Friday was a lovely, warm, sunny day. The few showers were very light and by the time everyone had got covered up and sorted out the rain had stopped. The only exception to that was about 12.30 am Saturday...not a huge worry to anyone. Saturday 14th August...an amazing day of music from a superb line-up, entertainment for the children from Les Bicyclettes, circus trainers, face painters, clay modelers etc.
The Tabs opened the day with a lively set...an early start to the dancing!! WAZ followed with the last appearance of this particular line-up. Dave Whetstone is leaving and Steve Tilston is joining. Find out more by visiting:Waz News
Cat Scratch Fever followed with a loud, lively set. Rory McLeod performed brilliantly for a second time. Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys was a surprise to me. Completely different from pre-conceived ideas...and very much more enjoyable. Loudon Wainwright 111 wowed everybody and raised the non-existent roof by doing The Scans as his encore.
Danny Thompson was back as compare. I never got close enough to see him but he sounded back on top form. He certainly led several renditions of..."We're here, because we're here because we're.....". He even added Danny Boy as an accompaniment to the song!!! His jokes really do get worse and he was told to "Get on with it" a great many times!!! It was lovely to have him back on stage.
Alone again the band performed Dangerous and There Once was Love. Tom Connelly's troop of Irish Dancers joined then to dance in The Flow...magical as always then the band brought us a new song called Close to You written by Chris Leslie.
Time to introduce another guest; Anna Ryder. Her first song with them was Thinking of you...I know they invited Pete Zorn back on stage and think there were two more brass players for another song or two...but missed writing it all down whilst I went to take photographs.
Alone for the third time Fairport played Walk a While, Wishfulness Waltz and The Naked Highwayman.
David hughes joined them on stage for "The Cropredy song for Europe"...Matilda. Backing vocals were by Anna Ryder and Jaqui McShee...also the whole audience were invited to join them for the competition to sing along with the 21 las which make the chorus...a chance not to be missed! He dedicated The Last Tango to the Fairport List members...thanks David.
Alone for the fourth time Fairport sang Hiring Fair. There was a huge balloon tethered in the field for the whole festival period and many people were talking about it and asking what it was. During Hiring Fair all became obvious...a second balloon from back stage was allowed to float high and lit up...the effect was to create a the visual impression of a huge harvest moon floating just above the stage. It was quite amazing. The second one...in the main field was "up" for want of a better description for the last two numbers. It was a shame their time was so short!
Maart, Pere Zorn, John "Rabbit" Bundrick and Dave Cousins joined them on stage for "Lay Down I'll Lay Me Down". Dave recalled how Sandy came to be with the Stawbs and told us how he could not think which band she joined next,"it was so long ago...", he sang Ringing Down the Years in Sandy's memory. A moving moment as the dedications to Sandy always are.
Alone for the fifth? time came The Bowman'e Retreat and one of my fsvourites; Lalla Rookh, Chris While, PJ Wright, John "Rabbit" Bundrick joined them on stage for; Easy to Slip and Jump The Broomstick. That combination of musicians finished with Who Knows Where the Time Goes...a really lovely version! Chris and Simon shared the vocals.
Alone for the sixth or thereabouts time Fairport performed Seventeen Come Sunday even though the band is thirty one years old. They breathed in helium and sang Hasten to the Wedding adding a whole new dimension to their singing! Spanish Main and John Gaudie followed ...it was the first time I had heard the main theme from the slow movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique played on a fiddle and used as an intro...there's a first time for everything! Matty Groves the song followed with Meet on the Ledge when Chris While joined them to sing the second verse as an encore.
The whole event was wonderful. Obviously I prefer some bands to others...that is always going to be the case. There must have been something there for everyone! The atmosphere...wonderful, friendly, fun... all of the usual things. For some of us on the Fairport List that met up for the first time it will be remembered for that reason as much as the music. The weather was kind. Perfection! only 363 days....
See the photographs of Georgia's twins on the page devoted to the memory of Sandy Denny, which also has a big set of folk-rock links.
The Sandy Denny Home page
All of the old guest book data has been destroyed accidently, I have had to put a new one in. Please sign it again for me if you had signed the old one...thanks!
Friday 14th
Anna Ryder
Stringthing
Solstice
Vikki Clayton Band
Fling
Edward 11
Rory McLeod
Roy Wood's Army
Saturday 15th
The Tabs
WAZ
Cat Scratch Fever
Rory McLeod
Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys
Loudon Wainwright 111
Fairport Convention and Friends.
Anna Ryder started...the most difficult spot but she soon won over the crowd with an imaginative set including a beautiful version of her own song "Sailing Boat".
Stringthing were next with Steve Tilston singing some of his most well known songs including Slip Jigs and Reels and Naked Highwayman. A very enjoyable set.
Solstice took the stage, a lovely summer set drifting up the field through the afternoon heat!
The Vikki Clayton Band...a newly formed band. I really enjoyed their rendition of Rising for the Moon.
The stage was taken by Fling, an Australian "Celtic" band. It was the first time I had seen or heard them. Another band very successfully incorporating a mixture of tradition and contemporary music. Very enjoyable.
Edward 11...I had really been waiting to hear them again. A superb set, the highlight of the day for me.
Rory McLeod did the penultimate spot and was obviously enjoyed by all.
The evening finished with Roy Wood's Army. A twelve piece band including eight female jazz musicians! They played all of Roy's hits as well as new material. Spectacular!!
The field started to fill up early on Saturday morning. The Fairport List members who were there on Friday had mostly managed to meet up. New members arrived on Saturday and an organised meet was arranged. There was a lot of interest in the tee shirts that we all wore. During the two days we were asked time and time again where they could be bought. James who runs the mailing list designed them and had them printed (thanks James!). The comment on the back "Fairport have never heard of you either" started as a joke by Richard Hamilton. The joke however was appreciated by the List members and it became part of the design!
Fairport Links
Watch for the video of the festival. It is due out in October, available from Woodworm.
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