Fairport Convention

[Funkydrummer]

Appearing at Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre - Monday 5th June.

OR

Bury Met - Thursday 8th June.

Anyone going ? Should be a good neet out.

[Steve1956]

Is Swarbrick still with them,will they do the Babbacombe Lee album in full,if so I'm in!

[IanMcL]

Is Swarbrick still with them,will they do the Babbacombe Lee album in full,if so I'm in!

Dave Swarbrick died last year.

[Dressinggown]

'Matty Groves' is a top track.

[Billyblah]

Is Swarbrick still with them,will they do the Babbacombe Lee album in full,if so I'm in!

Ric Sanders took over from Swarb on electric fiddle many years ago. They did perform Babbacombe Lee in its entirety at Burnley Mechanics some 5-6 years back.
Still a great live act.

[Pstotto]

I saw their 'farewell gig' at Led Zep Knebworth in 79. Apparently it was because a lead member was going deaf.

[SalisburyClaret]

Not many bands have their own music festival - Cropredy is one of the best ones around

[LeadBelly]

I haven't seen them for c 4 decades. I was really into the "folk rock" movement late 1960s/early -mid 1970s and saw bands like Fairport, Steeleye Span
and (slightly different genre) Pentangle a fair few times.
I'm concerned about seeing them and being disappointed because they won't be as good as they seemed in those days. It's not stopped me buying the odd more recent album and I've continued to see some of the personnel involved (Swarb, Swarb/Carthy, R Thompson, Maddy Prior etc) over the years.
It's the same for me with other groups from those days- I just think I'll be disappointed (because they can't do it anymore and/or they were never as good as I now remember anyway).
I might get to Copredy some year soon if I can overcome my "fear", it's a fairly easy trip for me.

[Steve1956]

Dave Swarbrick died last year.

my life is so insular I miss things,RIP Dave.

[Hendrickxz]

I'd missed the news about Swarb as well, although I did know he had been very ill for some years, carting an oxygen cylinder round with him. Then he had some sort of transplant (might have been heart/lung) and rallied round for a while. I think it was the fags that did for him. I once when to a ceilidh at the old Burnley Folk Festival and him and Beryl Marriott were in the band. It was long before the smoking ban and they were virtually eating the confounded things. Must have done something like a packet apiece over the couple of hours. It's a wonder they weren't fitted with chimneys! Great talent and a quirky guy.

[Steve1956]

I'd missed the news about Swarb as well, although I did know he had been very ill for some years, carting an oxygen cylinder round with him. Then he had some sort of transplant (might have been heart/lung) and rallied round for a while. I think it was the fags that did for him. I once when to a ceilidh at the old Burnley Folk Festival and him and Beryl Marriott were in the band. It was long before the smoking ban and they were virtually eating the confounded things. Must have done something like a packet apiece over the couple of hours. It's a wonder they weren't fitted with chimneys! Great talent and a quirky guy.

Glad it wasn't just me Hendrickxz.

[IanMcL]

I was lucky enough to see Dave Swarbrick in a village hall a couple of miles down the road, just a year before his death. Good chat, super playing.

[conorscriv]

I've been to Cropredy every year for the past 9 I think. Started going when I was in sixth form.

We went because my dad wanted to see The Buzzcocks and Steve Winwood and we've been every year since. This year is their 50th anniversary and there were only about 600 tickets out of the 20,000 left yesterday I read.

It is a great weekend and so much more relaxed and laid back than many other festivals!

[boiledclaret]

Love Liege and lief and Full House. What a great band.
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[ElectroClaret]

Like some of their stuff, very good band.

Didn't they have a couple of members killed in a car crash in the late
Sixties, I remember reading?

[Funkydrummer]

Like some of their stuff, very good band.

Didn't they have a couple of members killed in a car crash in the late
Sixties, I remember reading?

Yes, an accident in their van in which a young lad and Richard Thompson's girlfriend at the time sadly died.

[Hipper]

Like some of their stuff, very good band.

Didn't they have a couple of members killed in a car crash in the late
Sixties, I remember reading?

Their then drummer, Martin Lamble, died in the crash.

They have had a varied career, starting off with US west Coast covers (e.g Joni Mitchell, Dylan), then virtually inventing British folk-rock, for which they are now most famous for. They then lost it in the mid 70s as far as I'm concerned when they went on to do interminable jigs and reels.

[Ribble Claret]

Jerry Donahue a man with connections to Fairport and Fotheringay used to divide his time between the U.S and Clitheroe. Used to occasionlly drink in the same club, nice bloke and very interesting to listen to.
Unfortunately on a trip bck to the states last year he suffered a major stroke. I don't think he'll be able to travel back over here and i believe he's been told he'll probably never play guitar again.

[Billyblah]

Jerry Donahue a man with connections to Fairport and Fotheringay used to divide his time between the U.S and Clitheroe. Used to occasionlly drink in the same club, nice bloke and very interesting to listen to.
Unfortunately on a trip bck to the states last year he suffered a major stroke. I don't think he'll be able to travel back over here and i believe he's been told he'll probably never play guitar again.

I was always more of a fan of Fairport with Richard Thompson who developed a very distinctive sound/style with the Fender Stratocaster. That said, Donohue could do some very impressive string-bendy things with a Telecaster.
For anyone slightly curious, the first five albums have been boxed into a pack which I've seen in HMV for £9.99. The albums are 'Fairport Convention', 'What we did on our holidays', 'Unhalfbricking', 'Liege and Lief' and 'Full House'. That collection probably represents Fairport at their best with Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson along with Dave Swarbrick.
'Nine' and 'Rising for the Moon' include Denny and Donahue. Later albums are pretty poor in comparison.

[LeadBelly]

Richard Thompson is still an (even more) excellent guitar player: electric or acoustic. A terrific songwriter too and nowadays a pretty good deliverer of a song.
I try to see him every 4-5 years. He tours UK most years latterly and usually alternates between an acoustic tour and an electric/ band tour.
He's over here with the acoustic version this autumn and I 'll see him in late October.
He can mix it up very well with old songs and new stuff though, of course, he always has to do 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. That song isn't typical of his output at all but a classic of its genre and everybody loves to sing along and admire the playing.