b. 20 February 1952, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England. At the age of four, Laycock’s family moved to Fontwell Magna, Dorset, and he later became interested in folk music through learning guitar chords from school friends. Leaving school in 1970, Laycock went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, and he met singers and musicians in folk clubs who converted him to British traditional music. He started playing regularly in 1971 as part of a folk group at university, which included Terry Fisher and Dave Bordeway, who later played with the Crows. In 1974, after moving to London, Laycock became a resident at Dingle’s Folk Club and the Engineer Folk Club. In 1976, he joined Magic Lantern for a Christmas tour, and was later asked to join full-time when Mike Frost (Major Mustard), left to get married. Lydlinch Bells, produced by Laycock, was a strong collection of dialect poems by William Barnes, read by Laycock, David Strawbridge, Ethel Gumbleton, Charlie Andrews and Frank Hilliar. Since then Laycock has worked continuously as a singer, concertina player and actor, collaborating for three years from 1979 with Peter Bond and Bill Caddick. Dividing his time between the theatre, folk clubs and festivals, Laycock occasionally works with Taffy Thomas and appears in a local Dorset group, the Hambledon Hopstep Band.