History

Steeleye Span was founded by Ashley Hutchings, the London-born bass player who got co-founded Fairport Convention in 1967. Fairport was taking part around the traveling accident around 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, was flushed & more bandmembers wounded. It convalesced within the rented home touching Winchester in Hampshire and worked on their album Liege And Lief. Despite a profits of a album, Ashley Hutchings & the band's vocaliser Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention in early 1970.

Around section, Hutchings's departure was because he treasured to pursue a different, more traditional, counsel than the other members of Fairport did at that instance. All the same, Fairport's co-founder, guitar player Simon Nicol, says within an locate on the band's internet site [http://www.fairportconvention.com/nicolint.htm]: "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."

In the years since, Steeleye Span has seen the great numerous personnel changes however has maintained a hard continuity of tradition throughout. Their lead vocalist, Maddy Prior, was one of the independent attractions of the band's music, existence one of the handful of hard-however-melodically-voiced women inside rock and roll in the 1970s (along with Sandy Denny, Renaissance's Annie Haslam, and Linda Thompson).

Steeleye Span is known as fallowing the character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange", which it did non record until it freed an album by that title inside 1998. the song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span & John Bowlin, neither of whom come proven to own been rattling population.

Steeleye Span's number one album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970) was very unusual for the time, having two female singers. Their lineup at a period consisted or even Prior & Hutchings, a husband/wife team of Terry (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods, and Tim Hart, who had been part of a duo with Prior. It were to undergo numerous personnel changes, sustaining a Wilderness departing when their number one album, at which point Peter Knight and veteran folk musician Martin Carthy joined. Withwithin 1972 it brought in Jo Lustig as their manager. He brought the extra commercial healthy to their recordings. In their 4th album, Below the Salt, in 1972, they got fixate the distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly super old poop. Their early albums got there is no lasting drummer however within 1973 Nigel Pegrum joined them, swimming flute besides when drums. Rick Kemp (bass) joined within 1972, replacing Hutchings world health organizatiin left at that instance to move on to various other purely-folk projects. Kemp, as well the member of the ceilidh dance b& Whapweasel, is one of many members world health organization stand get on-and-off band members. Since 1972 the line-higher has typically been that of the average folk-rock group -- an electrical guitar, electric bass, & drum kit -- supplemented by a fiddle and fronted by a female vocaliser for virtually all of their songs. When you took one of the numbers of personnel changes there was a substitution of John Kirkpatrick on accordion for the fiddle. While John departed, fiddler Peter Knight returned inside 1980 & has been by having band ever since. Nigel Pegrum left inside 1989, to exist as replaced by Liam Genockey. Liam & Peter were simultaneouly members of "Moire Music". This was the free-jazz band, by using the definitive flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Inside 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of quatern television programmes known as "The Song and The Story", just about a history of a bit of folksong. It won a Prix Jeunesse. Isla sang a songs, & Steeleye Span did a backing instrumentals.

The recent book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers (2005), devotes tremendously space to the band.

Recording style
Their average album occurs as collection of mostly traditional songs using a single or even deuce implemental tracks of jigs and/or reels added in; a traditional songs typically include a select few of the Child ballads. In their late albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written per b& members, however it stand never gotten wholly out of a traditional music, which draws upon two a English and a Celtic traditions. Recent tendencies to re-record antecedently discharged songs climaxed within Present (2002), a Two-disc placed of recently recordings of songs chosen by fans in a Steeleye website when the right of their former output.

Everthing of their LP-era recordings have today been re-freed in CD by the Shanachie label.

Performance
Steeleye Span has been performing, off and on, from either their foundation to the present day. When the cold-shoulder lull in the late 1990s and 2000 / 2001, Maddy Prior rejoined and a band undertook real UK tours.

Steeleye Span commonly plays within theatres & arts centres however likewise performs at festivals. A b& has recently toured extensively within Australia and closed 2004 with a gala performance within London's Paladium theatre. A todays line-higher of Maddy Prior (vocals), Ken Nicol (guitar, vocals), Rick Kemp (bass, vocals), Peter Knight (fiddle, piano, vocals), & Liam Genocky (drums & percussiin) draws on retiring & todays Steeleye Span repertoire & their concerts normally include their chart hit Altogether Spherical The Hat. A final encore is typically Gaudete, a 16th century Latin religious song performed a capella, an unusual ending for the non-classical modern concert.

Discography
(good-length albums, excluding reprinting compilations & "irregular" survive albums)

Hark! The Village Wait (1970) Please to See the King (1971) Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1972) Below the Salt (1972) Parcel of Rogues (1973) Now We Are Six (1974) Commoners Crown (1975) All Around My Hat (1975) Rocket Cottage (1976) Storm Force Ten (1977) Live at Last (1978) Sails of Silver (1980) Back in Line (1986) Tempted and Tried (1989) ''Tonight's the Night...Live (1992) The Collection: Steeleye Span in Concert (1994) Time (1996) Horkstow Grange (1998) The Journey (1999) Bedlam Born (2000) Present (2002) They Called Her Babylon (2004) Winter'' (2004)

DVDs

- Classic Rock Legends (2002) - The Twentieth Day of remembrance Celebration (2003) - A 35th Day of remembrance Globe Tour 2004 (2005)

Singles
Rave On/ Reels/ Female Drummer (1971) Jigs & Reels (1972) John Barleycorn Must Die / Bride's Favourite/Tansey's Fancy (1972) Gaudete / A Holly & The English ivy (1973) A Mooncoin Jig (1974) Just released York Girls/ Both Magicians (1975) Totally Around The Hat/ Black Jack Davy (1975) Rave On/ False Knight On The Road (1976) Tough Days of England/ Cadgwith Anthem (1976) London/ Sligo Maid (1976) Fighting For Strangers/ A Mooncoin Jig (1976) A Boar's Head Carol/ Gaudete / A select few Rival (1977) Rag Doll/ Saucy Sailor (1978) Sails of Silver/ Senior Service (1980) No more To America/ Let Her Last Down (1981) Someplace Around London/ Lanercost (1985) Padstow / Number 1 Home inside Connaught/ Sailor's Bonnet (1989) Ensuing Me/ Both Butchers (1989) A Fox/ Jack Hall (1990)

"Gaudete" was released within 1973, meant for the Christmas market, however wasn't the hit. It was re-freed within 1974 & reached a top tenner. These are one of exclusively ii top L British hits to exist as sung within Latin. (A more was 12-season-old Charlotte Church who recorded "Pie Jesu" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Requiem". In the Eighties Mike Oldfield had a top Tenner hit sustaining "In Dulci Jubilo" however this Latin song was performed as an instrumental.) "Gaudete" is one of lone the handful of a capella performances to become hit singles. (A second notable lesson is "Only You" sung per Flying Pickets.) Whilst "Gaudete" was performed in "Top of the Pops", a resident dance company walked onto the placed inside medieval-style robes, holding candles & followed per members of Steeleye Span.

At Christmas 1975 Steeleye Span scored once more sustaining "All Around My Hat" by Archie Fisher. A song was by Mike Batt, better known for his hits with a Wombles. Peter Knight, the fiddler from either Steeleye Span, was secretly the member of the Wombles. Batt's skill as a producer probably contributed good deal to the profits of "All Around My Hat." This instance in Top of the Pops Steeleye Span did the lively dance on the stage, by owning Maddy Prior flouncing around inside an extended dress by using wide sleeves. At this point inside their career a band indulged in picturesque textile, good deal to the disapproval of the popular click. Despite touring nigh each year since 1975, it stand non got a second hit, either in a singles chart or even the album chart.