The Fairport Convention Story
Fairport Convention are often credited with being the first British folk-rock band. Fairport rapidly developed from playing cover versions of American 'west coast' style music to an individual style which melded rock music with traditional English tunes and songs. Throughout it’s first decade the band went through numerous personnel changes only Richard Thompson would stand the test of time. Fairport Convention was temporarily disbanded in 1979 but played annual reunion concerts until it reformed in 1985. Since then, they have enjoyed stability and continue to tour and record regularly. The band was formed in 1967, in the underground clubs of London, by a group of folk musicians, Richard Thompson (guitarist), Ian Matthews (singer) and Ashley Hutchings (bassist). Their first album was Fairport Convention (Polydor, 1968), a mixture of original songs and covers from American folksingers. Following the suggestions of their producer, Joe Boyd, the band recruited singer Sandy Denny who had formerly played in the Strawbs, they set about abandoning all Byrds’ clichés and gave preference to the writing of original songs. Fairport Convention didn't reach their peak until Dyble was replaced after the first album in 1968 by Sandy Denny, who had previously recorded both as a solo act and with the Strawbs. Denny's penetrating, resonant style qualified her as the best British folk-rock singer of all time, and provided Fairport with the best vocalist they would ever have. What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) and Unhalfbricking (1969) are their best albums, mixing strong originals, excellent covers of contemporary folk-rock songs by the likes of Mitchell and Dylan, and imaginative revivals of traditional folk songs that mixed electric and acoustic instruments with a beguiling ease. Matthews had left the band in early 1969, and Lamble (still in his teens) died in an accident involving the group's equipment van in mid-1969. That forced Fairport to regroup, replacing Lamble with Dave Mattacks, and adding Dave Swarbrick on fiddle. Their repertoire, too, became much more traditional in focus, and electrified traditional folk numbers would dominate their next album, Liege and Lief (1969). Here critical thought diverges; some insist that this is unequivocally their peak, marking a final escape from their '60s folk-rock influences into a much more original style. This school of thought severely underestimates their song writing talents, and others feel that they were at their best when mixing original and outside material, and contemporary and traditional styles, in fact becoming more predictable and derivative when they opted to concentrate on British folk chestnuts. The Liege and Lief line-up didn't last long; by the end of the '60s, Ashley Hutchings had left to join Steeleye Span, replaced by Dave Pegg. More crucially, Denny was also gone, helping to form Fotheringay. Thompson was still on board for Full House (1970), but by the beginning of 1971 he too had departed, leaving Nicol as the only original member. Fairport have kept going, on and off (mostly on), touring and performing frequently. It may be too harsh to dismiss all of their post-Thompson records out of hand; Angel Delight (1971), the first recorded without the guitarist on board, was actually their highest-charting LP in the U.K., reaching the Top Ten. Nicol's exit in late 1971 erased all vestiges of connections to their salad days. Fairport was now not so much a continuous entity as a concept, carried on by musicians dedicated to the electrified British folk style that had been mapped out on Liege and Lief. So it continues to this day, supported by a devoted fan base Dirty Linen, the top American roots music magazine, originally began as a Fairport Convention fanzine. Denny would actually return to the group for about a year and a half in the 1970s, prior to her death in 1978; Nicol rejoined in 1976. Keeping track of Fairport's multitudinous line-up changes is a daunting task, and the group has coexisted on an erratic basis with the various other projects of the most frequent members Nicol, Mattacks, and Pegg. They played annual reunion concerts during the 1980s and '90s, events that turned into some of the most popular folk festivals in Europe. The year 2000 was marked by the very successful 'Y2K' tour and a new studio album, The Wood And The Wire. In 2002, Fairport Convention celebrated 35 years as a band and released a new album, the appropriately titled XXXV. They also commissioned Fairport-branded 'Anniversary Ale', a bottled beer from Wadworth Brewery. The band undertook a gruelling schedule, touring the UK Europe, Australasia, Europe, the USA and Canada Fairport Convention won the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Their seminal album Liege And Lief was voted' Best Folk Album Ever' by Radio 2 listeners The most distinguished graduates of Fairport, however, have continued to shape the British folk and folk-rock scene with notable solo and group projects. Richard Thompson is one of the most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters in the world; Ian Matthews made some interesting recordings as a solo act and with Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort; Denny sang with Fotheringay and released several solo albums before her death; and Hutchings carried on the most traditional face of British folk-rock with Steeleye Span, the Albion Band, and the Etchingham Steam Band.
	LIVEMUSICMAGAZINE.COM2006