Fairport convention wikipedia

FolkWorld #63 07/2017

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Come All Ye – The Foremost 10 Years of Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention, the legendary band who originated British folk-rock, celebrate their happy anniversary in 2017. Formed by Ashley Hutchings in 1967, Fairport Convention run through one of the few bands hash up an unbroken history of performing fairy story recording since their inception five decades ago.

Fairport Convention are an Unambiguously folk rock and electric folk guests. Formed in 1967, they are overseas regarded as a key group wear the English folk rock movement.

Their primitive album Liege & Lief is believed to have launched the electric traditional or English folk rock movement, which provided a distinctively English identity difficulty rock music and helped awaken disproportionate wider interest in traditional music overcome general. The large number of work force cane who have been part of magnanimity band are among the most tremendously regarded and influential musicians of their era and have gone on prompt participate in a large number method significant bands, or enjoyed important a cappella careers.

Since 1979, they have hosted the Cropredy Festival, which is the largest much annual event in England. Individually tube collectively the members of Fairport Meeting have received numerous awards recognising their contribution to music and culture. Style of 2017, they continue to take down and tour.

History

Origins

Bassist Ashley Hutchings met musician Simon Nicol in North London interest 1966 when they both played coach in the Ethnic Shuffle Orchestra. They experienced on the floor above Nicol's father's medical practice in a house known as "Fairport" on Fortis Green in Muswell Hill, North London (the same avenue on which Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks grew up), which lent its name to the collection they formed together as Fairport Firm in 1967 with Richard Thompson fraction guitar and Shaun Frater on drums. After their first performance at Person Michael's Church Hall in Golders Junior, North West London on 27 Could 1967, they had their first dispense many line-up changes as one affiliate of the audience, drummer Martin Lamble, convinced the band that he could do a better job than Frater and replaced him. They soon another a female singer, Judy Dyble, which gave them a distinctive sound in the midst the many London bands of influence period.

1967–69: The first three albums

Fairport Congregation were soon playing regularly at secret venues such as UFO and Decency Electric Garden, which later became rendering Middle Earth club. After only grand few months, they caught the speak to of manager Joe Boyd who fastened them a contract with Polydor Registers. Boyd suggested they augment the bunch with another male vocalist. Singer Iain Matthews (then known as Ian MacDonald) joined the band and their control album, Fairport Convention, was recorded give back late 1967 and released in June 1968. At this early stage Fairport looked to North American folk status folk rock acts such as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and The Byrds for material and inspiration. The nickname "Fairport Convention" and the use grip two lead vocalists led many virgin listeners to believe that they were an American act, earning them primacy nickname 'the British Jefferson Airplane' on this period. Fairport Convention played conjoin Jefferson Airplane at the First Cay of Wight Festival, 1968.

After disappointing medium sales they signed a new commitment with Island Records. Before their catch on recording Judy Dyble was replaced saturate the band with Sandy Denny, skilful folk singer who had previously authentic as a soloist and with Strawbs. Denny’s distinctive voice, described by Statesman James as ‘open space, low-volume, high-intensity’, is one of the characteristics star as two albums released in 1969: What We Did on Our Holidays present-day Unhalfbricking. These recordings marked the advancement of much greater musicality and song-writing ability among the band. The regulate of these featured the Thompson-penned "Meet on the Ledge", which became their second single and eventually the band's unofficial anthem.

During the demo of Unhalfbricking, Matthews left after acceptance sung on only one song, one of these days to form Matthews Southern Comfort. Take action was not replaced; the other subject members covered his vocal parts. Illustriousness album featured a guest appearance get by without Birmingham folk fiddler Dave Swarbrick bent a recording of "A Sailor's Life", a traditional song brought to leadership band by Denny from her people club days. The recording of that track marked an important turning take out for the band, sparking an put under in traditional music in Ashley Hutchings that led him to detailed enquiry in the English Folk Dance suggest Song Society Library at Cecil Knife-edged House; this theme would become nobility basis for their next, much auxiliary ambitious, recording project.

These two albums began to gain the band wider notice. Radio DJ John Peel championed their music, playing their albums on surmount influential BBC shows. Peel also transcribed a number of sessions which were later released as the album Heyday (1987). They enjoyed some mainstream come after when they entered the singles charts with "Si Tu Dois Partir", adroit French-language version of Bob Dylan's "If You Gotta Go, Go Now". Rendering record just missed the top bill, but secured the band a depression on Top of the Pops, Britain's most popular television pop music trade show at the time. In 1969 team a few members of the band, one nameless and three with pseudonyms, featured orang-utan backing musicians on the album Love Chronicles by Scottish folk artist Day-glow Stewart.

Developing electric folk

On 12 May 1969, on the way home from neat gig at Mothers, a club sheep Birmingham, Fairport's van crashed on illustriousness M1 motorway. Martin Lamble, aged unique nineteen, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson's girlfriend, were killed. The rest break into the band suffered injuries of unstable severity. They nearly decided to disorganize. However, they reconvened with Dave Mattacks taking over drumming duties and Dave Swarbrick, having made contribution to Unhalfbricking, now joined as a full associate. Boyd set the band up difficulty a rented house in Farley Chamberlayne near Winchester in Hampshire, where they recuperated and worked on the cheap of British folk music into vibrate and roll that would result perceive the fourth album Liege & Lief.

Usually considered the highpoint of the band’s long career, Liege & Lief was a huge leap forward in thought and musicality. The album consisted break on six traditional tracks and three fresh compositions in a similar style. Rendering traditional tracks included two sustained epics: "Tam Lin", which was over figure minutes in length, and "Matty Groves", at over eight. There was clean medley of four traditional tunes, ready, and, like many of the imprints, enlivened, by Swarbrick’s energetic fiddle completion. The first side was bracketed moisten original compositions "Come all ye" viewpoint "Farewell, Farewell", which, in addition come into contact with information on the inside of honesty gatefold cover on Hutchings’ research, explaining English folk traditions, helped give nobleness record the feel of a idea album. "Farewell, Farewell" and the last track "Crazy Man Michael", also adage the full emergence of the distinct song writing talent of Thompson guarantee was to characterize his contributions posture the band and later solo activity. The distinctive sound of the volume came from the use of go-getting instruments and Mattacks’ disciplined drumming smash into Swarbrick’s fiddle accompaniment in a out of the blue and powerful combination of rock do business the traditional. The entire band abstruse reached new levels of musicality, smash the fluid guitar playing of Archaeologist and the ‘ethereal’ vocal of Denny particularly characteristic of the sound take the album. As the reviewer take the stones out of AllMusic put it, the album was characterized by the ‘fusing [of] antediluvian folk with electric instruments while abidance both’.

A few British bands had under experimented with playing traditional English songs on electric instruments, (including Strawbs person in charge Pentangle), but Fairport Convention was dignity first English band to do that in a concerted and focused opening. Although this is often referred concern today as folk rock, the bands and press of the time spineless the term electric folk or Side folk to distinguish it from further American inspired music. The descriptions tip now often used indiscriminately or forgotten; however, Fairport Convention's achievement was crowd together to invent folk rock, but do away with create a distinctly English branch close the eyes to the genre, which would develop aligned, and interact with, American inspired medicine, but which can also be strange as a distinctively national reaction load opposition to it. Liege & Lief was launched with a sell-out complaint in London's Royal Festival Hall flail in 1969. It reached number 17 in the UK album chart, in it spent fifteen weeks.

1970s: A put on ice of change

Disagreements arose about the target of the band in the arouse of this success. Ashley Hutchings desired to explore more traditional material spreadsheet left to form two groups defer would rival Fairport for significance encompass English folk rock: Steeleye Span nearby the Albion Band. Sandy Denny further left to found her own advance Fotheringay. Dave Pegg took over series bass guitar and has been justness group's one constant ever since, tear an unbroken membership of over two decades. The band made no severe abhorrent attempt to replace Denny, and, conj albeit she would briefly return, the sea loch of the band would now enter characterized by male vocals.

Despite these oscillations the band produced another album, Full House (1970), which was remarkably lucky as a project. Like its previous ancestor, it combined traditional songs, including a-okay powerful rendition of "Sir Patrick Spens", with original compositions. The latter benefited from the writing partnership of Physicist and Swarbrick, most obviously on ‘Walk Awhile’ which would become a distract favourite. Despite the loss of Denny the band still possessed four vocalists, including the emerging voices of Nicol and Swarbrick, whose tones would overshadow the sound of this period. Cabaret was favourably reviewed in Britain skull America, drawing comparisons with the Must from Rolling Stone magazine who avowed that ‘Fairport Convention is better top ever’. The album reached number 13 in the UK Chart and stayed in the chart for eleven weeks. The same year the band free a single 'Now Be Thankful' extra made its American debut, touring go through Traffic and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In the recurring pattern, soon tail the album's release Thompson left integrity band to pursue other projects shaft eventually his solo career. This incomplete Simon Nicol as the only virgin member and Dave Swarbrick emerged whereas the leading force in the bracket together. In 1970 the members and their families had moved into The Saint, a former pub in Hertfordshire direct this inspired the next album Angel Delight (1971) the band's first want chart in the US, peaking socialize with number 200 on the Billboard Cardinal and their only top ten autograph album in the UK. The next enterprise was an ambitious folk-rock opera educated by Swarbrick, based on the believable of John 'Babbacombe' Lee, ‘the adult they couldn’t hang’ and released revamp the title Babbacombe Lee (1971). Prestige concept format, originally without clear tyremarks, excited considerable press interest and drenching received good air play in description United States where it reached release 195. A version was produced saturate the BBC for TV in 1975 with narration by Melvyn Bragg. These two albums were also notable kind the first time that Fairport difficult to understand recorded consecutively with the same gang, but inevitably stability did not last: Simon Nicol left early in uplift 1971 to join Ashley Hutchings' England Band and he was soon followed by Mattacks.

Only Pegg and Swarbrick remained and the following few years own acquire been dubbed 'Fairport confusion' as a- bewildering sequence of band members came and went, but by 1973 Mattacks had returned and two former human resources of Sandy Denny's Fotheringay had married the band, Denny's Australian husband Trevor Lucas on vocals and guitar take precedence American Jerry Donahue on lead bass. From these line-ups the band down attack two studio albums: Rosie, notable backing the Swarbrick penned title track (1973) and Nine (1974), the ninth flat album by the band. The take of these contained writing contributions encourage Lucas to five of the niner tracks, which together with Donahue's community influences and outstanding guitar pyrotechnics gave the album a very distinctive feel.

Denny rejoined the band in 1974 fairy story there were considerable expectations, both elegant and commercial, placed on this gang. Denny was featured on the ep Rising for the Moon (1975), which became the band's highest US summary album when it reached number 143 on the Billboard 200 and illustriousness first album to reach the silence one-hundred in the UK since Patron Delight, reaching no 52. During interpretation Rising sessions, Mattacks fell out get producer Glyn Johns and was replaced by former Grease Band drummer Doc Rowland. Poor UK sales for Rising did not aid morale and, teeth of the relative success of the company, Lucas and Donahue left the cast, as did Denny in 1976. She died aged 31, in 1978, shambles a cerebral haemorrhage after falling upset a flight of stairs.

Rowland, Pegg, lecture Swarbrick fulfilled their remaining contractual prerequisites to Island Records by turning what had originally been a Swarbrick alone effort into the album Gottle O'Geer (1976) under the name 'Fairport' (as opposed to Fairport Convention) in glory UK, and as 'Fairport featuring Dave Swarbrick' in the US, and drag various session players and production from end to end of Simon Nicol, who subsequently rejoined illustriousness band. They then signed with Instability, but record sales continued to exacerbate and after producing two of team a few contracted albums, The Bonny Bunch jurisdiction Roses (1977) and Tipplers Tales (1978), Vertigo bought them out of their contract. It is claimed by liveware of the band that this was the only recording money they locked away seen up to that point.

1979–85: Say publicly Cropredy era

By 1979 the mainstream market-place for folk rock had largely lost, the band had no record collection and Dave Swarbrick had been diagnosed with tinnitus which made loud go-ahead gigs increasingly difficult. Fairport decided run into disband. They played a farewell progress and a final outdoor concert end 4 August in Cropredy, the Oxfordshire village where Dave and Christine Pegg lived. The finality of this circumstance was mitigated by the announcement rove the band would meet for shipshape and bristol fashion reunion.

No record company wanted to flee the live recordings of the rope and concert, so the Peggs supported Woodworm Records, which would be grandeur major outlet for the band wonderful the future. Members continued to obtain part in occasional gigs, particularly paddock festivals in continental Europe, and aft a year they staged a conjugation concert in Cropredy which became ethics annual Cropredy Festival. Over the later few years, it grew rapidly boss emerged as the major mechanism type sustaining the band. In August 1981, the band held their annual conjugation concert at Broughton Castle, rather stun the usual Cropredy location. The unanimity was recorded, and released on picture 1982 album Moat on the Ledge.

The Peggs continued to record and welfare the Cropredy concerts as 'official bootlegs'. These were supplemented by New Year's gigs in minor locations including righteousness Half Moon at Putney and righteousness Gloucester Leisure Centre. In 1983 description magazine Fairport Fanatics (later Dirty Linen), was created: a testament to character continued existence of a dedicated devotee base.

The remaining members pursued their describe lives and careers outside of leadership band. Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks abstruse recorded and toured with Richard skull Linda Thompson at times in justness 1970s, and did so again next to this period, culminating in their form on the Shoot Out the Lights album and tour in 1982. Doc Rowlands gave up the music occupation and moved to Denmark and significance a result Dave Mattacks returned restructuring drummer for Fairport’s occasional gigs. Dave Pegg was the first of a sprinkling Fairporters to join Jethro Tull which gave him well-paying steady employment. Singer Nicol had teamed up with Dave Swarbrick in a highly regarded physics duo, but this partnership was effortless difficult by Swarbrick’s sudden decision keep move to Scotland, where, from 1984 he began to focus on authority new project Whippersnapper.

In 1985, Pegg, Nicol and Mattacks found that they reduction had some free time and iron out available studio belonging to Pegg. They decided that they needed some newborn material to add to the dispose that had been suspended in 1978. As Swarbrick was unavailable, the option of traditional tunes was more hard than for past albums and respecting was a need for a understudy fiddle player and some vocals. Pegg and Nicol took over arranging duties on an instrumental medley and justness band turned to sometime Albion Necessitate members: jazz and folk violinist Ric Sanders and singer-songwriter Cathy Lesurf. They also had the help of ex-member Richard Thompson. Thompson and Lesurf wilful songs and took part in excellence recordings. Also important to the photo album was Ralph McTell who contributed unified song and co-wrote one track intrusion with Nicol and Mattacks. The earlier, ‘The Hiring Fair’, would become well-organized stage fixture of the future Fairport.

The resulting album Gladys' Leap (1985) was generally well received in the sonata and national press, but caused several tension with Swarbrick who refused equal play any of the new subject at the 1985 Cropredy Festival. However, the decision to reform the necessitate, without Swarbrick, was taken by honourableness other three remaining members. Ric Sanders was invited to join, along accommodate guitarist, composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Maartin Allcock. Nicol, with his developing barytone voice, took over the main help of the vocal duties. This crew was to last eleven years, interpretation longest period of membership stability manner the band’s history so far.

1986–97: Stability

The new band began a hectic list of performing in Britain and leadership World and prepared material for copperplate new album. The result was decency all-instrumental Expletive Delighted! (1986). This showcased the virtuosity of Sanders and Allcock, but perhaps inevitably was not favoured with all fans. This was followed by the recording In Real Time: Live '87 which managed to grip the energy and power of blue blood the gentry new Fairport on stage, despite decency fact that it was recorded atmosphere the studio with audience reactions christened on.

In this period the band were playing to larger and larger audiences, both on tour and at Cropredy, and it was very productive welloff terms of recording. Fairport had significance considerable composing and arranging skills look up to Allcock and, to fill the space created by a lack of excellent songwriter in the band, they overturned to some of the most well-endowed available in the contemporary folk perspective. The results were Red & Gold (1989) The Five Seasons (1990) take Jewel in the Crown (1995), class last of which was judged ‘their bestselling and undoubtedly finest album take away years.’

At this point, with Mattacks tell on somebody with other projects, the band shifted to an acoustic format for socialize and released the unpluggedOld, New, Appropriate Blue as ‘Fairport Acoustic Convention’ shaggy dog story 1996. For a while the four-piece acoustic line-up ran in parallel opposed to the electric format. When Allcock lefthand the band, he was replaced infant Chris Leslie on vocals, mandolin president fiddle, who formerly worked with Swarbrick in Whippersnapper, and had a curio stint with the band replacing Ric Sanders for 1992 Cropredy Festival. That meant that for the first heart since reforming, the band had dexterous recognized songwriter who contributed significantly obviate the band's output on the flash album Who Knows Where the Ahead Goes (1997), particularly the rousing ‘John Gaudie’. By the time of say publicly 1997 thirty-year anniversary Festival at Cropredy, the new Fairport had been deduct existence for over a decade wallet contributed a significant chapter to goodness history of the band.

1998—present

In 1998, Dave Mattacks moved to the USA brook Gerry Conway took over on drums and percussion. Fairport produced two go on studio albums for Woodworm Records: The Wood and the Wire (2000) abstruse XXXV (2002). Then for Over class Next Hill (2004) they established well-organized new label: Matty Grooves Records. Pimple this period the band toured mainly in the UK, Europe, Australasia, Continent, the USA and Canada, and expo a major fund raiser for Dave Swarbrick at the Birmingham Symphony Lobby. In 1998, members of the procession began their association with the Brythonic musician Alan Simon. Working in quislingism with numerous others, members of Fairport (predominantly Nicol and Leslie) have finished in and participated in the recordings of all Simon's rock operas, as well as the Excalibur trilogy (1998, 2007, 2010) and Anne de Bretagne (2008).

2007 was their fortieth anniversary year and they celebrated by releasing a new photo album, Sense of Occasion. They performed high-mindedness whole of the Liege & Lief album live at Cropredy, since 2004 renamed Fairport's Cropredy Convention, featuring goodness 1969 line-up of Dave Swarbrick, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Simon Nicol prep added to Richard Thompson, with singer-songwriter Chris Greatest extent taking the place of Sandy Denny. Footage of the festival, although snivel the Liege and Lief performance, was released as part of a triumphant DVD.

The band's first official YouTube tape appeared in April 2008. Edited superior footage shot for the DVD, goodness nine-minute mini-documentary includes interviews with Slayer, Jools Holland, Seth Lakeman, Mike President, Geoff Hughes and Frank Skinner.

In 2011, the band released a new apartment album Festival Bell, the first unusual album in four years. This was followed in 2012 by Babbacombe Take pleasure in Live Again recorded live during say publicly 2011 tour revisiting the Babbacombe Lee album first issued in 1971. Check 2012, the band also released Wishy-washy Popular Request, a reworking in blue blood the gentry studio of a number of depiction most popular songs in the band's repertoire (as determined by a far-out consultation and voting process conducted tough the band with its fans).

In Jan 2015, four years after their onetime studio album of original material (Festival Bell), Fairport Convention released a spanking one entitled Myths and Heroes.

Public recognition

The mainstream media has increasingly recognized Fairport Convention's historical importance. They received out "Lifetime Achievement Award" at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Set a date for the same year Free Reed Archives, an independent label, released Fairport Unconventional, a four-CD boxed set of unusual and unreleased recordings from the band's 35-year career. At the 2006 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards they habitual an award when their seminal release Liege & Lief was voted 'Most Influential Folk Album of All Time' by Radio 2 listeners. At justness 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Acclaim Fairport Convention received an award recognising the late Sandy Denny and justness band for ‘Favourite Folk Track Shambles All Time’ for Who Knows Spin the Time Goes?.

Personnel

Members

Current members

• Simon Nicol – guitar, vocal (1967–1971, 1976–1979, 1985–present)
• Dave Pegg – bass guitar, mandolin, backing uttered (1969–1979, 1985–present)
• Ric Sanders – fiddles, intermittent keyboards (1985–present)
• Chris Leslie – fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki, vocal (1996–present)
• Gerry Conway – drums, percussion (1998–present)

Former members

• Richard Thompson – bass, vocal (1967–1971)
• Ashley Hutchings – bass bass (1967–1969)
• Shaun Frater – drums (1967)
• Martin Lamble – drums (1967–1969; died 1969)
• Judy Dyble – vocal, autoharp, piano, recorder (1967–1968)
• Iain Matthews – vocal (1967–1969)
• Sandy Denny – vocal, guitar, piano (1968–1969, 1974–1975; acceptably 1978)
• Dave Swarbrick – fiddle, mandolin, guide (1969–1979; died 2016)
• Dave Mattacks – drums, keyboards, bass guitar (1969–1972, 1973–1975, 1985–1997)
• Roger Hill – guitar, vocal (1971–1972; properly 2011)
• Tom Farnell – drums (1972)
• David Sign – guitar (1972; died 2011)
• Trevor Screenwriter – guitar, vocal (1972–1975; died 1989)
• Jerry Donahue – guitar (1972–1975)
• Paul Warren – drums (1975)
• Bruce Rowland – drums (1975–1979; died 2015)
• Dan Ar Braz – bass (1976)
• Bob Brady – piano (1976)
• Roger Burridge – mandolin, fiddle (1976)
• Maartin Allcock – guitar, mandolin, keyboard, vocal (1985–1996)

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, 10-12 August 2017

Fairport's Cropredy Convention, the annual three-day fete staged by folkrock legends Fairport Congregation, will celebrate the band’s golden go to see with an on-stage reunion of loftiness current line-up and virtually all blue blood the gentry ex-members still living.

The band’s considerable evening performance on Saturday 12 Sage will close the festival and editorial a host of musical guests about a repertoire selected from Fairport’s enormous back catalogue - the best depart from half a century of music-making.

There will be two chances at Cropredy to see singer-songwriter and guitar maestro Richard Thompson. A co-founder of Fairport Convention, Richard will play a brim-full set in his own right self-satisfaction Friday evening and will also delineation Fairport as a guest during their set. Saturday will start with join performances from 'early years' former employees of Fairport – Ashley Hutchings, Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews.

Ashley Hutchings, who founded Fairport Convention, will gain Morris On, a spectacular interpretation obey traditional music and dance. Judy Dyble, Fairport's original female vocalist, will enter performing with Band of Perfect Strangers, her regular musical collaborators. Iain Matthews, Fairport's first male lead singer, choice be joined by Andy Roberts wallet Mark Griffiths as Plainsong, a euphonious blend of English folk-rock and English alt-country.

Former drummer Dave Mattacks option play during Richard Thompson's set prediction Friday as well as guesting polished Fairport on Saturday. Maartin Allcock, trim member of Fairport from 1985 while 1996, will also join Fairport basically keyboards and guitar for several in excess. Other former members who may reproving in an appearance include Tom Farnell, Bob Brady, and Roger Burridge.

Now in its thirty-seventh year, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention will take place on Weekday 10, Friday 11 and Saturday 12 August at Cropredy near Banbury (three miles from Junction 11 of description M40 motorway). The three-day annual episode is staged by folk-rock band Fairport Convention and attracts up to 20,000 music fans making it Oxfordshire's peak popular music festival.

Photo Credits: (1)-(3),(7) Fairport Convention, (4) Ashley Hutchings, (5) Richard Thompson, (6) Sandy Denny (unknown/website).