The Band of Hope

Older Brits will have heard of the Band of Hope, a temperance movement founded in 1855. Members "signed the pledge", promising to abstain from drink. It had up to 3 million members during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 20th century British folk bands often harked back to Victorian times and earlier. Many Victorian folk songs had a radical political theme. The folk band founded in the 1990s by Roy Bailey had a definite political angle, too, anti-Thatcher, and I think the name harked back to the 19th century and also suggested that here was a "band" which had "hope" for a different Britain. Anyhow, that's just my take on it. I cannot find any definite explanation by the band's founders for the name. I might comment that a guy overheard in a car park might just have been offering a suggestion for the name's origin, like I have done.

Also, a "band" of people can be a group who are all agreed on some goal or ideal, as well as a musical outfit. So a play on words too.

Hi Centrox - tks for yours, Can't imagine any English folk bands went teetotal can you?

I suppose that it would be rare, especially since a lot of the folk revival or the mid-20th century involved artists and bands playing in pubs.