean something and are usually substantially rooted. This reminds you how subtle these guys actually are.”
(Simon Jones, Folk Roots)