Leslie’s hornpipe

This is one of set of three tunes which form the ceili dance known unsurprisingly as “The Three Tunes” … the others in the set are “The German Beau” and “Haste To The Wedding”.

This is the tune known originally (and still in Britain) as Astley’s Ride. “Leslie” looks like a corruption of Astley. It’s obviously not a hornpipe of any kind), but an excellent example of the multitude of ubiquitous common-time tunes (chief characteristic: that formidable 123 - or “om pom pom” - at the start of the 1st bar) now often referred to, for the sake of typonomy, as a (Scotch) measure, which seem both to have spawned the hornpipe proper and paved the way for the acceptance of the polka by traditional musicians in the Bristish Isles. Said Astley did have a (formerly very popular) hornpipe named after him, which is now generally know as “Ashley’s” Hornpipe - under which name it is reproduced elsewhere on this site. The splendid McCusker brothers here cited recorded both, as well as a lot of other tunes of English origin associated with the old northern (Irish) dancing tradition.

very interesting, phil

Aidan’s Three Tunes are (the ‘measure’, the ‘polka’(?) and the jig):
Leslie’s Hornpipe (here)
The German Beau https://thesession.org/tunes/1545
Haste to the Wedding https://thesession.org/tunes/582

nb: there seems to be some disagreement as to which order the dancers danced them in, according to the thread at https://thesession.org/tunes/1545/comments (could it be that they followed a different pattern in different parts?)

The A part bears a striking resemblance to the B part of Vincent Broderick’s barndance, Around the Fairy Fort. The B part starts off like the A part of Around the Fairy Fort, but an octave up, but changes in the second measure.

When the tune reached Scotland, it acquired the name “Drumleys” or “Drumlies” which is how it’s known for dancing.