X: 1
T: Everybody Fancies Helen Mirren
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Edor
B,D|:EGBE DFAF|EGBd cAFD|EGBE DFAF|GFED EDB,2|
EGBG DFAF|EGBd cA (3Bcd|edBA ~B3E|1 E2Bd cAFD:|2 E2Bd cAcd||
|edBA ~B2B2|dcBA Bdfd|edBA B2EF|G2Bd cA A2|
edBA B2B2|dcBA GFED|EGBd cA (3Bcd|1 edBA B3 d:|2 e2 Bd cAcd||

History

“Everybody Fancies Helen Mirren” is a modern reel composed by Tóla Custy, a fiddler from Toonagh, Co. Clare. Custy grew up in a family associated with Frank Custy’s well-known music teaching in the parish, and has built a career as both a performer and a prolific composer within the Clare fiddle tradition.

No printed source or manuscript documents an exact composition date. The earliest confirmed appearance is on Live, the 2009 debut album by Guidewires — a band featuring Custy on fiddle alongside Pádraig Rynne (concertina), Sylvain Barou (flute), Paul McSherry (guitar) and Karol Lynch (bouzouki), recorded live at Glór in Ennis, Co. Clare. The tune sits within a set alongside “Fred Finn’s” and “Tavanagh” on that recording.

It was entered into The Session’s tune database in December 2013, transcribed in E Dorian. A second setting, transposed into A Dorian, was added independently in 2025, suggesting the tune has been picked up by more than one player working from ear or from a different source.

There is no dance function attached to the tune — it belongs to the modern session and recording repertoire rather than to any set-dancing tradition. The reasoning behind the title is not documented publicly. Naming tunes after well-known public figures, often for humorous effect, is a pattern seen elsewhere in Custy’s own output, but no specific account of this title’s origin is available, so it should be treated as unconfirmed rather than explained.

Musical Characteristics

• The A part opens with rising broken-chord figures outlining the tonic and relative harmony before settling into stepwise movement
• The B part is more scalar and stepwise than the A part, with a triplet turn and a rolled note providing its main decoration
• Structure is a standard two-part reel: AABB, eight bars per part
• Range spans a little over an octave, sitting comfortably under the fiddle without extended reaches
• Technical difficulty is moderate — the demands are more about clean separation of the arpeggio figures than about awkward fingering
• Two independently submitted settings (E Dorian and a transposition to A Dorian) exist, which is unusual for a tune with a fairly small footprint in the tradition

Mode

• Mode: Dorian
• As first submitted: E Dorian (E–F♯–G–A–B–C♯–D), giving a minor-feeling scale brightened by the raised sixth
• Alternative session key: A Dorian (A–B–C–D–E–F♯–G), used in the later transposed setting — worth knowing if you meet flute, whistle or box players using that version

Harmony

The A major chord in the B part is worth deliberately reaching for rather than substituting a minor iv — it picks out the raised sixth (C♯) that gives Dorian reels their particular colour, rather than flattening the tune back toward a plain E minor sound. Guitarists in DADGAD will find the chord shapes fall naturally under the hand. Bouzouki and mandolin players can generally get away with a simple Em/D alternation under the A part, since the melody itself is already outlining the harmony there.

Interpretation Notes

• A moderate reel tempo suits this tune better than a full session pace — the arpeggio figures in the A part need space to read clearly
• Fiddlers should favour slightly detached bowing on the broken-chord passages rather than full legato slurring, so the underlying triads stay audible
• The one marked roll and the triplet turn in the transcription are the tune’s main decorative points; there’s little need to add much beyond them
• The B part’s more stepwise writing invites a touch more lift than the A part, which reads best played fairly straight
• As a Custy composition it sits within Clare style generally: rhythmic drive from the bow, economical ornamentation
• The most common mistake is rushing the A part until the arpeggios blur into a scale run, losing the harmonic outline that gives the tune its shape

Guitar / Accompaniment

• A chord-based backing suits this tune better than a busy arpeggiated one, since the melody is already outlining the harmony itself
• Standard reel “chop” or alternating bass-strum patterns work well; DADGAD suits the chord vocabulary comfortably
• Keep the bass note steady under the A part so it doesn’t compete with the melody’s own arpeggios; more bass movement can come in under the B part
• A sustained low D or E drone under the A part reinforces the Dorian colour without adding clutter
• Fingerpicking isn’t necessary here — a straightforward strummed or chopped backing lets the tune breathe
• Avoid changing chords on every beat; the melody supplies plenty of harmonic movement on its own

Session Notes

• This is not a widely circulated session tune — it appears in a modest number of players’ tunebooks on The Session, so it’s worth introducing rather than assuming familiarity
• No widely documented tune-set pairing exists; on the Guidewires recording it appears alongside “Fred Finn’s” and “Tavanagh”
• It works well as a change of pace after more familiar reels, particularly paired with other modern Dorian-mode compositions
• A moderate rather than breakneck tempo suits it best, given its reliance on clearly articulated arpeggios
• With no established regional variant tradition, what you’ll encounter is essentially Custy’s own version or a transcription taken from The Session
• Since it’s not broadly known, naming the tune and composer before starting it is helpful session etiquette

Similar Tunes

• The Musical Priest (B Dorian) — a widely known reel opening with the same device of arpeggiated triads before settling into stepwise runs
• The Merry Sisters of Fate, E Dorian setting — shares the same tonic and mode as the original transcription of this tune
• Connaught Reel (A Dorian) — shares the mode and tonic of the transposed 2025 setting
• Vicki’s World, another reel by Tóla Custy — useful for hearing how the composer’s harmonic language carries across his other tunes

Recommended Recordings and Versions

• Guidewires, live performance — youtube.com/watch?v=lLKw5IjNqjg. “Guidewires play Fred Finn’s, Tavanagh and Everybody Fancies Helen Mirren” — matches the tune set documented on Guidewires’ Live recording. Freely viewable, no account required.

References

• The Session, tune database entry for “Everybody Fancies Helen Mirren” — thesession.org/tunes/13255
• The Session, recording entry for Guidewires, Live — thesession.org/recordings/3456

Personal Notes

This is a tune worth having in the back pocket rather than reaching for as a session opener. Its main appeal is structural rather than showy: the A part rewards a player who can keep the arpeggios distinct rather than blurring them into a run, and the harmonic colour from the Dorian sixth gives accompanists something more interesting to do than a plain minor backing. Given how few settings exist, it’s also a reasonable tune to learn “from the dots” without worrying about clashing with a strongly established local version — there isn’t really one yet.