Ashley Hutchings

Ashley Hutchings

Ashley Hutchings is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, bandleader, writer and record producer from Southgate, United Kingdom. Born in 1945, he is a central figure in English folk rock and works in folk and rock contexts. He is known by the nickname “Tyger” and is credited as Ashley Stephen Hutchings.

Early musical background

Hutchings begins in skiffle, playing first in a skiffle band and moving from a washtub bass to a proper upright bass. His early listening includes skiffle, trad jazz, early English and American rock and roll, and folk music from the early 1960s.

In 1966 he forms the Ethnic Shuffle Orchestra with Simon Nicol, Steve Airey and Bryan King. The group plays a mix of English skiffle, American R&B and folk music from the British Isles.

Fairport Convention and English folk rock

In 1967, Hutchings co-founds Fairport Convention with Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson, later joined by Martin Lamble and Judy Dyble. Dave Mattacks replaces Lamble after his death, and Sandy Denny later replaces Dyble. Fairport Convention combines traditional English folk, original songs and American singer-songwriter material. After the album Liege and Lief, which draws largely on traditional material, Hutchings leaves the group when it becomes clear that later recordings will rely more heavily on original songs.

Steeleye Span and the Albion groups

Hutchings goes on to found Steeleye Span with Tim Hart, Maddy Prior and Peter Knight, with Martin Carthy later joining as a fifth member. The original line-up, and later versions of the band, focuses on traditional material arranged for a five-piece band with electric instruments. Hutchings leaves after the recording of Below the Salt.

In late 1971 he is part of the Albion Country Band, formed to accompany Shirley Collins on an album, and then keeps the studio group together under that name. The line-up includes Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, John Kirkpatrick and Royston Wood, and over time the band includes many other musicians. In January 1974 it becomes the Etchingham Steam Band, with Hutchings on acoustic bass guitar, Shirley Collins on vocals, Ian Holder on accordion and Terry Potter on mouth-organ. Nicol, Dave Mattacks and Martin Carthy pass through this line-up, which lasts until 1975.

The next version, the Albion Dance Band, runs from 1975 to 1977, with Hutchings back on electric bass and Nicol still involved. In 1978 he forms the Albion Band, which includes Ric Sanders on violin and later features changing personnel including Nicol and Mattacks. The band continues into the 1990s, records numerous albums and becomes the subject of a BBC documentary.

Other projects and collaborations

During the 1970s and 1980s, Hutchings records a series of semi-solo projects including Kickin' Up the Sawdust, A Word in Your Ear, The View from Pa's Piano Stool, By the Gloucester Docks, The Compleat Dancing Master with John Kirkpatrick, Rattlebone and Ploughjack as Ashley Hutchings & Chums, and Morris On, Son of Morris On and Sway with Me as Judy Dunlop & Ashley Hutchings with Judy Dunlop.

He also appears on albums by Ian Matthews, The Bunch, Shirley Collins, Royston and Heather Wood, Ray Fisher, Richard Thompson, Mike and Lal Waterson, Martin Carthy, the Kipper Family and Polly Bolton. His work also appears on compilation albums and boxed sets associated with Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny.

Later work

In the 1980s Hutchings writes a one-man show about folk-song collector Cecil Sharp and performs it across England from 1984. This work leads to the album An Hour with Cecil Sharp and Ashley Hutchings.

In the 1990s he forms Ashley Hutchings' Big Beat Combo, a revival group devoted to skiffle, trad and early English rock and roll. He is also a member of The Lark Rise Band, The Ashley Hutchings All Stars, The Ashley Hutchings Dance Band and The Bunch.

Significance

Hutchings is one of the key organisers in English folk rock, associated with the formation and development of several major bands. His bass playing makes him in demand beyond folk settings, and much of his work centres on adapting traditional music for modern listeners while keeping its character intact.