Bolstering their national reputation for their accurate and powerful interpretation of the genre of social history of the 16th to 19th centuries,[2] the group's repertoire included popular songs from the English Civil War era to the Victorian period performed on period and electronic instruments.
[11] However, most sources reject the idea that the British song served as a parent work for the Australian.
[12] In the 1970s, Strawhead wrote four more verses for "The Bold Fusilier", covering Marlborough's Wars of 1702 to 1713,[8] calling their revised song "The Rochester Recruiting Sergeant".
[8] This was adopted by a generation of folkies and battle re-enactors,[8] many of whom came to believe that "The Rochester Recruiting Sergeant" was truly from the early 18th century.
[8] Some mistakenly believed that the 1903 tune of "Waltzing Matilda" was borrowed from "The Rochester Recruiting Sergeant", rather than the reverse, even though the sleeve notes to Strawhead's 1978 record provided an explanation, and attributed the song to Pete Coe.