[1] Carthy was a well established musician at their formation, having been a member of Steeleye Span and The Watersons, as well as leading a successful solo career.
Kirkpatrick had also played with Steeleye Span for a time, and worked with Carthy in the Albion Country Band.
Brass Monkey was formed with the addition of Williams and Brinsford after initially being billed as The Martin Carthy Band.
[1] Both primarily consisted of traditional songs and tunes and were later re-issued on a single CD under the title The Complete Brass Monkey (1993).
Later in 2008, the band recruited Paul Archibald as their new trumpet player and debuted their new lineup at the Electric Theatre in Guildford on 15 March 2009.