THE west country will be celebrated at the Electric Palace this weekend when The Wurzels and support act Willowen head to Bridport for a cider-fuelled country gig.

Performing on Saturday, September 17, the legendary band’s story started in the summer of 1966 when Adge Cutler visited John Miles’ office with little more than a number of songs he had written.

The name Adge Cutler and The Wurzels was conceived, a recording contract was negotiated with EMI and in the autumn of 1966, Drink up Thy Zider was released.

The record sold over 100,000 copies and appearances followed on a number of TV shows including David Frost Show and Simon Dee.

The name of Adge Cutler and The Wurzels was slowly spreading until a fateful morning in May 1974 when Adge Cutler was killed in a road accident.

The Wurzels decided to continue on their own and in April 1976 they finally hit jackpot with their hit Combine Harvester, a parody of Melanie’s Brand New Key. Combine Harvester is about a country fella trying to get his hands on a wench’s bit of land.

The familiarity of the tune and the jolly sound captured many folk’s imaginations and sent the record up the charts. It made number one and sold nearly 400,000 copies in the UK alone. The B-side, Blackbird, stormed to the top of the charts in Canada.

The Wurzels have been entertaining the crowds ever since with their unique brand of West Country music.

Support band for the night has been confirmed as Bournemouth-based Willowen, fusing three-part harmonies, indie rock ethics and a folky twist. Their music has been described as a quirky mixture of folk and Fleetwood Mac.

The band have performed at Isle of Wight Festival, Larmer Tree Festival and Purbeck Folk Festival in recent years, as well as sharing the stage with the likes of KT Tunstall, Paul Heaton (The Beautiful South/Housemartins), We Were Evergreen and 3 Daft Monkeys.

Following the success of their 2013 debut, expect plenty of new material to be championed at this show.

n The Wurzels and Willowen on September 17 at Bridport Electric Palace at 8pm.