Last updated 11:45, Thursday, 29 May 2008

Cumbrian folk heroes Tarras are back together, they’re playing live and they’re planning an album. That summer Tarras were lauded by critics and their gigs included a triumphant homecoming at Brampton Live. The following year the only thing Tarras released was a puzzling and hugely disappointing announcement: the band were splitting up.

Making music:Ben Murray, right, from Alston, who has reunited with former bandmates Tarras. Far left, the band first time around and left, second album Walking Down Main Street

The news will be welcomed by thousands of fans who felt Tarras were just beginning to fulfil their potential when they split in 2002, shortly after being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and shortlisted at the BBC Folk Awards.

The band’s members have branched out in the past six years with solo work, session playing and performing with other acts.

Today singer and songwriter Ben Murray is busy with his latest project: cutting grass by a main road at Barrow-in-Furness. This follows six months of road-digging and several stints of landscaping and tree-planting. Critical acclaim, it seems, does not pay the bills.

“I took a decision a long time ago that I’d do whatever it took to be a musician,” says Murray. “This kind of work means I’m not tied to an office. I can take off and do a six-week tour of America. I quite like the balance. One minute digging a hole in the road, next minute playing on a big black Steinway in a theatre. I’ve just got to watch my fingers...”

Murray’s manual labour has also continued to involve guitar and keyboards. Two years ago he was shortlisted for a BBC Folk Award with Rosie Doonan. He has played piano around the world at concerts with flute player Guo Yue.

But Murray remains best known for Tarras, the band he helped create 10 years ago. The reborn Tarras’s first gig will come at Solfest in August. Two more festivals are booked for September with the prospect of a tour and album next year.

“Because it was 10 years since we started, we wanted to do one show,” explains Murray. “The idea was a quiet get together, not a big comeback. Solfest will be tough, there’ll be nowhere to run. But we’ll just go for it.”

The songwriting core of Tarras Mark One was Murray, Joss Clapp and Jon Redfern. Redfern will not be taking part this time around but most of the half dozen or so others who have played with Tarras will be, including Louise Peacock whose violin was a prominent part of live shows.

A new addition is young singer-songwriter Rory Connor who has worked with Ben Murray and comes from his home town of Alston. Murray, Connor and Joss Clapp are writing new material.

Back in 1998 Tarras’s striking songs and vigorous interpretation of traditional material saw them snapped up by major folk label Topic. Mojo magazine named Tarras’s debut Rising album of the month. The band – most barely out of their teens – toured Europe and America. Murray recalls: “The first tour in America, we landed in New York and got picked up by a Limo. We turned up for our first gig on Manhattan Island, feeling like the biggest band in the world. Six people turned up.

“It got better. There were some fairly hardcore road trips and that made us a band. Nine or 10 hours driving every day, sleeping and playing. That’s when you get to know your band mates and your music. It’s hard to believe we did it. It feels like so long ago.”

In 2001 second album Walking Down Main Street brought more acclaim, particularly for Murray and Jon Redfern’s stunning compositions Arizona and Only One. “That was getting more like we wanted to be,” says Murray. “We were writing more maturely. That was the start of a band that was not just some little folk band from Alston.”

They blamed lack of money, saying their earnings couldn’t support six band members, a manager and an agent. Six years on Murray confirms this and adds: “It was also because we stopped performing to concentrate on writing. That took away the lifeblood of the band. If we weren’t gigging it was hard to remember what we were in the band for.”

Were there arguments? “You argue the best with the people you’re closest to. It was wild at times, hotel fights and crazy stuff. I tried to run away from one of the tours in America. I was spitting the dummy. The manager caught me a couple of miles away and took my passport off me. By the end I think we all needed a rest from each other.”

After six years Tarras are well rested and ready to face a world that has changed, although hopefully not to the extent that it no longer appreciates a good tune well played. “The folk world’s reaching broader audiences and that’s changing the nature of the music. That’s good – we never just did straight traditional music. The climate now suits Tarras better than first time round.

“Though we were well received we were also criticised for bringing in other influences, for having backing singers. Now that seems to be the norm. If anything we were held back before. We didn’t want to use electric guitars or any kind of digital equipment or any kind of beats. That’s something we’ve been looking at now. The old material has had a bit of a facelift. I’m excited about Tarras. I’m looking forward to kicking a bit of ass.”

Working with his hands by a roadside in Barrow, Ben Murray is ready to press his heart and soul into service again. “There’s certainly life left in the old dogs,” he says. “We’re a little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit better.”