Richard Thompson on YouTube III

Waltzing's For Dreamers (Seattle 1990)





I Misunderstood (Seattle 1990)





Wall of Death (Seattle 1990)





Neighbor's Theme \ Psycho Street (Seattle 1990)

Richard Thompson : Sweet Warrior

There are few artists recording today who are able to maintain such a distinctive, consistent and instantly recognizable sound while remaining fresh and relevant . Richard Thompson is at the top of that very short list.

New release Sweet Warrior is more of the same and in Thompson's case that's a very good thing indeed. Long time fans will slip this right into thier heaviest rotation while newcomers will be hooked into the Thompson cult by the fourth track.

Richard Thompson on YouTube II

Beeswing


1952 Vincent Black Lightning


Waltzing's for Dreamers




Cooksferry Queen



Shoot Out the Lights

Richard Thompson on YouTube I

Crawl Back - Falcon Ridge 2003 (Live)






I Feel So Good (Sessions Live)





The Coo Coo Bird (w/ Eliza Carthy - Live)

Fairport Convention' Cancels US Gigs

Fairport Convention's OFFICIAL news pages:

Postponed shows

The south-west and Californian legs of Fairport Acoustic Convention's current USA tour have been postponed. The band will play the remaining east coast dates – Philadelphia, Rochester NY, Saratoga Springs, Sellersville PA and Chester NY – then return to the UK. Our gigs page has full details of all shows.

Thank you for your support

A huge thank you from 'Fairport and family' to everyone who has expressed their goodwill and best wishes during the past couple of days, whether privately or on email lists, internet user groups, and bulletin boards.

Inevitably rumour and conjecture are also spreading over the internet. But the most reliable source of information remains here on Fairport Convention's official website.

Fairport Convention Milestones Calendar

fairport: May 2005

The Strawbs, those 1970s folk-rockers, are back at it - The Register-Guard

The Strawbs, those 1970s folk-rockers, are back at it - The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA:

What started as a bluegrass band named after Strawberry Hill - in Leicester, England - and evolved into one of the pioneering folk-rock acts of the 1970s has been reborn as an acoustic trio.

The Strawbs - featuring founding member David Cousins, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk - are on the road in support of their 2004 album 'Deja Fou.' The tour leads to Cafe Paradiso, 115 W. Broadway, at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Devendra Banhart | Young God Records

Devendra Banhart | Young God Records:

I first heard the crude home made recordings of Devendra Banhart, then a homeless, wandering, neo psych/folk hippie artist and musician, not yet 21 years old. We released these recordings on YGR because we'd never heard anything quite like them, ever. His voice - a quivering high-tension wire, sounded like it could have been recorded 70 years ago - these songs could have been sitting in someone's attic, left there since the 1930's. The response was astounding . Devendra soon moved here to NYC (from SF), where he lived in squats, couch-surfed, and finally found himself a home (very recently), suddenly riding a tidal wave of press acclaim, 3 or 4 US tours, tours in Europe, a special feature on NPR (for God's sake) – in short, a seismic shift in his fortunes. He's the most genuine, least cynical and calculated artist I've ever known, and he deserves every bit of the good things now coming his way. He's also one of the most innately talented, magical performers I have ever heard. Period. He GIVES. This kind of generosity and breadth of emotion is all too rare these days. Whether the songs are pained, twisted, whimsical, or even sometimes weirdly silly, aside from being fantastically musical and expertly played, they are also utterly sincere, and devoid of a single drop of post modern irony. In short, he's the real thing.

'You had to hold on to the furniture when Sandy sang'

Guardian Unlimited | Arts Friday Review | 'You had to hold on to the furniture when Sandy sang':

The life, death and reputation of Sandy Denny are a perfect case in point. Equipped with an incredible voice and an immense songwriting talent, she was none the less plagued by the chronic insecurities that led her into excess. Her drinking partners included the late Keith Moon and John Bonham; the folk-tinged milieu from which she came also included Nick Drake. She died aged 31, in 1978 - but whereas lesser talents have been posthumously feted, she remains a decidedly cult interest.

For some, that's a sign of her singular talent. 'The thing that always amazed me about Sandy,' says her friend and contemporary Linda Thompson, 'was that she thought she actually could appeal to the masses. Of course she couldn't - and who would want to? If you're writing songs that people can shoot themselves to, you know you're not going to be in the charts. Sandy's music was uncomfortable. It demanded too much.'

Maartin Allcock News

Middleton Guardian - News:

And musician Maartin Allcock will no doubt be paying a visit to his parents, who still live on Langley, before appearing at the Bury Met this Saturday.

Maartin - he started spelling his name with two 'a's after an Irish musician remarked on his north Manchester accent while introducing himself - plays lead guitar with one of his many bands, Blue Tapestry, at the Met this weekend.

A great friend of broadcaster, musician and comic Mike Harding, Maart was in the vanguard of the Harding-inspired re-introduction of the folk music scene to Middleton in the early 1970s, principally at the Ring o' Bells in St Leonard's Square.

Since those early days Maartin Allcock, now aged 48, was catapulted to the top of the music pile, becoming a member of folk icons Fairport Convention for 11 years, and later Jethro Tull, for four years.

Richard Thompson News : Plans Album, Box, Live Releases

Thompson Plans Album, Box, Live Releases:

Revered singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson has an impressive slate of releases planned throughout the rest of 2005, including a new studio album, a five-disc box set and several live CDs and DVDs.

The new studio work, 'Front Parlour Ballads,' will be Thompson's first solo acoustic album in more than 25 years. Due Aug. 9 through Cooking Vinyl USA, the album boasts 13 songs, with instrumentation largely performed by Thompson and only occasional percussion added by Debra Dobkin (Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt).

What is 'Neo-Folk'? - Topic Powered by Infopop

What is 'Neo-Folk'? - Topic Powered by Infopop:

There's a considerable buzz about something called 'Neo-Folk' or 'Anti-Folk' and I was curious how one would classify this sub-genre.

Alasdair Roberts - About as queer as folk

About as queer as folk - The Herald

"Alasdair Roberts doesn't like the F-word. "I'm not a folk singer," he insists, looking ever so slightly twitchy about such an apparently contrary epithet. "I'm not really interested in continuing any kind of tradition. It's about something more selfish than that."
Denials like this have already lost the Callander-born singer and guitarist column inches in his native land, where scene-setters intent on creating some mythical "new Scottish folk revival" have had their angle snapped apart as abruptly as an overwound acoustic guitar string..."

Paste Magazine : The Rose and the Briar

Paste Magazine :: Review :: The Rose and the Briar :: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad - Edited by Sean Wilentz and Greil Marcus

Some of the old songs have a complicated history and a varied pollination. “Matty Groves,” for instance, a bloody tale of adultery avenged, came to its maturity in England as “Little Musgrave” and “Lady Darnell,” then passed on to America (where some iterations allow the star-crossed lovers to live). But it was “a degenerate American version” that was covered by the English folk-rock group Fairport Convention.

Ashley Hutchings News

Ashley Hutchings Official Website

The Rainbow Chasers, Ashley’s new group, continues to gig and to pick up great plaudits and reviews from audiences and organisers alike, as well as the media who have made the effort to check out the group thus far.

As the Rainbow Chasers’ first album, “Some colours fly” on the Talking Elephant label (TECDO73), is officially released on 11th April, the Saltaire gig listed below has been designated a launch gig for the new album. This will also be the day that Free Reed Records launch a magnificent 4 CD boxed set, plus book, entitled “Burning Bright”, covering Ashley’s career. Anyone who has seen their award-winning boxed sets of artists such as Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick and Fairport Convention knows how extensive and well structured the set will be. Neil Wayne and Nigel Schofield have compiled a major career retrospective and celebration of Ashley’s life and music. The lavish boxed set features four full length themed and bookletted CDs, huge full colour book and rare picture archive, plus an extra 5th 'write-in' free CD.