The History of Steeleye Span
Tom Brady
the history of Steeleye Span. I was checking across some books
on my shelf, and I came across this entry for Steeleye Span.
It is taken directly from "The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of
Rock & Roll," Jon Pareles and Patricia Romanowski, editors,
(c) 1983 by Rolling Stone Press and is reproduced here without
permission. All typos are mine, but most grammar mistakes are
theirs.
Note that this was printed in 1983, and hence pretty much anything
after 1981 isn't covered.
(I don't necessarily agree with some of the subjective statements
made in this passage, by the way).
-Tom
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Steeleye Span: formed 1969, England
Original Lineup: Ashley Hutchings, bass; Maddy Prior, vocals; Tim
Hart, guitar, vocals, dulcimer; Gay Woods, vocals, concertina; Terry
Woods, guitar
Discography:
(All albums released by Chrysalis unless otherwise noted)
1970- Hark! The Village Wait (-G. Woods, -T. Woods, + Martin
Carthy, guitar; + Peter Knight, fiddle, mandolin, vocals)
1971- Please To See The King
Ten Man Mop (-Hutchings)
1972- (- Carthy; + Rick Kemp, bass, vocals; +Bob Johnson, lead
guitar, vocals)
Below The Salt
1973- Parcel of Rogues
1974- (+Nigel Pegrum, drums) Now We Are Six
1975- Commoner's Crown
1976- All Around My Hat
Rocket Cottage
1977- (+John Kirkpatrick, vocals, accordian; +Carthy)
Storm Force 10
Original Masters
1978- Live At Last (-Johnson; -Knight; disbanded)
1980- (+Prior; +Hart; +Kemp; +Johnson; +Pegrum; +Knight)
Sails of Silver (released on Takoma Records)
[My Additions: Released since 1981: The album with the fox on the
cover whose name I can't remember, Portfolio (2-album compilation),
Tonight's The Night (Live) - all released by Shanachie Records]
Steeleye Span were formed in 1969 with the idea of introducing
electric instruments to traditional British folk music - updating mainly
17th- and 18th-century works found in the journals of the English
Folk Dance and Song Society.
Founder Ashley Hutchings, formerly bassist for trad-rockers
Fairport Convention, left that band after their "Liege and Lief" LP.
Hutchings sought out the more purely history-obsessed musicians and
came up with two teams: Maddy Prior and Tim Hart (who had
performed locally in St. Albans, England, and recorded three
traditional albums) plus Gay and Terry Woods (a married couple who
were part of the folk-rock group Sweeney's Men). The new fivesome
took their name from a character in the Lincolnshire ballad "Horkston
Grange" and recorded "Hark! The Village Wait" in 1970. A few
months later the Woodses left, and Hart brought in Martin Carthy,
another folk scene regular, and Peter Knight.
The new lineup recorded two LP's in 1971, "Please to See the
King" and "Ten Man Mop," which included more amplification on
their all-traditional pieces. They began to attract attention, especially
for Maddy Prior's vocals. The group were appearing in a play written
for them called "Carunna," by Keith Dewhurst, when Hutchings lost
confidence in the project and, in 1971, left to form the very traditional
Albion Country Band; Carthy also left. Their replacements were the
more rock-oriented Rick Kemp (who had worked with Mike Chapman
and spent a week once with King Crimson) and Bob Johnson (who
had played in a folk duo with Knight). This lineup gave Steeleye their
first real success "Below the Salt" in 1972 was their U.S. debut and
the Latin a capella song "Gaudete" became a British hit in 1973.
By now, Hart, Carthy, and Prior were doing solo work. In 1973
the band released "Parcel of Rogues," with its first drummer, ex-
Gnidgrolog member Nigel Pegrum. He joined full time in 1974,
making them a six-piece band, inspiring the title for their next LP,
"Now We Are Six," produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson. The
band now began to write their own songs and settings for traditional
lyrics. Their popularity increased in England with the gold hit single
"Thomas the Rhymer." The LP also featured David Bowie playing sax
on "To Know Him Is To Love Him." "Commoner's Crown" in 1975
featured actor Peter Sellers playing ukelele on "New York Girls," and
the even more commercial "All Around My Hat" gave them a big
British hit with the title track, and also their first U.S. charting. A cult
began to grow in America, drawn to the band's live show, which
featured Prior's nimble jigs. In 1976, Prior recorded the album "Silly
Sisters" with traditional singer June Tabor, and the two toured
England.
That solo outlet was indicative of the band's splintering, though.
After "Rocket Cottage" failed to sell even in England, Knight and
Johnson produced a duo album, "The King of Elfland's Daughter." In
1977, with the newly rejoined Carthy and Kirkpatrick, Knight and
Johnson announced their departure, but first the band gave a farewell
concert on March 7, 1978, captured on "Live At Last."
In early 1981, the band resurfaced with the most popular lineup -
Prior and Hart plus Johnson, Kemp, Knight, and Pegrum, on "Sails of
Silver."
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Tony Quinn
>In the past week there has been quite a bit of discussion about
>the history of Steeleye Span. I was checking across some books
>on my shelf, and I came across this entry for Steeleye Span.
>It is taken directly from "The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of
>Rock & Roll," Jon Pareles and Patricia Romanowski, editors,
>(c) 1983 by Rolling Stone Press and is reproduced here without
>permission. All typos are mine, but most grammar mistakes are
>theirs.
>Steeleye Span: formed 1969, England
>Original Lineup: Ashley Hutchings, bass; Maddy Prior, vocals; Tim
>Hart, guitar, vocals, dulcimer; Gay Woods, vocals, concertina; Terry
>Woods, guitar
>Discography:
>(All albums released by Chrysalis unless otherwise noted)
>1970- Hark! The Village Wait (-G. Woods, -T. Woods, + Martin
> Carthy, guitar; + Peter Knight, fiddle, mandolin, vocals)
WRONG...line up as above originally on RCA later on B&c records.
>1971- Please To See The King
> Ten Man Mop (-Hutchings)
Both with Carthy and Knight without the Woods and both on B&C...
For B&C substitute Mooncrest for Later issues including CD's
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Tony Quinn ----- The Voice of Insanity
Replies to tony...@sixpints.demon.co.uk
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M. Jonas
1) The first three albums were never on Chrysalis. They were originally
on B&C and are now on Mooncrest in UK and Shanachie in US.
2) Gay Woods was never in Sweeney's Men (as Colm has already said earlier
in this thread)
3) Johnson and Knight were not on Stormforce Ten and Live At Last
Martin
Neile Graham
>Three errors (at least) in this:
>1) The first three albums were never on Chrysalis. They were originally
> on B&C and are now on Mooncrest in UK and Shanachie in US.
Yes, they were. At least Please to See The King was. I bought it in
1978 in Canada and it was on Chyrsalis there & then.
--Neile Graham
Erich Schraer
Three errors (at least) in this:
1) The first three albums were never on Chrysalis. They were originally
on B&C and are now on Mooncrest in UK and Shanachie in US.
Neile Graham replies:
Yes, they were. At least Please to See The King was. I bought it in
1978 in Canada and it was on Chyrsalis there & then.
I can attest to this also, and for all three albums. Checking my copies
of these (which I bought in the late 70's), I find that they were all
reissued in 1976 by Chrysalis:
_Hark! The Village Wait_, Chrysalis CHR 1120, 1976.
_Please to See the King_, Chrysalis CHR 1119, 1976.
_Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again_, Chrysalis CHR
1121, 1976.
--Erich
--
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