If there is one Manx folk song guaranteed to get everyone singing the chorus, clapping and yee-harr-ing, it is “The Laxey Wheel”, honouring the iconic waterwheel built in 1854 to pump water from the Laxey mines. The wheel, of course, is popularly known as the 'Lady Isabella' after the Governor’s wife who declared the Wheel open 100 hundred years before the song was written.
The song was composed by Douglas postal worker and champion cyclist Stuart Slack circa 1957 and tells the story of the Laxey Mines, which, in the words of the song, employed “600 miners working under Captain Rowe”!
It has rightly become a local classic, a favourite with children and grandparents alike, and still sung in many Island schools.
In a broader sense, “The Laxey Wheel” symbolises an exciting period of live music-making in the Island. Skiffle and the American folk revival had made its way over to Britain in the 1950s; a movement that resurrected the neglected songs of the working classes and prompted the youth to reflect on the songs of their own people. A reaction against the prevalence of mainstream, manufactured pop music, and the politics of the time, the folk revival struck a chord with many.
The Isle of Man embraced the trend too and prompted singer-songwriters to compose their own songs. Stuart Slack was one of those who found a passion for song-writing and an appreciative audience at the Manx Ballads and Blues Club at the Oban Hotel, Douglas.
As the movement gained a following, groups such as Mannin Folk, Treadmill, Triad, Mike, Laurie and Al (Mike Williams, Laurie Kermode and Al Lawrence) and Pocheen were formed, and pubs were eager to host folk club performances: The Coach and Horses in Laxey, Glen Helen Hotel, Athol Hotel in Douglas, Mitre in Kirk Michael, Tholt-e-Will in Sulby, and The Raven in Ballaugh. Douglas boasted a particularly vibrant folk scene in venues such as The Globe, The Fort Anne, the Castle Mona, Peveril, Falcon Cliff and The Crescent.
Born and brought up in Douglas, Stuart Slack (1939 -1998), was also fascinated by local history, and wrote several valuable books about the Island’s past.
As a songwriter, he was prolific. Over a 40 year span, he produced more than 30 songs inspired by historical events and local places including “Wreck of the Herring Fleet” and "The Foxdale Miner", industry and transport in “Ride the Rails” and “Bulgham Bombshell”, and humorous songs about the Island like “Give me the Bus-fare to Laxey”!
It was Mannin Folk who took his songs to a wider audience, due to their massive popularity at The Coach and Horses, The Crescent and other venues. Terry Clough of Kelly Recordings produced their EP of “The Laxey Wheel” in 1976, and a year later, Mike, Laurie and Al performed it on their LP, Saturday Night at the Colby Glen (1977).
“The Laxey Wheel” has since been recorded by the Houghton Weavers and local band The Stationary Willberries, and is still regularly performed by Shenanigans Banned and of course the children of Laxey School!
The music is included in the
Manx National Song Book Vol 2, and the Stuart Slack memorial bench sits in the valley below Laxey Wheel, which “still stands majestic in the shadow Snaefell”.
Stuart is included in
New Manx Worthies and is a 'Manx Musical Worthy' on
www.manxmusic.com. Memories of Stuart are shared on the Facebook page,
Stuart Slack - The legend 1939 – 1998.
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