Clive Palmer

Clive Harold Palmer (14 May 1943 – 23 November 2014) was an English folk musician and banjoist, best known as a founding member of the Incredible String Band.

Biography Born in Edmonton, North London, Palmer first went on stage at the age of 8, and took banjo lessons from the age of 10. Around 1957 he began playing with jazz bands in Soho. He began busking with Wizz Jones in Paris in 1959–60, before moving to Edinburgh in late 1962. By now a virtuoso banjo player, he teamed up as a duo with singer and guitarist Robin Williamson in 1963, playing traditional and bluegrass songs. They became the Incredible String Band in 1965 when they decided to develop their sound and their own writing talents, and added a third member, Mike Heron. Early in 1966, he also ran "Clive's Incredible Folk Club" in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

After recording the first ISB album, The Incredible String Band with Williamson, Heron and producer Joe Boyd, Palmer travelled to India, where he played on national television, and Afghanistan. On his return, he decided not to rejoin the increasingly successful duo. Instead, he recorded an album of banjo music, Banjoland, which remained unreleased until 2005.

He moved to Cornwall in 1968, where he worked as a woodwork teacher and became involved in trade union activities.

In 2022, a tribute album was assembled and put online under the title Spirit of Clive: A Tribute To The Music Of Clive Palmer & COB. It included tracks by such artists as Kurt Vile, Josephine Foster & Alasdair Roberts and proceeds were to be put towards the restoration of "recently discovered rare recordings of Clive from the 1960s onwards, and to the production of a documentary about Clive Palmer". As of January 2025, nothing further has been announced.

Discography 1966: The Incredible String Band (The Incredible String Band) 1967: Banjoland (released in 2005) 1969: Sunshine Possibilities (Famous Jug Band) 1971: Spirit of Love (Clive's Original Band) 1972: Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart (Clive's Original Band) 1978: Just Me – Autogram 1989: The Archive Tapes (Bob Devereux & Clive Palmer) 1993: Charlie Cool Goes West 1993: House of Images (cassette-only compilation) 1999: Suns & Moons (Clive Palmer & Bob Devereux) – Pig's Whisker 1999: At the Pure Fountain (with Robin Williamson) 2002: O For Summer (Famous Jug Band) 2004: All Roads Lead To Land a.k.a. Sands of Time – Unique Gravity (UK), Communion (US) 2008: The Land of No Return – Quadrant Records 2011: Along The Enchanted Way (The Clive Palmer Band) 2011: Live at the Acorn (The Clive Palmer Band)