I’m thinking about getting a CD by him. (A solo one)
But it got me thinking…
I’m just curious, does he make a living from his music?
Aye, seems like it http://dickydeegan.blogspot.se/
where in the uk is he based?
Tasmania?
I can’t quite make out precisely where he is residing at present from his Blogspot, but it appears to be Derbyshire centric, although he could actually reside in either London or even the outer darkness of Yorkshire 
Perhaps BenHall can shed some light on this. My British Geography is summat’ suspect
Bob
I should hasten to add that one strand of my ancestry hailed from York, so no offense is intended
Bob
Well, the BlogSpot says he lives in Derbyshire. I guess you’re getting Yorkshire from his mention of Goodmanham, which is a fair way from Derbyshire (in UK terms). Still, he could easily have friends up there and stop over every now and then, and I sometimes travel further than that for sessions on occasion.
Dicky pops up in sessions in London every once in a while. He was here over New Years at one of my local sessions in south London, although unfortunately I didn’t make it down to play that day.
He is actually based in Hull
Busks fairly regularly in Beverley
Frequents Nellies
[quote=“ennischanter”]I’m thinking about getting a CD by him. (A solo one)
I have his album Music of the Irish Celts which I like very much. There are a lot of airs which is a nice change to most pipers CDs.
He has a very distinct piping style, but this is not a pipes only album if that is what you are after. He is accompanied - sometimes by didgeridoo. Well worth a listen IMO.
One that interests me is Irish Music: Uilleann Pipes (an phib)
His regulators have a one of a kind sound, I’ve never heard a sound like that. (Heard mostly in his 5 reel set)
I wonder how you could get a sound like that.
Dicky set was AFAIK a copy by Geoff Woof of an 1840’s J. Coyne set in C#
It has an extended bass regulator that plays C,B,A,G,& D below the chanter.
This can be seen clearly on the large pic at the bottom of Dicky’s webpage.
It is the best sounding set of pipes I have ever heard.
The most striking thing about it (apart from the player) is how beautifully
balanced it plays. On a number of occaisions I have heard Dicky hold a long
G or A note at the end of a tune, and one by one bring in the regs which
sort of fills in around the chanter but never drowns it. A glorious Sound!
Cheers to Dicky, hope he is having a great time wherever he is.
donpiper
There’s an article somewhere about that very Coyne set that Geoff Woof replicated (It also says he plays a Malcolm Mclaren chanter.). To be honest his set sounds quite sharp of C#, almost like a narrow bore D, but not quite!
His playing sorta reminds me of the very young Seamus Ennis, though their regulator style being quite different. In my Opinion, I find that flat set players are more interesting to listen to.
I should probably have written how beautifully balanced and tuned it is.
I heard Dicky say more than once something along the lines of:
“A little dissonance in the right place is a fine thing but every note on a set
should be easily playable in tune with the drones”
In my experience Dicky put this into practice beautifully.
I believe Malcolm McLaren made a chanter for that set around '95
in ebony which plays about 30 cents sharp of C#.
It also plays louder than the original Woof chanter, this was important
to Dicky as most of his income at the time came from busking at the
Salamanca Market in Hobart, Tasmania.
I have a prototype of that chanter in holly which plays very close to
concert C#. Dicky believed it was the difference in wood that made
the ebony chanter play sharper. He demonstrated this by taking the
reed from my chanter and paying it in his, beautifully in tune but
noticably sharper than it played in mine. This is the nicest sounding
chanter I own.
cheers
donpiper
I love the spirit and vibe of his record. Some of it is rough, and there’s even a cut where he turns the time around (where the upbeat becomes the new downbeat 
). I forgive him that just because of everything else…including that wee finger snap he does as he makes the pipes do a full stop!
Dickie had said (recently) that he was dealing with musical focal dystonia, a virtual death sentence to any musician. I’m praying that this condition has not progressed!!!
I wonder if any players of particular instruments are more prone to that horrific condition. Scary!
BAH! 
As long as they are in tune, eh?