The Pentangle

The Pentangle

The Pentangle are a British folk group from London active between 1967 and 1973, known for helping to modernise British folk music in the 1960s alongside Fairport Convention. Their sound draws on folk and folk rock, but also leans strongly toward jazz, with twin acoustic guitars supported by jazz-influenced drums and acoustic bass. Their music also brings in elements of Middle Eastern music, blues, jazz and classical music, and they sometimes experiment with electric guitar and sitar.

Original line-up

The group’s core line-up includes singer Jacqui McShee, guitarists and singers Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Terry Cox. The wider membership also includes Gary Foote and Peter Kirtley. Jansch and Renbourn are central to the band’s identity and are both major figures in British folk guitar playing.

Notable songs and recordings

In the UK, the band is especially associated with Light Flight, which serves as the theme to the BBC drama series Take Three Girls. Interest in the original line-up continues through compilation releases, and the group also records and performs material linked to their earlier work, including Sweet Child.

Later activity

The original line-up splits in the early 1970s, then later reforms. It returns to the stage in 2008 and plays a UK tour that includes the Royal Festival Hall and a headline appearance at the Green Man Festival in Wales. In 2011, the original Pentangle perform several concerts, including shows at the Royal Festival Hall, Glastonbury and Cambridge. A live double album, Finale - An Evening with Pentangle, is released by Topic Records after being recorded during the 2008 tour.

Related projects

After Bert Jansch leaves, Jacqui McShee continues with a related group under the name Jacqui McShee's Pentangle.