A Light Touch

SIMON Nicol, right, has been at the heart of Fairport Convention since before the band existed.

As a teenage whippersnapper, he hosted the fledgling sessions at his family’s north London home – jamming along with early bandmates Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson and drummer Shaun Frater.

The year was 1967; the house was called Fairport; and those early sessions were to change the course of musical history.

By electrifying English roots music, the collective invented folk-rock, and put indigenous English music on the map, among a sea of American-influenced pop.

Their contribution to rock is immeasurable, and through numerous line-ups their reputation has grown – seeing them play bigger and grander venues, from the Royal Albert Hall to their own annual 20,000-capacity three-day festival in Cropredy, near Banbury.

But for their latest outing, Simon and the band have been bringing things down a few notches, by returning to their roots.

Yes, the band who amped up traditional folk are currently bringing it all back home with an acoustic tour, which they describe as a “lighter take” on their classic repertoire.

The 28-date tour has taken them from the South Coast to Scotland, and has seen them play a succession of bars, village halls, theatres and seaside piers. And it ends on Sunday at Didcot’s Cornerstone Arts Centre.

Simon, whose warm tones and solid rhythm guitar are still the backbone of the band, says it couldn’t be more fun.

“It has been going down really well, which is reassuring,” he tells The Guide.

“Cropredy Festival is looming large, but this time we set off as a smaller musical force. There are no electric instruments and we are a bit lighter on our feet.”

The experience of seeing the band at close quarters is unique, and an opportunity to be treasured by fans.

“People do get to see us closer up,” Simon explains.

“It’s more intimate for the audience, and it allows us to play different arrangements to our songs.

“It’s like a chef changing the recipe of a dish.”

And what a dish. Since its formation, Fairport has been through a, quite frankly, bewildering series of line-up changes, which even hardened fans will be relieved to be spared the details of.

Suffice to say, members have included a Who’s Who of British folk royalty, including, among many others, Dave Mattacks, Dave Swarbrick, Maartin Allcock and Sandy Denny.

They have also seen more than their fair share of tragedy – not least a van crash on the M1, which killed members Martin Lamble, 19, and Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn, and left the rest injured; and the death at the age of 31, of sublimely-voiced singer Sandy Denny, who suffered a cerebral haemorrhage after falling down a flight of stairs, in 1978.

The band’s current incarnation of Simon, Dave Pegg, below, Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie and Gerry Conway are proud of the band’s back record, and old songs like Meet on the Ledge, Who Knows Where The Times Goes, and Matty Groves, Tam Lin, and Crazy Man Michael (from the Liege and Lief album – still regarded as the most important folk album ever recorded) form the mainstay of their set.

“Fairport has always been a gigging band and there has never been a time when we weren’t on the road,” says Simon.

“Our approach is the opposite of the rest of the music industry, of putting out records and performing.

“We go on the road first then record albums of things that crop up. Chris is a great writer and has always got two or three ideas on the go, which we slip into our repertoire.

“Friends who have written for us in the past also send us songs they think we might like.”

And what are the favourites? “Matty Groves, and, of course, Meet on the Ledge,” he says.

“They both date back to the 60s but we are not trying to interpret them as we did when we were kids.”

And how has it felt to go acoustic?

“Great!” he says.

“We can make a small noise sound quite big … and we are capable of scaling up and down. I like the contrast.

“We are basically sitting around playing songs to each other, which we love.

“I have been in this band since before it was called Fairport Convention,” he recalls.

“But what I chose as a hobby has turned into a job – which is just as well, as I’m not qualified to do anything else!

“Over the years a few people have come and gone, and the music itself has gone through changes.

“But it remains, as do we. The band are closer than family – and people say, no one gets out alive.

“Just look at Richard Thompson; he left in 1975 but has come back every year since!

“Being in this band is like being married to lots of people. You have to be dependent and interdependent, and need lots of faith and trust.”

And, looking back over more than 40 years, does Simon have a favourite period?

“Well….” he hesitates, “I think the current band is playing its socks off. I like the new material and we are able to tackle anything we want.”

* Fairport Convention plays the Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot on Sunday. Call 01235 515144.

* Fairport’s Cropredy Convention (right), features three days of music, including sets by Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, Steve Winwood and Buzzcocks. It takes place on August 13-15.

* For details, and to keep up to date with the band’s manoeuvres, go to fairportconvention.com