portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Saturday, January 06, 2024

Fairport Convention : 'Celebration' Granada TV (UK), 1981

 I don’t quite know how I stumbled across this but like ya do I had just let a search on YouTube run on in the back ground and when I came back after lunch this was playing. A Granada TV special introduced by legendary Mike Harding this line up of Fairport were as the text says, legends all but not really a formed band at this time (note guest appearance by Linda Thompson too) but none the worse for that and while they went on to be in various incarnations of this line up from then until now this is a the germ of an extraordinary band and no mistake!



As the poster notes:
 The separate tracks from this programme are elsewhere on the channel in lesser quality. Now, here is the whole thing (minus ads) in its entirety as telecast on Granada TV in August 1981. Hosted by Mike Harding, this captures the "Full House" line-up of Fairport - Dave Swarbrick, Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg and Dave Mattacks with guest Linda Thompson - in the period when the band was in hiatus. They reformed with a somewhat different line-up in 1985 and continue to this day.
Material is a combination of songs they recorded in 1970, then-current tunes from Swarb's "Smiddyburn" album and rarities such as Bright Lights Tonight and the then-unreleased Wall Of Death.
0:28 Dirty Linen 3:03 Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman 9:47 Sir Charles Coote / Smiths 13:04 Wall Of Death 16:52 Sword Dance / Young Black Cow 22:11 I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight 26:16 Sloth
http://fairportconvention.com

No comments: