Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention need little introduction: they’re not a band but a dynasty. And they’ve had more family members than you’ve had real ales, the majority of which have become the household names of the recent British folk revival. The band aren’t all past and no present though: Fairport Convention are still as charismatic, skilled and vibrant as ever. Whether it’s Chris Leslie’s tender vocals or Ric Sanders’ jazz-influenced violin, the arrangements, rearrangements and new material sound like no other group on the British folk scene. And despite prolific tours across the country and indeed the world, Fairport Convention manage to host one of the country’s best loved folk festivals: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention each August.

LIVE REVIEW - Fairport Convention
Birmingham Town Hall,
Friday 29th February 2008

The newly refurbished Birmingham Town Hall couldn’t have been a better choice for the last date of Fairport’s most recent epic 30-date tour. A venue with its own impressive history, having had some of the world’s most prolific musicians treading its boards over the years, it is a venue comparable to the legendary band itself. With many of Fairport’s celebrated lineup, past and present, hailing from the city – Peggy’s accent tonight rejoicing in its homecoming – it seemed logical.

But it wasn’t just the forays in to history and heritage that made this such a perfect location: the sound, too, was flawless, and was tailored exactly to the musicians on the grand stage. Whether catering to fiddle acrobatics, stadium drums or minimalist mandolin, every note could be relished – even for those hard of hearing, which must be a blessing given Fairport’s loyal following aren’t getting any younger. Not that Fairport would mind that comment, of course, seeing as though much of the audience interaction was orientated around the very subject. “Gerry’s got his bus pass,” Peggy gleefully reminds us, “and I will have once I remember where my form is.”
It is this between-song banter which the audience takes away with them, and finds themselves returning for each year. For the crowd know every word of every classic, and expect their airing. And the band oblige, not holding back, performing ‘Matty Groves’, ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’ and ‘Meet On The Ledge’, the latter where friends such as Maartin Allcock and Ian Campbell join with them on stage. And it is the band’s approach to their music and their history which makes a Fairport gig so special. We’re told who Gladys was of Gladys’ Leap, we’re welcomed in to a world where a young and skint Dave Pegg resorts to drinking and learning traditional songs with John Leslie, hence Chris’ introduction to the band. Then there’s the legend and folklore in which, naturally, the repertoire is steeped in. The unexpected visit of ‘The Hanging Song’, where Chris Leslie makes Swarb’s idiosyncratic vocals his own, is part of the explanation about the band’s fascination about the man that wouldn’t hang.

Highlight, however, is a subdued and psychedelic version of ‘Reynardine’. Again, it is Chris Leslie which makes it shine, as the spotlight rightfully accentuates his voice, creating an ambience only matched by the original with Sandy.

Too often, bands who continue to record and tour as the years increase grow soft, their music futile and bland. Audience members go to remember the heyday, paying tribute to classic songs. This is not the case with Fairport, however. The musicianship is no less energetic; the new material continues to challenge.

And as the opening bars of ‘Meet On The Ledge’ sound, and Peggy tells us how he can predict the future, that ‘we’ll all be singing this in a field in north Oxfordshire in August’, he knows he is right. The devoted audience, many of which undoubtedly went to more than one gig on this tour, probably ordered their Cropredy tickets when they got home. Well, we were reminded enough that they went on sale at midnight.

Sophie Parkes