Black Joak was an English ceilidh band based in the Bristol area. It was formed in the late 1970s from the members of Hit Shot Morris (associated with the folk club at the Lamb in Iron Acton) who decided to play folk dance music when too few people turned up to practices.
Initially the band had seven members:
- Ian Bradshaw (harmonica)
- Barbara Buchanan (recorders)
- Dewi Griffith (drum)
- Dave Marshall (drums)
- Mo Marshall (guitar)
- Tony Matthews (melodeon)
- Richard Smith (mandolin)
In the early 1980s Barbara and Dewi left the band and some of the other band members had started playing other instruments, leading tto the line-up below.
- Ian Bradshaw (harmonica, melodeon)
- Dave Marshall (drums)
- Mo Marshall (guitar)
- Tony Matthews (melodeons, anglo concertina, fiddle)
- Richard Smith (tenor banjo)
This line-up lasted for about 3 years appearing at several folk festivals and at Cecil Sharp House.
In the late 1980s, for a period of about two years, the band reformed as a quartet consisting of:
- Ian Bradshaw (harmonica, melodeon)
- Mo Bradshaw (guitar)
- Tony Matthews (melodeons)
- Fenella Spiers (recorders)