Maddy Prior

Maddy Prior

Maddy Prior is an English folk singer from Blackpool, born in 1947. She is best known as the lead singer of Steeleye Span and is widely associated with British folk music.

Early life and first collaborations

In her teens, Prior moves to St Albans, where she befriends Donovan Leitch and Mac MacLeod. She later forms a duo with MacLeod called Mac & Maddy. She also works as a roadie for visiting American musicians, including Reverend Gary Davis.

Steeleye Span

Prior begins performing with Tim Hart in 1966, and the pair record two albums before becoming founding members of Steeleye Span in 1969. She remains a central part of the group through the early years, leaves in 1997, and returns in 2002. Tim Hart is a key collaborator in the band’s early period and later moves into semi-retirement because of ill health.

Other projects and collaborations

Alongside Steeleye Span, Prior has a long solo career and works with a range of other acts and partnerships, including Tim Hart & Maddy Prior, Maddy Prior & the Carnival Band, Maddy Prior & Forgotten Lands, Peter Knight & Maddy Prior, and the Freeborn John Theatre Company. She is also known for her collaboration with June Tabor as the Silly sisters.

Later work

Since 2003, Prior runs and hosts Stones Barn, an arts centre in Cumbria.