This one’s gonna be tough to beat.
That clarinet rampant is the piece de resistance!
Very tough to beat.
An interesting character it seems he was. This is part of his bio sketch on Wiki:
Eccentricity
Bell was the only member of the band to wear a tie at every public performance. He wore a red jumper in almost every publicity photograph and at every concert. He favoured socks with novelty designs, such as images of Looney Tunes characters. He wore scruffy suits, often with trousers that were too short. He was eccentric and told obscene jokes. The title of his 1981 solo album Derek Bells Plays With Himself has a conscious double-entendre. While touring in Moscow he grabbed his alarm clock and put it in his pocket while rushing to catch a plane. He was then stopped by the Soviet police on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon. Paddy Moloney affectionately called him “Ding Dong” Bell. He relished the eclectic collaborations, such as those with Van Morrison, Sting and the Chinese Orchestra. In 1991 he recorded with his old friend James Galway. He was awarded an MBE in the 2000 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to traditional music.
My kinda guy!
Pretty fair harp player too…
I have fond memories of hearing him play Tabhair dom do Lamh in concert.
The title of his 1981 solo album Derek Bells Plays With Himself has a conscious double-entendre.
No. You’re kidding me.
I like Fiona Apple’s When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He’ll Win the Whole Thing Fore He Enters the Ring There’s No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and If You Know Where You Stand, Then You’ll Know Where to Land and If You Fall It Won’t Matter, Cuz You Know That You’re Right.
Wow, Nano…I figured you’d get that bit…
If your first language is not English, you will likely not understand that pun. Most of the people in the world do not speak English as their first language, and Wikipedia serves the whole world. Don’t act as though it’s entirely obvious to everybody and Wikipedia is only stating the obvious. It is not.
Geeze, Jack…I was talking to NANO, who was obviously being sarcastic in his response. If you aren’t liking my posts these days, maybe putting me on IGNORE might be better? rolling eyes
My apologies: I was speaking to everybody. I didn’t mean to single you out. 
And what about those of us whose first language IS English? We can’t have fun on our terms? Sheesh.
My apologies to you, too, then. I will try to use more careful words. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody, just point out what might not be obvious to everybody else.
Lets hold on here boy and girls!!!
Is there a citation for that statement? (how does Wiki know that he knew?)
Somebody get on this! STAT!!
I’m goin’ back to sleep 
HELLO…it was, like, Derek Bell?
Here’s one I like:
you, sir, are absolutely no help at all…
g’day 
I interviewed Paddy Moloney backstage a few years ago–that’s on the C&F website–and in the middle of the interview, Derek sort of stumbled in and muttered something and stood around. Paddy looked up and said “I’m in the middle of an interview here, Derek, do you mind?” and Derek said “Not at all” and then didn’t leave. Paddy asked him if he could step out of the room and Derek sort of startled and then wandered out. Paddy looked at me and just rolled his eyes. It was a funny moment.
There’s no clarinets on that cover, man!
Rampant or otherwise.
Which reminds me of a question. Why are
the different sizes of clarinets and saxes
named sensibly (Soprano sax, Alto sax,
Baritone sax, bass clarinet, contra-alto
clarinet, etc.) but with Oboes, it’s all
English Horn, Oboe d’Amore and Basson?
Are we trying to up the mystery quotient
of the double reeds?
It’s like Old Money vs. New Money. The orchestral double reeds are aristocracy, and the orchestral single reeds are arrivistes. The double reeds have pedigree, names, and titles, and the single reeds have accounting ledgers.
