Fairport Convention

The London band that took Sandy Denny's voice and Dave Swarbrick's fiddle into traditional song in 1969 and made Liege & Lief, then kept going for more than fifty years.

Origin: London, England
Years active: 1967-present
Genres: folk rock, British folk rock
Labels: Island Records, A&M, Vertigo, Woodworm Records

Fairport

Fairport Convention took their name from Fairport, a house in Muswell Hill in north London where the bassist Ashley Hutchings and the guitarist Simon Nicol rehearsed on the floor above Nicol's father's medical practice. With the guitarist Richard Thompson and the drummer Shaun Frater, they played their first concert at St Michael's Church Hall in Golders Green on 27 May 1967. A drummer in the audience, Martin Lamble, convinced them he could do better than Frater and took his place. Judy Dyble joined as a singer, and the group played regularly at underground venues such as UFO and the Electric Garden.

The manager Joe Boyd arranged a record deal and suggested a second male voice, so Iain Matthews joined. At this stage the band took its material and inspiration from North American folk rock, with songs by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Two lead singers and an American-sounding name led many listeners to take them for a US act, and they were nicknamed the British Jefferson Airplane.

Sandy Denny

Dyble left, and Sandy Denny, a folk singer who had recorded as a soloist and with the Strawbs, replaced her in 1968. Her arrival encouraged the band to bring British folk music into what had been an American-influenced sound. What We Did on Our Holidays came out on Island Records in December 1968 and included Thompson's Meet on the Ledge, which became the band's unofficial anthem.

Unhalfbricking followed in 1969. It held Denny's Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, several unreleased Bob Dylan songs and a French-language version of one of them, Si Tu Dois Partir, which reached number 21 on the UK singles chart and won the band a slot on Top of the Pops. Matthews left during the sessions after singing on one song. The Birmingham fiddler Dave Swarbrick guested on A Sailor's Life, a traditional song Denny had brought from her folk club days. The recording sent Hutchings into the library at Cecil Sharp House to research traditional music.

Liege & Lief

In May 1969 the band's van crashed on the M1 motorway, and Martin Lamble and Jeannie Franklyn were killed. The band nearly broke up. Instead, Dave Mattacks took over on drums, Swarbrick joined as a full member, and Boyd put them in a rented house at Farley Chamberlayne near Winchester, where they rehearsed over the summer.

Liege & Lief launched with a sold-out concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 24 September 1969 and reached number 17 on the UK albums chart. Its traditional ballads, among them Matty Groves and Tam Lin, sat beside new songs written in a similar style. Before it was released, Hutchings left to form Steeleye Span and Denny left to form Fotheringay.

Afterwards

Dave Pegg replaced Hutchings and is still in the band today. Full House reached number 13 in 1970, and Thompson left soon after. Many line-ups followed. Denny returned in 1974 and sang on Rising for the Moon, which reached number 52 in 1975, then left again in 1976. She died in 1978, aged 31.

The band played a farewell concert in the Oxfordshire village of Cropredy on 4 August 1979. A reunion there a year later grew into the annual festival now called Fairport's Cropredy Convention. Nicol, Pegg and Mattacks re-formed the band in 1985 with Ric Sanders and Maartin Allcock, and it has remained active, releasing its 29th studio album, Shuffle and Go, in 2020. The group received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and in 2006 listeners voted Liege & Lief the Most Influential Folk Album of All Time. In 2007 the band played the whole album at Cropredy, with Chris While in Denny's place.

Members

Simon Nicol guitar, dulcimer, vocals (1967-1971, 1976-1979, 1985-present)
Dave Pegg bass guitar, mandolin (1969-1979, 1985-present)
Dave Mattacks drums, percussion (1969-1972, 1973-1975, 1985-1997, 2023-present)
Ric Sanders fiddle, keyboards (1985-present)
Chris Leslie mandolin, fiddle, vocals (1996-present)
Richard Thompson guitar, vocals
Ashley Hutchings bass guitar (1967-1969)
Sandy Denny vocals (1968-1969, 1974-1976)
Dave Swarbrick fiddle, viola, vocals

Records

What We Did on Our Holidays 1968 · Island Records
The second album and the first with Sandy Denny, mixing traditional songs, American covers and the band's own writing.
Liege & Lief 1969 · Island Records
The fourth album: traditional ballads and new songs in their style, played with fiddle, electric guitars and a new drummer.
Unhalfbricking 1969 · Island Records
The third album: Dylan songs, two Thompson songs, Denny's signature song and an eleven-minute traditional lament.
Full House 1970 · Island Records
The first album without a female vocalist, made by a five-piece band with Dave Pegg on bass.
Rising for the Moon 1975
The tenth album, made with Sandy Denny back in the band, and the last she sang on.

Songs

Who Knows Where the Time Goes? Unhalfbricking · 1969
Sandy Denny's song, recorded by Judy Collins first and then by Fairport on Unhalfbricking, where it became a signature piece for the band and for her.
A Sailor's Life Unhalfbricking · 1969
An eleven-minute traditional lament, with Dave Swarbrick guesting on fiddle, that pointed the band toward Liege & Lief.
Matty Groves Liege & Lief · 1969
The Child ballad of an adulterous night and its bloody end, played by Fairport at over eight minutes.
Si Tu Dois Partir Unhalfbricking · 1969
A French-language version of a Bob Dylan song, thought up in a dressing room, and the band's only charting single.
Meet on the Ledge What We Did on Our Holidays · 1968
Thompson's early song, which became the band's unofficial anthem and the usual last number at their concerts.
Tam Lin Liege & Lief · 1969
The Child ballad of a woman who rescues her lover from the Queen of the Fairies, played at seven minutes and twenty seconds on Liege & Lief.

Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Steeleye Span, Fotheringay, The Albion Band

Where to go next

Official

Fairport Convention The band's own site, with gig dates, news, the shop and Cropredy festival information.
A History of Fairport The band's own account of its career, from the 1967 church hall to the present.

Reference

Fairport Convention on Wikipedia A long career history with line-ups, albums and awards.
Liege & Lief on Wikipedia Recording story, sleeve, personnel and reception of the 1969 album.
Unhalfbricking on Wikipedia The recording, the sleeve story, personnel and chart history.
What We Did on Our Holidays on Wikipedia The second album, with its sleeve and personnel.
Full House on Wikipedia The 1970 album and the track removed at the last minute.
Fairport's Cropredy Convention on Wikipedia How a village garden gig became an annual festival.
Sandy Denny on Wikipedia Biography of the singer, from Fairport through her solo albums.
Richard Thompson on Wikipedia The guitarist and songwriter after Fairport.
Steeleye Span on Wikipedia The band Ashley Hutchings formed on leaving Fairport.
Joe Boyd on Wikipedia The producer and Witchseason founder behind the early records.
Who Knows Where the Time Goes? on Wikipedia The song's history and a list of cover versions.
Meet on the Ledge on Wikipedia The song's origin and its place as the closing number.

Writing and criticism

Pitchfork review of the 2008 reissue A track-by-track reading of What We Did on Our Holidays and Unhalfbricking.

Sources

Fairport Convention, Wikipedia
A History of Fairport, Fairport Convention
Liege & Lief, Wikipedia
Unhalfbricking, Wikipedia
Fairport Convention: What We Did on Our Holidays / Unhalfbricking, Pitchfork (2008-05-02)
Cropredy Festival, Wikipedia