Nigel Eaton is a British hurdy gurdy player. He played piano and 'cello, moving to the hurdy-gurdy when his father, Christopher Eaton, started to make them in 1981. In 1985 he joined the group Blowzabella with whom he has toured extensively in Britain, Europe and South America and recorded three albums. He studied baroque music repertoire and technique for the hurdy-gurdy with Doreen Muskett at the Guildhall School of Music and contemporary hurdy-gurdy techniques with Valentin Clastrier in France. In 1986 he won the hurdy-gurdy soloists competition at the St. Chartier Hurdy-Gurdy & Bagpipe Festival, France; following this up in 1987 by taking the first prize in the hurdy-gurdy/ bagpipe duet competition with Paul James. Apart from his work with Blowzabella, Nigel has appeared on numerous early music, traditional folk music and pop music records. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.