Background
He was born on Lilburn Tower Farm near Wooler, and went to school in nearby Chatton.
He was born on Lilburn Tower Farm near Wooler, and went to school in nearby Chatton.
Foreign all his working life, he was a shepherd in the Cheviot Hills. From childhood, until the 1990s, he was very active and influential in traditional music circles, on both sides of the Border. This continued well after his retirement.
Geordie Armstrong played in a band with Jack Jobson, who gave Willy lessons in playing the fiddle, though Willy hated this at first.
The lessons stopped when Jack Jobson "got the religious bug". When he was fifteen, he lost the first finger of his left hand while slicing turnips for sheep, giving up the fiddle lessons, though his father continued to encourage him in music
He tried the piano accordion, mandolin and concertina as well as the melodeon. At the age of 18, he was working at Low Bleakhope Farm, while Geordie Armstrong, the fiddler, worked nearby at High Bleakhope.
They were recently re-released by Topic, together with later recordings, on Ranting and Reeling, Topic TSCD 669.
In 1983, he recorded the classic Harthope Burn MWM 1031, with the "moothie" (mouth organ) player Will Atkinson and the piper Joe Hutton. This group, known as The Shepherds, travelled widely, playing at clubs and folk festivals, across the whole of Britain. They also made some broadcasts, often with Alistair Anderson, the English concertina player.
After his retirement from farming, he made a solo record Welcome to the Dene, CGR 008.
Some recordings of his club performances, solo and with The Shepherds, are available on the FARNE archive. Like many traditional musicians, he composed several fine tunes, which are widely played by musicians in Northumberland and elsewhere.
The Dene refers to Middleton Dene, the last farm he worked before his retirement. The Pearl Wedding (reel)
Tich"s Reel
Nancy Taylor"s Reel
Snowy Monday (jig)
Shirley"s Reel
The Shining Pool (hornpipe)
Neil Taylor"s Jig
Christine Taylor"s Jig
Kerry"s Welcome to The Dene (6/8 March)
Farewell to the Dene (schottiche).
He was also one of the leading members of the Alnwick Pipers" Society, who published several of his compositions in their two tunebooks. Most are named after members of his extended family.