Mick Pilley
Mick Pilley (-1972), Mudgee, NSW provided details of some of the Australian tunes in this archive.
Portrait [1]. "Shearer and shearing contractor, Mick was famous throughout the central west of N.S.W. for his wonderful fiddle playing, and many local musicians learnt their tunes from him."
The National Library of Australia holds aural recordings of interviews conducted with Mick Pilley. He was interviewed by:
- John Meredith in 1958, [2], "Sally Sloane, Mick Pilley, Collie Burke, Madge Laver interviewed". Also available online [3]
- John Meredith in April 1959, [4], also available online [5]
- Jacko Kevans in c.1980, [6], Sally Sloane and Mick Pilley recorded
"Mick Pilley's father taught his son to play the violin and most of his stock of tunes, he himself having been taught by an old Irish fiddler on the goldfields ... Pilley was considered by John Meredith to be the best fiddler he has met during his many field trips. He had a fine repertoire, played with a nice tone (just a little on the sharp side as all the best traditional fiddlers are), and had perfect dance tempo." -- (adapted from) J Meredith, H Anderson, Folk Songs of Australia Vol 1, UNSW Press, 1967, p241.
