Scrumpy & Western music is the music of the West Country of England. It is best known as being the music of Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, but to connoisseurs of the genre, there is much, much more to Scrumpy & Western music than just 'Drink Up Thy Cider' or 'Combine Harvester'. The Scrumpy & Western website lists well over 30 artists and bands whose music falls into the genre, and there are undoubtedly many others not listed, and more yet who have Scrumpy & Western songs within their repertoire, but whose music fall mostly into other genres.
Scrumpy & Western as a genre dates from the mid-1960s - although its roots stretch back much further, through Music Hall songs of the 1930s, to Light Music of the turn of the century, and back to the old rustic working songs of the West Country folk of earlier centuries. But it is the release of Adge Cutler’s second release, the Scrumpy & Western EP (Columbia SEG 8525) in 1966 that sees the first published use of the term ‘Scrumpy & Western’, so this is as good a starting point as any.
Exact styles vary by band or musician, and very few are known outside the West Country. The main exceptions to this are Adge Cutler & The Wurzels, who had a number one hit in the UK with 'Combine Harvester' in 1976 followed by several other hit singles. This followed an earlier hit single with 'Drink Up Thy Zider', an unofficial West Country anthem. .
