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BIZARRE: Fairport convention | Mind Blowing Facts

“Robert Plant sat at the back. You could see his brain ticking away, thinking, ‘I should do this.’ That’s what I like”: What drives the prog veteran who’s been compared to God?

With 100 albums to his name, prime mover of folk rock Ashley Hutchings has never run out of creative goals.

Louder

"The music evokes the past in an extraordinary way. The public own it now, and it has a kind of magic to it." The story of Meet On The Ledge, Fairport Convention's most stirring, emotive anthem

Richard Thompson used to think Fairport Convention's Meet Me On The Ledge was “immature, juvenile" - now it's a much-loved communal singalong

Louder

“It would be interesting to revisit some of the songs, but it’s never going to happen. I don’t know who isn’t talking to who these days”: Judy Dyble was always amazed at the quality of her collaborators

In 2018, Fairport Convention’s first female vocalist found herself inspired by a trapped rainbow, a bad Elvis impersonator and her early work with Giles, Giles and Fripp

Louder

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Fairport Convention announce Spring tour dates for 2026

Durable folk rockers Fairport Convention will celebrate their Diamond Anniversary in 2027

Louder

“He couldn’t stand up so I hit him over the head with my bass. He fell to the floor. I ran away… I didn’t know if he was still alive”: The bassist who survived Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull and believing he’d murdered his bandmate on stage

Veteran admits he sailed close to the wind as he taught prog giants to drink – but he learned how much it means to play live with a band

Louder

“We thought it would be hard to replace her, so we didn’t. There had always been changes and this was a big one, but our attitude was to soldier on”: The prog pioneers who evaded disaster and reinvented themselves in 1970

What happens when a band’s trademark vocalist leaves? In 1970, the answer for this band was to take the pain and rely on their other strengths

Louder

“It was painful for me to listen to Ian Anderson’s voice. I felt for him a lot”: Dave Pegg on why he quit Jethro Tull, beating Metallica to a Grammy, gigging with John Bonham and working with Nick Drake in a smelly squat

The proud owner of a broken Grammy award is regarded as a revelation in folk rock with Fairport Convention – but he only played bass that way because he didn’t know what else to do

Guitar World

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“I hate guitar jams because they usually get competitive. You have to breathe, be true to yourself and think, ‘This has to be music’”: Folk icon Richard Thompson on tuning revelations, keeping his chops up, and why you won't find him in a guitar jam

We meet Thompson to find out how he’s preparing to go head-to-head with Tommy Emmanuel, chat about the end of his touring days, and talk about how fresh tunings yield fresh ideas

Guitar World

“She left music behind – but music kept trying to find her”: What Judy Dyble did for Fairport Convention, Robert Fripp, and me

The late singer-songwriter found fans in every genre she stepped into. For those who knew her, her joyful personality and optimism in the face of adversity was even more admirable, says Sid Smith

Louder

“The intoxicating beauty remains 20 years on, reinforcing the notion that her softly charismatic voice can enchant in any era”: Judy Dyble’s Darkness To Light – The Recordings 2004-2006

Clamshell collection assembles the original Fairport Convention singer’s trio of 21st-century career-reviving albums

Louder

“We are open to just about anything... I am all for writing anything that sounds like a cavalcade of horses!” Trevor de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec are crafting an epic journey, one riff at a time, as Pelican's original lineup takes flight again

Flickering Resonance is the first Pelican album since the return of Schroeder-Lebec, and it finds the Chicago post-metal institution's sound on an evolutionary path to destinations unknown

MusicRadar

Fairport Convention and The Stranglers is one of the more unlikely collaborations you'll hear this year!

Hugh Cornwell hooks up with members of Fairport Convention for a charity single cover of Tobacco Road

Louder

“Lionisation is too late when you’re dead… I’ve often thought of faking my own death and watching the record companies drum up all the stuff they can”: A fight, a show then a drink with John Martyn

All the evidence you need to be convinced the hard-living singer-songwriter was as progressive as they come

Louder

“We’d been paying Rick Wakeman £25 a week and Yes offered him £100… We had his son Oliver with us for a while, and he left for Yes too!” Dave Cousins and the life and times of Strawbs

Prog veteran recalls connecting with Sandy Denny, his band’s attempt to fire him, being loved by Led Zeppelin, why they’ve never had a Steven Wilson remix, the “albatross” of Part Of The Union and the unreleased, more political version

Louder

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Louder

A pre-Fairport Sandy Denny collection, Early Home Recordings, to be released

Sandy Denny's new Early Home Recordings collection will be released in September

Louder

“There’d be three numbers in the set; Dave Swarbrick would go berserk with his Echoplex and wah-wah. Especially in America, with substances being consumed”: The origins of Fairport Convention

The folk-rock pioneers’ 80s resurgence was no less unlikely than their earlier years, as they meandered towards success and influence

The Guardian - UK

‘They said I was worse than the Sex Pistols!’: folk legend Linda Thompson on trashing dressing rooms and losing her voice

Her struggles with spasmodic dysphonia has led her to write an album for a bevy of other stars to sing. She talks about trauma, ageing and stealing an audience member’s car

Louder

“I don’t like praise. ‘This record is flawed and has good intentions, but I look forward to something better’ – that’s a great review”: Richard Thompson doesn’t believe in the ‘perfect album’

British electric folk pioneer is certain his movement was more radical and courageous than their American counterparts because “there was no immediate audience for what we were doing”

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Louder

Gerry Conway, drummer with Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull, Pentangle and more, dead at 76

Gerry Conway's death has been confirmed by Fairport Convention

Louder

Richard Thompson announces Ship To Shore, first new studio album for six years

Fairport Convention co-founder Richard Thompson will release Ship To Shore in May

Louder

“I put an ad in Melody Maker – ‘musicians only need apply!’ – and we got Peter and Michael Giles, and Robert Fripp”: So many artists wanted to be part of Judy Dyble’s world

Late singer decided to avoid staying in bands too long after being fired from Fairport Convention – “I’d leave before they could throw me out” – but believed the split sent both parties hurling into adventures they’d otherwise have missed

Louder

“To me, it was like getting the car back on the road. The fact that we only managed to do about 10 shows before the wheels came off again was a bit of a slap from the gods”: Despite the challenges, Fairport Convention never gave up

Simon Nicol reflects on how British folk prog pioneers Fairport Convention took a career path rather than a short cut to temporary success

Louder

Rick Wakeman, Trevor Horn, Focus and Big Big Train announced for 45th annual Cropredy Festival

Corpredy 2024 takes place in Cropredy, near Banbury, from August 8 -10

Louder

“Led Zeppelin’s fee went from £500 to £20,000 in a year!” Collapsing stages and no toilets: The 1969 Bath Blues Festival that inspired Glastonbury

They sold 7000 tickets – and 30,000 people turned up. How The Bath Blues Festivals became the inspiration to a young Michael Eavis and Glastonbury.

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