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The popular British folk group Fairport Convention was formed in 1967 by bassist Ashley Hutchings, who began jamming with musician friends as "Tim Turner's Narration." Solidifying the lineup with vocalist Ian Matthews and guitarist/vocalist Richard Thompson, the group took the name Fairport Convention and performed its mixture of American country folk and British folk in local clubs.
Their eponymous debut album was released in late 1967 and received positive reviews, expanded on 1968's What We Did On Our Holidays, which debuted new vocalist Sandy Denny. Unfortunately while on tour, the group was in a fatal highway accident, killing drummer Martin Lamble and disrupting the band. Re-formed as a traditional British folk group, Fairport Convention returned in 1969 with the highly acclaimed Liege and Lief. Following the departure of Sandy Denny for Fotheringay (and,
eventually, a solo career) and founder Ashley Hutchings, the Convention continued on as a five-piece, releasing 1970's Full House, recorded while on a tour of the United States. Richard Thompson moved on to a solo career, but the now-four-piece group pressed on, recording Angel Delight and Babbacombe Lee in 1971. After more lineup changes the Convention returned with 1972's Rosie and 1973's Nine.In 1974 Sandy Denny returned to Fairport Convention, releasing Rising For the Moon later that year. Sadly, Denny died of a brain haemorrhage after falling down a flight of stairs. Faced with the loss of their friend and vocalist and the growing punk rock movement, which disdained folk music, Fairport Convention launched a farewell tour and then broke up. They capped off their career with 1979's Farewell, Farewell.
Bassist/vocalist Dave Pegg joined Jethro Tull, but the other members of Fairport Convention reunited in August 1980 for what was to be the first of five yearly reunion shows in Britain. In 1985 the group permanently reunited as a quintet, releasing the popular album Glady's Leap later that year. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s and '90s the quintet -- Simon Nicol (guitar/vocals), Dave Pegg (bass/vocals), Ric Sanders (violin), Dave Mattacks (drums/keyboards) and Martin Allcock (guitar/mandolin) -- toured worldwide and regularly released albums, most recently 1997's Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, whose release was celebrated with a massive U.K. show for which members old and new appeared on stage together.
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