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(1967 – 1979, 1985 – present)
Fairport Convention is often credited with being the first English folk-rock band. Formed in 1967, Fairport rapidly developed from playing cover versions of American ‘west coast’ music to an individual style which melded rock music with traditional English tunes and songs.
Like their peers The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane they were blessed with several considerable individual talents and produced music that -at least initially- was eclectic, as well as exploratory. This side of the band may best be heard on Heyday, a collection of tracks broadcast by the BBC. The move to a more British form of folk rock came primarily as a result of the enthusiasm of bassist Ashley Hutchings and producer Joe Boyd. Original singer Judy Dyble was replaced on their second LP What We Did On Our Holidays by Sandy Denny, an experienced folk singer and excellent composer in her own right. Fiddle virtuoso Dave Swarbrick joined, initially as sessioneer, on their third, Unhalfbricking. That LP has arguably their first two bona fide masterpieces. One is their version of the Sandy Denny song,Who Knows Where the Time Goes, popularized by Judy Collins, but characterised on their version by a perfect balance between Denny’s vocals and the exquisite support of the group as a whole, and lead guitarist Richard Thompson in particular. The other is A Sailor’s Life, the first to demonstrate the potential power of folk rock, the song exploding in an improvised and sophisticated instrumental coda that reaches beyond the words through the impassioned interplay of the whole band, led by the virtuosity of Thompson and Swarbrick in particular.
Like their peers The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Jefferson Airplane they were blessed with several considerable individual talents and produced music that -at least initially- was eclectic, as well as exploratory. This side of the band may best be heard on Heyday, a collection of tracks broadcast by the BBC. The move to a more British form of folk rock came primarily as a result of the enthusiasm of bassist Ashley Hutchings and producer Joe Boyd. Original singer Judy Dyble was replaced on their second LP What We Did On Our Holidays by Sandy Denny, an experienced folk singer and excellent composer in her own right. Fiddle virtuoso Dave Swarbrick joined, initially as sessioneer, on their third, Unhalfbricking. That LP has arguably their first two bona fide masterpieces. One is their version of the Sandy Denny song,
Who Knows Where the Time Goes, popularized by Judy Collins, but characterised on their version by a perfect balance between Denny’s vocals and the exquisite support of the group as a whole, and lead guitarist Richard Thompson in particular. The other is A Sailor’s Life, the first to demonstrate the potential power of folk rock, the song exploding in an improvised and sophisticated instrumental coda that reaches beyond the words through the impassioned interplay of the whole band, led by the virtuosity of Thompson and Swarbrick in particular.
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Unhalfbricking
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Liege & Lief
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What We Did On Our Holidays
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Shoutbox
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Eriici wrote:
Mr. Lacey is so great!
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geordie777 wrote:
TAM LIN WOWWEEEE
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grantmarteeth wrote:
Sandy, I love you.
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son_of_a_beach wrote:
Fairport Convention is Sandy Denny.
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Iamie wrote:
I love their version of Matty Groves!
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Coketti wrote:
'Farewell, Farewell' should be higher in the list! precious song!
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Brunanalyzed wrote:
You, Richard Thompson, you... :')
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smontoyach wrote:
Buena cancion
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falkmark wrote:
The debut album by the swedish psych folk band Valla is out now (www.recordheaven.net). Please visit www.myspace.com/vallamusik for more info and some music.
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misantropodelia wrote:
!!!
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la-brava wrote:
Matty Groves
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lcuydiamond wrote:
lets roll...
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kempo23 wrote:
what a voice!
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AUTOLYCUS555 wrote:
I love this band. And have done for 30 years. <sigh>
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RockBottomRiser wrote:
@ mabonuob - don't be a knob.
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RockBottomRiser wrote:
The Lord Is In This Place
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Dasein_60 wrote:
Enjoyed listening to the Fairport Convention song, "Time Shall Show the Wiser." Reminds me of days past when musicians sang songs from the heart. Wish I could be in London to see them play ..... Peace
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falkmark wrote:
The debut album by the swedish psych folk band Valla is out now (www.recordheaven.net). Please visit www.myspace.com/vallamusik for more info and some music.
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jussslic wrote:
I'm so glad to have found this today
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nsoares wrote:
Tale In Hard Time <333
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Feb
14
Fairport Convention
The Alban Arena, St Albans, London, United Kingdom
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Feb
18
Fairport Convention
The Stables, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
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- Feb 27 Fairport Convention backstage @ The Green Hotel, Kinross, United Kingdom
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Recent Activity
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dublinjames, Handlewithcara, hip_hippie and 4 other people added Fairport Convention to their libraries. yesterday morning
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minuszeroLastFM tagged Fairport Convention with ‘folk’. Monday morning
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Supernatural_S, billylogjam, bluepigband and 32 other people added Fairport Convention to their libraries. Sunday evening
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NicScherzinger tagged Fairport Convention with ‘sandy leah’. last month
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Meatbreak wrote about Fairport Convention in Top 50 Albums of 2011. last month
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Mark_H wrote about Fairport Convention – Fairport Convention in Prog Albums: Decade: 1960s. last month
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Groups (72)
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Sandy Denny
108 members
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Fairport Convention
142 members
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Cropredy Festival
79 members
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British Folk-Rock
328 members
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Richard Thompson
189 members
More Information
- Links
- Band Members
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- Richard Thompson
- Ric Sanders
- David Rea
- Jerry Donahue
- Chris Leslie
- Ashley Hutchings
- Paul Warren
- Roger Hill
- Iain Matthews
- Bob Brady
- Maartin Allcock
- Trevor Lucas
- Roger Burridge
- Dave Pegg
- Dave Swarbrick
- Simon Nicol
- Gerry Conway
- Dan Ar Braz
- Judy Dyble
- Martin Lamble
- Dave Mattacks
- Bruce Rowland
- Sandy Denny
- Tom Farnell
- Labels
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