Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention is an English folk rock band from London, active from 1967 to the present. It is often credited as one of the first English folk rock groups. The band starts by playing cover versions of American west coast music, then develops a style that combines rock music with traditional English folk tunes and songs.

Early line-up and style

The original line-up includes Judy Dyble, Martin Lamble, Iain Matthews, Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson. A move towards a more British folk rock sound comes mainly through the enthusiasm of bassist Ashley Hutchings and producer Joe Boyd. Dyble is replaced on the second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, by Sandy Denny, who is an experienced folk singer and songwriter. Dave Swarbrick joins on the third album, Unhalfbricking, first as a session musician.

Key recordings

Fairport Convention’s early material is noted for its mix of experimentation and eclecticism. Their BBC-broadcast recordings are collected on Heyday. Unhalfbricking contains early versions of two of the band’s best-known songs: Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where the Time Goes and A Sailor’s Life, which develops into a long instrumental section and shows the band’s approach to folk rock at its most expansive. Richard Thompson also writes distinctive original songs, including Meet on the Ledge on What We Did On Our Holidays.

Liege & Lief is widely associated with the band’s traditional folk side and includes both traditional songs and originals by Thompson and Denny. The following album, Full House, takes a rockier direction and includes Sloth and Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman.

Later years, festivals and recognition

The band continues through a series of personnel changes and albums until it is temporarily disbanded in 1979. It plays annual reunion concerts and reforms in 1985, after which it remains active and continues to tour and record regularly. Fairport Convention also organises Cropredy Festival, held every year since 1974 near Cropredy, north of Banbury in Oxfordshire, and capable of attracting large crowds.

In 2002, the band receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2006, listeners to Radio 2 vote Liege & Lief the Most Influential Folk Album of All Time, and a mass reunion of living Fairport members performs at the ceremony.