The Band
Alan Jenkins
Lead Guitar
With a background in playing lead guitar for many years, Alan's role is instrumental in the success and musical progression of the group. Bringing his own style and input to the band's original material and adding his brilliant riffs and melodies to lift the songs we play, we couldn’t have asked for a greater talent than Alan (aka Trotter, aka AJ).
Martin Winterstein-Smith
Drummer & Vocals
Martin is truly a shining star, playing drums from a very early age and never missing a beat. Crowds always love seeing the band in full performance mode, and we couldn’t be happier to have such an incredible Drummer up on stage and in the studio, not only keeping and creating the beat but also providing top notch harmonies.
Martin is also a very accomplished producer (GibAudio) and has produced many artists including all of our own recorded material.
Rob Fitzpatrick
Mandolin & Vocals
Rob is the most recent member of the band, joining in 2015, and fitting right in from day one, bringing a new sound with the introduction of the mandolin and now sharing lead vocal duties with Trevor. Rob lists his influences among the likes of Steve Earle, Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Saw Doctors and Flogging Molly, along with the classics from his Irish roots, such as Christy Moore, The Fureys and The Dubliners.
Trevor Emmett
Bass & Vocals
It was Trevor and our late band mate, Neal Higgins, who formed Thrifty Malone way back when. Trevor has been a constant in the band since day one. Added to his amazing bass skills he now shares main singing duties with Rob. Trevor brings a vocal style that has been compared to Ian Dury and Lee Brilleaux (Dr Feelgood) and knows how to get a place rocking! Trevor's roots are in Rock, Blues and Reggae and he was a stalwart of the London music scene for many years.
Neal "Thrifty" Higgins
1947 - 2021
Neal formed Thrifty Malone with Trevor Emmett around 2009. No stranger to gigging, Neal had tread the boards for many years playing in the Folk Clubs of Yorkshire (Ossett and Wakefield to be precise), where he also formed and played as part of the folk group Scott MacNeal. His unique, rich voice was perfect for the folk and Irish songs that the band regularly played and we were lucky enough to capture this when recording "Henry Street", an Irish ballad written for Neal to sing.
Taken from the band too early, we all miss him.
PAST BAND MEMBERS
(Those that came before and rocked!!!)
Paul "Zooney" Alexander
Zooney joined the band shortly after it was formed by Neal and Trevor and remained a well known fixture until he moved away from Gibraltar in 2020. With Zooney joining, Thrifty Malone started to develop the sound it eventually became known for. An extraordinary front man and harmonica player with many years experience he was a key member of the group and part of the six who started recording and writing original material. You can hear his playing and singing on both Six Hours Down the Road and Henry Street.
A well known and liked character in Gibraltar as well as a skilled Glass Blower/Craftsman.
Mark Alexander
Mark was the original lead guitarist with Thrifty Malone and started playing in the band as a teenager. Showing immense talent from day one he continued with the band until he left Gibraltar to go to University. He came back to play at gigs whenever he was in Gibraltar and played at all the Astonbury gigs and our big gig at the MTV Gibraltar Calling Festival. An exceptional guitarist and great band mate.
Iain Currie
Iain was the first regular drummer with Thrifty Malone until he moved away from Gibraltar. Iain was the drummer on the first "Sessions" TV show and kept the beat for many years. Iain stepped in again with the band briefly for a couple of songs when he brought us over to his home in France. Still actively playing with local friends and musicians.
Neil Wadsley
Neil deputised on drums on many occasions and also added his own unique style to the harmonies on songs like "Ride On" and "Fields of Athenry". Also a mean Cahon player, he was a regular part of the cohort that played up at McGuinness's in the early days. Neil joined us again for a couple of songs at Astonbury 2019. Always a smile and a kind word for fellow band mates, especially new ones.
Honorable Mentions
Those that helped us out of a tight spot on many occasions!
We can't forget to salute and thank those musicians who have helped us out in the past and stood in for members during absence or illness. Big shout out and love to;
Douglas Vickers (Drums)
Francis Pecino (Drums)
Paul Picardo (Cahon)
Steve Bees (Lead Guitar)