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Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol (born 13 October 1950) is an English guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founding member of British folk rock group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the band. He has also been involved with the Albion Band and a wide range of musical projects, both as a collaborator, producer and as a solo artist. He has received several awards for his work and career. History Early career Born in Muswell Hill, North London, England, Nicol was the son of a general practitioner, who died in 1964. He began to play guitar at the age of 11 and left school at 15. In 1966 he was asked to join local band the Ethnic Shuffle Orchestra by bass guitarist Ashley Hutchings, and soon left his job at a local cinema to play full-time. They rehearsed above his father's old surgery in Fairport House, which gave its name to the band he and Hutchings formed with Richard Thompson and Shaun Frater as Fairport Convention in ...
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Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchley and Crouch End. It has many streets with Edwardian architecture. History The earliest records of Muswell Hill date from the 12th century. The Bishop of London, who was the Lord of the Manor of Haringey, owned the area and granted , located to the east of Colney Hatch Lane, to a newly formed order of nuns. The nuns built a chapel on the site and called it Our Lady of Muswell. The name ''Muswell'' is believed to come from a natural spring or well (the "Mossy Well"), said to have miraculous properties. A traditional story tells that Scottish king Malcolm IV was cured of disease after drinking the water. The area became a place of pilgrimage for healing during medieval times. The River Moselle, which has its source in Muswell ...
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What We Did On Our Holidays
''What We Did on Our Holidays'' (released as ''Fairport Convention'' in the United States) is the second album by British band Fairport Convention, released in 1969. It was their first album to feature singer-songwriter Sandy Denny. The album also showed a move towards the folk rock for which the band became noted, including tracks later to become perennial favourites such as "Fotheringay" and the song traditionally used to close live concerts, "Meet on the Ledge". History Following the departure of Judy Dyble, the band conducted auditions for a replacement singer, and Sandy Denny became the obvious choice. Simon Nicol has said "it was a one horse race really... she stood out like a clean glass in a sink full of dirty dishes". According to author Richie Unterberger Denny's "haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost". The album has been described by Unterberger as "a near-ideal balance between imaginative reworkings of traditional folk songs ... quality covers of conte ...
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Shirley Collins
Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on piano and portative organ created unique settings for Shirley's plain, austere singing style. Biography Early life Shirley Collins was born in Hastings, East Sussex, England on 5 July 1935. She grew up, with her older sister Dolly, in the area, in a family which kept alive a great love of traditional song. Songs learnt from their grandfather and from their mother's sister, Grace Winborn, were to be important in the sisters' repertoire throughout their career. On leaving school, at the age of 17, Collins enrolled at a teachers' training college in Tooting, south London. In London she also involved herself in the early folk revival, making her first appearance on vinyl on the 1955 compilation ''Folk Song Today''. In 1954, at a party hos ...
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Albion Country Band
The Albion Band, also known as The Albion Country Band, The Albion Dance Band, and The Albion Christmas Band, were a British folk rock band, originally brought together and led by musician Ashley Hutchings. Generally considered one of the most important groupings in the genre, it has contained or been associated with a large proportion of major English folk performers in its long and fluid history. The one constant in the band's history has been the band leader Ashley Hutchings, founding member of two other English folk rock groupings Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, and it has been the home for most of the projects of his long career, though in the 2011 incarnation of the band he has handed over the reins to his son Blair Dunlop. History Origins Initially Hutchings formed the band in April 1971 to accompany his then wife the singer Shirley Collins on her ''No Roses'' album. Dave Mattacks, Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol (from Fairport Convention), Lal and Mike Wa ...
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Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and were commercially successful in that period, with four Top 40 albums and two hit singles: "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat (song), All Around My Hat". Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes; Maddy Prior being the only remaining original member of the band. Their musical repertoire consists of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reel (dance), reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions. History Early years Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born ...
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History Of Fairport Convention
''The History of Fairport Convention'' is the first compilation of tracks by Fairport Convention, released in 1972. At the time it was released, it appeared that the band had folded. The cover had a "family tree" by Pete Frame on the front. Another unusual aspect of the album was that a piece of ribbon was glued to the sleeve, making it look as if a royal seal had been embossed on it. Different reissues had blue ribbons, or red or green. Later reissues of the album had no ribbon, but the central seal was shown in a larger size, and the family tree was missing. Track listing Side one # "Meet on the Ledge" # "Fotheringay" # "Mr Lacey" # "Book Song" # "A Sailor's Life" Side two # "Si Tu Dois Partir" # " Who Knows Where the Time Goes" # "Matty Groves "Matty Groves", also known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard" or "Little Musgrave", is a ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a young man and a noblewoman that is ended w ...
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"Babbacombe" Lee
''"Babbacombe" Lee'' is a 1971 album by British folk rock group Fairport Convention, which tells the life story of John Babbacombe Lee, a Victorian-era alleged murderer who was condemned to death but was reprieved after the gallows failed on three occasions to work properly. After the commercial and chart success of its predecessor, '' Angel Delight'', the album sold disappointingly, though it was critically acclaimed, and is regarded by the authors of ''The Electric Muse'' (1975) as the first "folk rock opera". It was the band's seventh album since their debut in 1968. Concept The album follows John "Babbacombe" Lee's life story. The events of his life are described in song, from his boyhood through his conviction for murder, sentence of death, and the failure to carry out the execution. The songs describe his boyhood poverty, his time in the Royal Navy, and his being invalided out. The album then describes how Lee went to work in the service of a Miss Keyes. While Lee wa ...
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Angel Delight (album)
''Angel Delight'' is the sixth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in June 1971. This was the first Fairport Convention album without guitarist Richard Thompson, and the lineup consisted of Simon Nicol (guitar, vocals) (the only original group member), Dave Swarbrick (violin, vocals), Dave Pegg (bass, vocals), and Dave Mattacks (drums). Production The title derives from "The Angel" in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire, a former pub which the band were living in at the time, and the eponymous track is autobiographical, referring to "John the Wood" (co-producer), "Dave the Drum" (Mattacks), and even details such as "peer through the haze watching ''Top of the Pops''". The band moved out of The Angel shortly after the album's release, partly because a lorry had crashed into Dave Swarbrick's bedroom. The U.K. album cover included liner notes consisting of dialogue among band members and roadies preparing to leave "The Angel" for a gig, that was replaced on ...
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Full House (Fairport Convention Album)
''Full House'' is a 1970 album by British folk rock group Fairport Convention, their fifth since their debut, '' Fairport Convention'' in 1968, and their first without a female vocalist. Production The album was their first without a female vocalist, as Sandy Denny had left to form Fotheringay. Founder member Ashley Hutchings had also left for Steeleye Span, and Dave Pegg had joined on bass. Richard Thompson was to leave the band for a solo career early the following year. As their previous album, ''Liege & Lief'', had reinterpreted a number of traditional folk tunes, so did ''Full House''. Many were sewn into two medleys, "Dirty Linen" and "Flatback Caper". The album also featured the nine-minute track "Sloth", which remained part of the group's live set for many years and has been described as "haunting, moody, dazzling". The original issue of ''Full House'' was intended to comprise the following tracks: Test pressings were made following this sequence, but before th ...
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Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk and rock groups including the Ian Campbell Folk Group and Jethro Tull. History Early career David Pegg was born on 2 November 1947, at Acocks Green, Birmingham, England. He began to learn guitar when 14 or 15, inspired by The Shadows, and played in a school band at Yardley Grammar School. After leaving school he worked as an insurance clerk for about a year while playing in a part-time bands the Crawdaddys and The Roy Everett Blues Band, who supported several performers from the Birmingham beat scene of the time, including the Spencer Davis Group and The Moody Blues. In 1966 he auditioned for The Uglys, featuring Steve Gibbons and was beaten to the position by friend and guitarist Roger Hill, but was offered the job of bass guitarist ...
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Dave Swarbrick
David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was one of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second British folk revival, contributing to some of the most important groups and projects of the 1960s, and he became a much sought-after session musician, which led him throughout his career to work with many of the major figures in folk and folk rock music. A member of Fairport Convention from 1969, he is credited with assisting them to produce their seminal album '' Liege & Lief'' (1969) which initiated the British folk rock movement. This, and his subsequent career, helped create greater interest in British traditional music and was highly influential within mainstream rock. After 1970 he emerged as Fairport Convention's leading figure and guided the band through a series of ...
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Sandy Denny
Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly working with the Strawbs, Denny joined Fairport Convention in 1968, remaining with them until 1969. She formed the short-lived band Fotheringay in 1970, before focusing on a solo career. Between 1971 and 1977, Denny released four solo albums: ''The North Star Grassman and the Ravens'', ''Sandy'', ''Like an Old Fashioned Waltz'' and '' Rendezvous''. She also duetted with Robert Plant on "The Battle of Evermore" for Led Zeppelin's album ''Led Zeppelin IV'' in 1971. Denny died in 1978 at the age of 31 due to injuries and health issues related to alcohol abuse. Music publications ''Uncut'' and ''Mojo'' have described Denny as Britain's finest female singer-songwriter. Her composition " Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" has been recorded by Judy C ...
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