Background
Born in Harrow, he first picked up the melodeon after breaking his leg at the age of eleven and was taught his first tunes by his father.
Born in Harrow, he first picked up the melodeon after breaking his leg at the age of eleven and was taught his first tunes by his father.
Through that he was invited to join the ceilidh band Phungus as cover for the main melodeon player Paul Nye who had been unwell. This line up has evolved into Random which plays folk festivals and has recorded two albums. In early 1994 he met Eliza Carthy, and with Nancy Kerr they formed The Kings of Calicutt.
Subsequently he joined Waterson:Carthy.
He toured extensively with both bands and eventually formed a successful duo with Eliza Carthy. With Dan Plews, Rose formed Dansaul.
More recently Rose has joined Faustus and Whapweasel, played in Ruth Notman"s band, and re-launched his duo with hammered dulcimer player and fellow Kings of Calicutt member Maclaine Colston. In summer 2009 he joined Jim Moray"s regular band.
In 2009 Rose was nominated for the 2010 British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2 Folk Awards in the category Musician of the Year, but lost out to fellow squeezebox player John Kirkpatrick.
In 2011 Rose took the part of the Songman in the West End play War Horse playing and singing as well as some acting roles.