In a short time, the Gloworms -- Jon Brenner, Colin Cotter, and Laurel Swift -- went a long way toward redefining and reinvigorating English dance tunes, making them sound young, vital, and sexy. The céilidh dance scene so long associated with genteel correctness and strict tempo patterns had itself undergone something of a transformation through the 1990s, with wilder and more free-form approaches adopted both by the bands and the dancers themselves, a trend continued with the advent of "superbands" like Whapweasel and Tickled Pink. With the vocals and fiddle (and occasional dancing) of Swift, the piano accordion of Brenner, and the tenor banjo of Cotter, the Gloworms are very distinctive compared to most bands in the genre, with an attitude to match. While entirely acoustic, they produce a big sound, aren't averse to using "electronic gizmos," and have a strong jazz element -- they cite John Kirkpatrick, Gil Evans, and Frank Zappa among their influences -- and at full tilt, they really swing. Where céilidh bands previously found themselves playing for rooms full of middle-aged dancers, the Gloworms have attracted a young university audience -- and they play with an energy to match.

Originally from Leicester, Laurel Swift was practically brought up on the folk scene. Her parents taught her morris dancing at an early age; clog dancing soon followed and she became a fixture at the Sidmouth International Festival, performing with the kids' group Morris Minors, running the Shooting Roots events for children, and forming the spectacular Morris Offspring dancers, who were partly responsible for a revival of interest in morris dancing and went on to achieve great acclaim with their show On English Ground, a collaboration with the English Acoustic Collective that was at one point tipped to do for morris what Riverdance did for Irish dancing. Jon Brenner and Colin Cotter went to school together in Woodbridge, Suffolk, becoming proficient on a variety of instruments, and although Cotter's upbringing was dominated by folk music (he occasionally plays guitar with his sister Kirsty performing Scottish fiddle tunes), they also developed a deep love of and affinity with jazz.

They met Swift at the 1997 Sidmouth Folk Festival, and when they all later gravitated to London they decided to form a céilidh band together, setting about reinterpreting old traditional tunes with feisty arrangements and establishing a huge sound for a three-piece with the aid of Colin Cotter's "stomp box." They graduated to writing their own tunes and became a popular fixture at dances; exuding a strong sense of showmanship, they also became a concert attraction. In 2005 Swift released a solo album, Beam, which also featured her fellow Gloworms alongside other young folk luminaries such as Jackie Oates, Saul Rose, and John Dipper. In the summer of 2007 the Gloworms further enhanced their fast-rising reputation with a thrilling and challenging album of instrumental music, Running Joak, which was immediately hailed as one of the albums of the year. ~ Colin Irwin, Rovi