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Roots - the beginning of folk-rock

© Stephen William Gray

Folk-rock emerged in the sixties. According to the "Guinness Who's Who of Folk Music" Fairport Convention were the "unchallenged inventors of folk-rock". I think one or two people might challenge that statement. What can be said, however, is that three of the biggest names in folk-rock were (and perhaps still are) Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and the Albion Band. And the man who links these three is Ashley "Tyger" Hutchins.

Hutchins was a founder member of Fairport Convention and played on their first 4 albums: Fairport Convention, What We Did on our Holidays, Unhalfbricking and Liege and Lief. Fairport's line up changes were illustrated by Pete Frame on the cover of their "History of ..." album and show what talent the band have been able to attract. Members and ex-members include: Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ian Matthews (Matthews Southern Comfort), Sandy Denny, Dave Swarbrick, Dave Mattacks, Dave Pegg, Jerry Donahue, Ric Sanders, Maartin Allcock and Chris Leslie.

The stand-out track on Fairport Convention's first album is hailed by many as the first ever folk-rock song. "Sailor's Life" was the last track to be recorded for the album and features future Fairporter Dave Swarbrick on fiddle. By later folk-rock standards the arrangement is unsophisticated, being an electric-accompanied traditional song finished off with a long and fairly loose jam. However the track still has an atmospheric feel to it and is well worth a listen.

In 1970 Hutchins went on to form Steeleye Span - and stayed for 3 albums: Hark the Village Wait, Please to See the King and Ten Man Mop (or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again). Steeleye came into being with a bit of a false start. The first line up came out of rehearsals between Hutchins, Irish trio Sweeneys Men - Terry Woods (who much later joined the Pogues), Johnny Moynihan and Andy Irvine - and Woods' wife Gay. The English folk duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior joined when Moynihan and Irvine left (and went on to form Planxty). This line up "got it together in the country" as bands of that time often did, and recorded Hark the Village Wait. The pressures of living together for 3 months caused the band to split and the album was never toured.

Martin Carthy and Peter Knight joined Hutchins, Hart and Prior to become a touring band which recorded Please to See the King and Ten Man Mop (or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again). These albums showed more Irish influences with jigs and reels supplied by Knight and more ornamentation on Prior's vocals.

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