Dave Pegg
Encyclopedia
Dave Pegg is an English
multi-instrumentalist
and record producer
, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk
band Fairport Convention
and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell Folk Group
and Jethro Tull
. He has appeared on some of the most significant albums of his era, as well as undertaking solo projects. His style of playing bass has been particularly influential in electric folk music.
, Birmingham
, England
. He began to learn guitar when fourteen or fifteen, inspired by The Shadows
, and played in a school band at Yardley Grammar school.
After leaving school he worked as an insurance clerk for about a year while playing in a part-time bands the Crawdaddys and The Roy Everett Blues Band, who supported several performers from the flourishing Birmingham beat scene of the time, including the Spencer Davis Group
and The Moody Blues
. In 1966 he auditioned for The Uglys, featuring Steve Gibbons
and was beaten to the position by friend and guitarist Roger Hill, but was offered the job of bass guitarist and switched instruments.
The Uglys cut one single before Pegg and Hill left to form a blues trio, The Exception, with singer Alan Eastwood. At this period he played with Robert Plant
and in his next band, The Way of Life, the drummer was John Bonham
, later both went to form Led Zeppelin
. In 1967 he joined the Ian Campbell Folk Group, where he switched to stand-up bass, learnt to play the mandolin and acquired his affection for folk music. It was also where he came to the attention of local folk guitarist Ralph McTell
and former Campbell Group and future Fairport Convention member Dave Swarbrick
.
By early 1969 he had moved back to electric bass with The Beast, with Cozy Powell
and Dave Clempson, before the latter left for Colosseum
. One week after seeing Fairport for the first time on his twenty-first birthday he was called by Swarbrick to audition for the band after the departure of Ashley Hutchings
, who was soon to found Steeleye Span
.
and good relationships with the other members. Although Hutchings had been a solid and melodic bass player, it is generally acknowledged that Pegg played with greater virtuosity, complexity and energy. Ashley Hutchings credits Pegg with being the musician that began the technique of playing jigs and reels
on the bass, rather than just a supportive bass line, which was subsequently adopted by most electric folk and even folk punk
bassists. All this was immediately obvious on the 1970 tour of Britain and America (including support for Jethro Tull), recordings from which surfaced on the Live at the L.A. Troubadour
album (1977). His first album with the group, Full House (1970), is considered by some commentators to be their most accomplished in musical terms, and this clearly owed something to the new bassist.
On joining the band Pegg had moved his family from Birmingham and into the former pub, the Angel in Hadham, Hertfordshire along with other group members and their families. This became the theme for the title track of the next album Angel Delight
(1971), for which Pegg received his first writing credit. On the next album Babbacombe Lee
, a folk-rock opera masterminded by Swarbrick, he played a much greater role, contributing to seven of the fifteen tracks. The next album Rosie
contained three of his contributions, including the song Peggy's Pub a statement of a lifelong ambition.
In 1971 when Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks left the band, Pegg and Swarbrick were the only remaining members and, as a bewildering succession of personnel came (or returned) and left again over the next five years, their partnership was critical in keeping the band running. Some of these performers, like Sandy Denny
and her husband Trevor Lucas
, were acknowledged songwriters and as a result, although he still made contributions and took part in collaborations, Pegg's song-writing took a back seat to his instrumental and organisational skills. After the financial disaster that followed the Rising for the Moon
(1975) tour, which prompted Denny, Lucas and Jerry Donahue
to quit the band, Pegg became increasingly determined for the group to take control of their finances and direction and took over a larger and larger responsibility. Pegg and Swarbrick renewed contact with Nicol in 1975 forming a low key trio, Three Desperate Mortgages, which toured student venues across Britain.
With only Pegg, Swarbrick and replacement drummer Bruce Rowland
left, they persuaded Nicol to rejoin the band during the Gottle O'Geer
album sessions. The remaining quartet signed up with Vertigo, and produced two albums, The Bonny Bunch of Roses
(1977) and Tipplers Tales
(1978). These were the albums in the group's discography that made the most use of traditional material, which accounted for all the songs except for instrumentals by Pegg. Although well crafted these albums did not sell well and Vertigo bought them out of their contract. With Swarbrick suffering acute hearing problems and with no recording contract the group decided to disband and played a final concert at Cropredy
in Oxfordshire on 4 August 1979, close to where Pegg lived.
While with Fairport, Pegg had played on a wide variety and huge number of albums for other performers. Among the most significant were: Nick Drake
's Bryter Layter
(1970); John Martin's Solid Air
(1973) and One World
(1977), as well as work for current and ex-Fairporters, including several albums for Dave Swarbrick, on Sandy Denny's Like an Old Fashioned Waltz
(1973) and Rendezvous
(1977) and Richard Thompson's Pour Down Like Silver
(1975). He appeared on three Ralph McTell albums, including Streets (1973), and Slide Aside the Screen (1976), which Pegg also produced. He could confidently look forward to more session work and production would play a much greater role in his career once Fairport had disbanded.
. They released the final concert as the album Farewell, Farewell (1979) and subsequent recordings were issued as ‘official bootlegs’. He had already established a small recording studio in his house and with the money from the end of the record deal with Vertigo, he was able to develop this and it was eventually moved to a nearby converted chapel. The result was that Pegg had his own recording facility and record label. Artists like Steve Ashley began to record albums there from 1979. The Peggs established a mailing list of fans of the band, critical in keeping interest in Fairport alive and, particularly Christine, took over the organization of the Cropredy Festival, which grew in size every year to reach about 18,000 attendees by the mid 1980s.
In 1979 Ian Anderson
invited Pegg to stand in for the ailing John Glascock
on the Jethro Tull, Stormwatch
tour. After Glascock’s death, Pegg was invited to join the band, still one of the biggest in the world, and it provided very welcome paid employment for Pegg for the next fifteen years. Pegg happened to join at a turning point for Jethro Tull. His first recording was intended as a solo album for Anderson, involving only Martin Barre
from the band. The album, A (1980) was in stark contrast to the medieval and folk music inspired previous work, depending heavily on synthesizers for its sound. At this time all the other longstanding members left the band and the recording was put out as a Jethro Tull album. Pegg coped with this, and subsequent changes of style, seemingly with little difficulty. The next album, Broadsword and the Beast
(1982) had a heavier sound and more medieval theme and Pegg joined the band on stage in pseudo-medieval costume beside a Viking ship. In 1983 Pegg recorded his first solo album, The Cocktail Cowboy Goes It Alone
(1983). After the next Tull album, Under Wraps
(1984), Anderson’s vocal problems forced him to retire from touring for three years and Pegg had more time to pursue other projects.
released a recording of the performance as Saturday Rolling Around (1991). In the 1980s he also appeared on several recordings by major folk artists, including Murray Head
and Dick Gaughan
, besides those by Fairport and ex-Fairport members Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson.
In 1985 Pegg, Nicol and Mattacks were also free and the trio decided to make an album of new material for the band to play at the Cropredy Festival, using the Woodworm studio and label. The result was Gladys' Leap
(1985), which was generally well received in the music and national press, but caused some tension with Swarbrick who refused to play any of the new material at the 1985 Cropredy Festival. Nevertheless the decision to reform the band, without Swarbrick, was taken by the other three remaining members. Ric Sanders
was invited to join, along with guitarist, composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Maartin Allcock
. Pegg was now in two major bands at the same time. The reformed Fairport produced an instrumental album Expletive Delighted (1986), mainly designed to showcase the virtuosity of Sanders and Allcock.
In 1987 Jethro Tull produced their first album for three years, Crest of a Knave
, to which Pegg contributed and this was to be followed by an American tour, on which Anderson invited Fairport to support Jethro Tull. Needing an album to promote, Pegg negotiated financial support from Island Records and Fairport put together In Real Time (1987). This was presented as a live album, but was actually a studio recording (albeit with all the songs recorded "as live" with all the musicians playing at the same time) with dubbed audience reactions. Although the tour was musically rewarding, it was unproductive financially and Pegg, being in both bands, left the stage with one band to return after a few minutes with the other, and the process was inevitably exhausting. Pegg played on three more Jethro Tull studio albums: Rock Island
(1989), Catfish Rising
(1991) and Roots to Branches
(1995). In the same period he contributed to three studio albums by Fairport Convention: Red and Gold (1989) the Five Seasons (1990) and Jewel in the Crown
(1995). Fairport’s popularity and the scale of their tours were growing throughout this period and the strain of undertaking two jobs, plus his other commitments, was becoming too much and he decided to leave Tull and focus on Fairport.
Part of the result of this change was a higher output of albums for Fairport Convention, with five studio albums from the acoustic Old New Borrowed Blue (1996) to Over the Next Hill
(2004), beside four live albums and compilations. Pegg also released his second solo album Birthday Party (1998), which combined recordings from a celebratory concert for his fiftieth birthday at Dudley Town Hall with studio recordings.
In 1998, Pegg formed The Dylan Project, a Bob Dylan
tribute band with Simon Nicol
, PJ Wright, Steve Gibbons, and Gerry Conway
. In 2006, Nicol was replaced by Birmingham keyboard player Phil Bond. They tour annually in the autumn and have produced two studio albums and a live album recorded at Cropredy Festival.
In 2004 Pegg and his wife Christine divorced. The Woodworm studio was sold, and a new record label
, Matty Grooves
was established for the band and the group as a whole now organises the Cropredy Festival, now called Fairport's Cropredy Convention.
Pegg also formed Peggy & PJ, a duo with guitarist PJ Wright, who had been lead guitar with the Steve Gibbons Band
, touring smaller venues and producing an album Galileo's Apology in 2007, a collection of pop and folk-rock songs and instrumentals. Pegg also had a second ‘birthday bash’ at Birmingham Town Hall, released as Dave Pegg's 60th Birthday Bash (2008).
In 2007 a major retrospective of Pegg’s career was launched. A Box of Pegg's contained four CDs, summarizing his work with Fairport Convention
, Crawdaddy, Richard Thompson, Mike Heron
, Steve Ashley, Jethro Tull
, The Ian Campbell Folk Group and others.
Since 2010 he plays as soon as he can, in France, with the breton band Red Cardell
.
Pegg now lives in Banbury
, Oxfordshire
. He has a daughter, Stephanie, who works as a PR consultant: his son, Matt Pegg
, is a bassist who has played with, among others, Procol Harum
and Francis Dunnery
.
. At the 2007 awards Pegg shared with Fairport Convention and the late Sandy Denny an award for ‘Favourite Folk Track Of All Time’ for ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes?’.
For Jethro Tull albums see Jethro Tull discography
As solo artist or with friends
On Nick Drake albums
On A. L. Lloyd albums
On Mike Heron albums
On Marc Ellington albums
On Alan Taylor albums
On Mick Greenwood albums
On John Martyn albums
On Chris Darrow albums
On Bryn Howarth albums
On Sandy Denny Albums
On Krysia Kocjan albums
On Steve Ashley albums
On Richard & Linda Thompson albums
On Ralph McTell albums
On Dave Swarbrick albums
On Richard Thompson albums
On Gay & Terry Woods albums
On Dan Ar Bras albums
On Julie Covington albums
On Craig Nuttyholme albums
On Murray Head albums
On Dick Gaughan albums
On Simon Nicol albums
With various artists
With The G.P.s
On Beryl Marriott with Fairport Convention & Chris Leslie albums
On Sally Barker albums
On Linda Thompson albums
On Steve Tilson and Maggy Boyle albums
On Ashley Hutchings albums
On Phil Pickett albums
With the Dylan Project
On Alan Simon albums
On Fallen Angel albums
On Jerry Donahue albums
On David Hughes albums
On Bob Fox albums
On Shirley Collins albums
On Chris Leslie albums
On Amazing Blondel albums
On Anna Ryder albums
With PJ Wright
On Steve Tilson albums
On Ric Sanders albums
On Deborah Bonham albums
On Tim Moon album
On Red Shoes album
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, arguably most visible as a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the pre-eminent electric folk
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
band Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
and has been bassist with a number of important folk and rock groups including The Ian Campbell Folk Group
Ian Campbell Folk Group
The Ian Campbell Folk Group were one of the most popular and respected folk groups of the British folk revival of the 1960s. The group made many appearances on radio, television, and at national and international venues and festivals. They performed a mixture of British traditional folk music and...
and Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
. He has appeared on some of the most significant albums of his era, as well as undertaking solo projects. His style of playing bass has been particularly influential in electric folk music.
Early career
David Pegg was born on 2 November 1947, at Acocks GreenAcocks Green
Acocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He began to learn guitar when fourteen or fifteen, inspired by The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
, and played in a school band at Yardley Grammar school.
After leaving school he worked as an insurance clerk for about a year while playing in a part-time bands the Crawdaddys and The Roy Everett Blues Band, who supported several performers from the flourishing Birmingham beat scene of the time, including the Spencer Davis Group
Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group was a mid-1960s British beat group from Birmingham, England, formed by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood...
and The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
. In 1966 he auditioned for The Uglys, featuring Steve Gibbons
Steve Gibbons Band
Steve Gibbons is an English rock vocalist.-The Dominettes:Steve Gibbons started his professional life as a plumber's apprentice in Harborne. He joined the Dominettes by 1960 to replace Colin Smith, who had left to join Jimmy Powell's backing group...
and was beaten to the position by friend and guitarist Roger Hill, but was offered the job of bass guitarist and switched instruments.
The Uglys cut one single before Pegg and Hill left to form a blues trio, The Exception, with singer Alan Eastwood. At this period he played with Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and in his next band, The Way of Life, the drummer was John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
, later both went to form Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. In 1967 he joined the Ian Campbell Folk Group, where he switched to stand-up bass, learnt to play the mandolin and acquired his affection for folk music. It was also where he came to the attention of local folk guitarist Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
and former Campbell Group and future Fairport Convention member Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick
Dave Swarbrick is an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. He has been described by Ashley Hutchings as 'the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none' and his style has been copied or developed by almost every British, and many World folk violin players that have followed him...
.
By early 1969 he had moved back to electric bass with The Beast, with Cozy Powell
Cozy Powell
Colin Flooks , better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer who made his name with many major rock bands.-Early history:...
and Dave Clempson, before the latter left for Colosseum
Colosseum (band)
Colosseum is a pioneering British progressive jazz-rock band, mixing progressive rock and jazz-based improvisation.-History 1968 - 1971:The band was formed in September 1968 by drummer Jon Hiseman, tenor sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith and bass player Tony Reeves, who had previously worked together...
. One week after seeing Fairport for the first time on his twenty-first birthday he was called by Swarbrick to audition for the band after the departure of Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founder member of three of the most noteworthy English folk-rock bands in the history of the genre; Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band...
, who was soon to found Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
.
Fairport Convention 1969-79
Pegg joined Fairport Convention towards the end of 1969 and immediately formed a strong playing partnership with drummer Dave MattacksDave Mattacks
Dave Mattacks is a rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician, and as a performance artist...
and good relationships with the other members. Although Hutchings had been a solid and melodic bass player, it is generally acknowledged that Pegg played with greater virtuosity, complexity and energy. Ashley Hutchings credits Pegg with being the musician that began the technique of playing jigs and reels
Reel (dance)
The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz, and is also the name of a dance figure ....
on the bass, rather than just a supportive bass line, which was subsequently adopted by most electric folk and even folk punk
Folk punk
Folk punk , is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by The Pogues in Britain and Violent Femmes in America. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in that decade...
bassists. All this was immediately obvious on the 1970 tour of Britain and America (including support for Jethro Tull), recordings from which surfaced on the Live at the L.A. Troubadour
Live at the L.A. Troubadour
Live at the L.A. Troubadour along with its reissued counterpart House Full are the only live Fairport Convention albums to feature Richard Thompson. It was recorded in 1970 on the Full House tour and was reissued in 2007. Some of the material is available on House Full but a number of tracks can...
album (1977). His first album with the group, Full House (1970), is considered by some commentators to be their most accomplished in musical terms, and this clearly owed something to the new bassist.
On joining the band Pegg had moved his family from Birmingham and into the former pub, the Angel in Hadham, Hertfordshire along with other group members and their families. This became the theme for the title track of the next album Angel Delight
Angel Delight (album)
Angel Delight is the sixth album by the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. This was the first Fairport Convention album without guitarist Richard Thompson, and the lineup consisted of Simon Nicol , Dave Swarbrick , Dave Pegg , and Dave Mattacks .The title derives from "The Angel" in...
(1971), for which Pegg received his first writing credit. On the next album Babbacombe Lee
Babbacombe Lee (album)
Babbacombe Lee is the seventh album by English folk rock group Fairport Convention, and was released in 1971. It tells the life story of John "Babbacombe" Lee, a Victorian-era murderer who, although condemned to death, was reprieved after the gallows failed on three occasions to work properly...
, a folk-rock opera masterminded by Swarbrick, he played a much greater role, contributing to seven of the fifteen tracks. The next album Rosie
Rosie (album)
Rosie is the eighth studio album by folk-rock outfit Fairport Convention, released in 1973.The album was the first to feature Australian singer-songwriter guitarist Trevor Lucas and American lead guitarist Jerry Donahue. Both had previously played with ex-Fairport Sandy Denny, to whom Lucas was...
contained three of his contributions, including the song Peggy's Pub a statement of a lifelong ambition.
In 1971 when Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks left the band, Pegg and Swarbrick were the only remaining members and, as a bewildering succession of personnel came (or returned) and left again over the next five years, their partnership was critical in keeping the band running. Some of these performers, like Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny
Sandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
and her husband Trevor Lucas
Trevor Lucas
Trevor George Lucas was an influential folk artist, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay...
, were acknowledged songwriters and as a result, although he still made contributions and took part in collaborations, Pegg's song-writing took a back seat to his instrumental and organisational skills. After the financial disaster that followed the Rising for the Moon
Rising for the Moon
Rising for the Moon is a Fairport Convention album. It reached number 52 in the UK albums charts. This was the last Fairport album to feature Sandy Denny....
(1975) tour, which prompted Denny, Lucas and Jerry Donahue
Jerry Donahue
Jerry Donahue is an American guitarist and producer primarily known for his work in the British folk rock scene as a member of Fotheringay and Fairport Convention as well as being a member of the rock guitar trio The Hellecasters.-Biography:Donahue was born in New York, the son of big band...
to quit the band, Pegg became increasingly determined for the group to take control of their finances and direction and took over a larger and larger responsibility. Pegg and Swarbrick renewed contact with Nicol in 1975 forming a low key trio, Three Desperate Mortgages, which toured student venues across Britain.
With only Pegg, Swarbrick and replacement drummer Bruce Rowland
Bruce Rowland (drummer)
Bruce Rowland is an English rock drummer best known for his memberships of The Grease Band and folk rock band Fairport Convention. He is also a prolific session musician.-Early career:...
left, they persuaded Nicol to rejoin the band during the Gottle O'Geer
Gottle O'Geer
Gottle O'Geer is the eleventh studio album by English folk rock band Fairport Convention...
album sessions. The remaining quartet signed up with Vertigo, and produced two albums, The Bonny Bunch of Roses
The Bonny Bunch of Roses
"The Bonny Bunch of Roses" , also called "Bonaparte's Retreat", is an English folk song.The earliest known version of the tune is in William Christie's "Tradition Ballad Airs" , but there is another tune, of Irish origin. There is an obvious difficulty in identifying the narrator's voice...
(1977) and Tipplers Tales
Tipplers Tales
Tipplers Tales is a 1978 album by Fairport Convention; recorded in only ten days, it was the last album the band recorded for Vertigo. Simon Nicol later wrote Dave Pegg would later say...
(1978). These were the albums in the group's discography that made the most use of traditional material, which accounted for all the songs except for instrumentals by Pegg. Although well crafted these albums did not sell well and Vertigo bought them out of their contract. With Swarbrick suffering acute hearing problems and with no recording contract the group decided to disband and played a final concert at Cropredy
Cropredy
Cropredy is a village and civil parish on the River Cherwell, north of Banbury in Oxfordshire.-Early history:The village has Anglo-Saxon origins and is recorded in the Domesday Book...
in Oxfordshire on 4 August 1979, close to where Pegg lived.
While with Fairport, Pegg had played on a wide variety and huge number of albums for other performers. Among the most significant were: Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
's Bryter Layter
Bryter Layter
Bryter Layter, recorded in 1970, was the second of three albums by British folk musician Nick Drake. Like Five Leaves Left, the album contains no unaccompanied songs: Drake was accompanied by part of the British folk rock group Fairport Convention and John Cale from The Velvet Underground, as well...
(1970); John Martin's Solid Air
Solid Air
Solid Air is a folk jazz album released in 1973 by John Martyn on Island Records.Contemporary reviews were favourable with music paper Sounds declaring that Solid Air flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips." The album has continued to...
(1973) and One World
One World (John Martyn album)
One World is a 1977 album by John Martyn. One of his more experimental works, it features atmospheric, reggae influenced rhythms and free-flowing, jazzy arrangements. Acclaimed for its collaborative spirit, the album includes contributions from Lee Perry on "Big Muff", and Steve Winwood...
(1977), as well as work for current and ex-Fairporters, including several albums for Dave Swarbrick, on Sandy Denny's Like an Old Fashioned Waltz
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz
Like an Old Fashioned Waltz is the third solo album by English folk rock singer Sandy Denny, released in June 1974. The album featured a more pop and jazz influenced production style, a marked change from Denny's previous folk rock albums as lead vocalist for Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, The...
(1973) and Rendezvous
Rendezvous (Sandy Denny album)
Rendezvous is a 1977 album by English folk rock singer-songwriter Sandy Denny, and was her last release before her death.Sandy Denny and Trevor Lucas left Fairport Convention at the end of 1975 and Denny embarked on Rendezvous in the spring of 1976. Trevor Lucas produced the album with a...
(1977) and Richard Thompson's Pour Down Like Silver
Pour Down Like Silver
Pour Down Like Silver is the third album by the British duo of singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard and singer Linda Thompson. It was recorded in the summer of 1975 and released in November 1975....
(1975). He appeared on three Ralph McTell albums, including Streets (1973), and Slide Aside the Screen (1976), which Pegg also produced. He could confidently look forward to more session work and production would play a much greater role in his career once Fairport had disbanded.
Woodworm and Jethro Tull 1980-1985
Although Fairport had disbanded they continued to play annual reunions at Cropredy, supplemented by New Year's gigs in minor locations and occasional larger European festivals. Because no record label was interested in putting out recordings of the Cropredy concerts, Pegg and his wife Christine established their own label, Woodworm RecordsWoodworm Records
Woodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
. They released the final concert as the album Farewell, Farewell (1979) and subsequent recordings were issued as ‘official bootlegs’. He had already established a small recording studio in his house and with the money from the end of the record deal with Vertigo, he was able to develop this and it was eventually moved to a nearby converted chapel. The result was that Pegg had his own recording facility and record label. Artists like Steve Ashley began to record albums there from 1979. The Peggs established a mailing list of fans of the band, critical in keeping interest in Fairport alive and, particularly Christine, took over the organization of the Cropredy Festival, which grew in size every year to reach about 18,000 attendees by the mid 1980s.
In 1979 Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson (musician)
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
invited Pegg to stand in for the ailing John Glascock
John Glascock
John Glascock was the bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist for the progressive rock band Carmen. He was also the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull from December 1975 until August 1979...
on the Jethro Tull, Stormwatch
Stormwatch (album)
Stormwatch is the twelfth studio album by the rock group Jethro Tull. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull...
tour. After Glascock’s death, Pegg was invited to join the band, still one of the biggest in the world, and it provided very welcome paid employment for Pegg for the next fifteen years. Pegg happened to join at a turning point for Jethro Tull. His first recording was intended as a solo album for Anderson, involving only Martin Barre
Martin Barre
Martin Lancelot Barre is an English rock musician.Barre has been the guitarist for rock band Jethro Tull since 1969. He has appeared on every Jethro Tull album except their debut This Was...
from the band. The album, A (1980) was in stark contrast to the medieval and folk music inspired previous work, depending heavily on synthesizers for its sound. At this time all the other longstanding members left the band and the recording was put out as a Jethro Tull album. Pegg coped with this, and subsequent changes of style, seemingly with little difficulty. The next album, Broadsword and the Beast
Broadsword and the Beast
The Broadsword and The Beast is the 14th studio album by Jethro Tull, released on April 10, 1982 and according to Ian Anderson in the liner notes of the remastered CD, contains some of Jethro Tull's best music...
(1982) had a heavier sound and more medieval theme and Pegg joined the band on stage in pseudo-medieval costume beside a Viking ship. In 1983 Pegg recorded his first solo album, The Cocktail Cowboy Goes It Alone
The Cocktail Cowboy Goes It Alone
The Cocktail Cowboy Goes It Alone is the first solo album by Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull. It was recorded at his Woodworm Studios in Barford St. Michael during Spring 1983; it was released in 1983 as Woodworm WR003....
(1983). After the next Tull album, Under Wraps
Under Wraps
Under Wraps is the 15th studio album by the band Jethro Tull, released in 1984. The songs' subject matter is heavily influenced by bandleader Ian Anderson's love of espionage fiction....
(1984), Anderson’s vocal problems forced him to retire from touring for three years and Pegg had more time to pursue other projects.
Reforming Fairport 1985-95
In 1981 Pegg joined Ralph McTell and ex-Fairport members, Richard Thompson and Dave Mattacks in the GPs (an abbreviation for the 'Grazed Pontiffs', after a comment by Dave Mattacks following the attempted assassination of the Pope). The aim was for a pub band, playing a few originals and blues, rock n’ roll, soul and country standards. They only gave six performances, included the Fairport reunion festival in 1981 (at Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire), which Woodworm RecordsWoodworm Records
Woodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
released a recording of the performance as Saturday Rolling Around (1991). In the 1980s he also appeared on several recordings by major folk artists, including Murray Head
Murray Head
Murray Seafield Saint-George Head is a British actor and singer, most recognised for his international hit songs "Superstar" and "One Night in Bangkok" and his album Say It Ain't So...
and Dick Gaughan
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
, besides those by Fairport and ex-Fairport members Simon Nicol and Richard Thompson.
In 1985 Pegg, Nicol and Mattacks were also free and the trio decided to make an album of new material for the band to play at the Cropredy Festival, using the Woodworm studio and label. The result was Gladys' Leap
Gladys' Leap
Gladys' Leap is a folk rock album by Fairport Convention originally released in August 1985. It was recorded in April and May 1985 at Woodworm Studios, Barford St. Michael, Oxfordshire, UK...
(1985), which was generally well received in the music and national press, but caused some tension with Swarbrick who refused to play any of the new material at the 1985 Cropredy Festival. Nevertheless the decision to reform the band, without Swarbrick, was taken by the other three remaining members. Ric Sanders
Ric Sanders
Richard 'Ric' Sanders is a British violinist who has played in jazz-rock, folk rock, electric folk and folk groups, including Soft Machine and Fairport Convention.-Biography:...
was invited to join, along with guitarist, composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist Maartin Allcock
Maartin Allcock
Maartin Allcock , also known as Martin Allcock, is a multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer.-Biography:...
. Pegg was now in two major bands at the same time. The reformed Fairport produced an instrumental album Expletive Delighted (1986), mainly designed to showcase the virtuosity of Sanders and Allcock.
In 1987 Jethro Tull produced their first album for three years, Crest of a Knave
Crest of a Knave
Crest of a Knave is the sixteenth studio album by British rock band Jethro Tull, released in 1987.The album relied more heavily on Martin Barre's electric guitar than the band had since the 1970s. However, several tracks still featured drum machine instead of a live drummer. Keyboardist Peter-John...
, to which Pegg contributed and this was to be followed by an American tour, on which Anderson invited Fairport to support Jethro Tull. Needing an album to promote, Pegg negotiated financial support from Island Records and Fairport put together In Real Time (1987). This was presented as a live album, but was actually a studio recording (albeit with all the songs recorded "as live" with all the musicians playing at the same time) with dubbed audience reactions. Although the tour was musically rewarding, it was unproductive financially and Pegg, being in both bands, left the stage with one band to return after a few minutes with the other, and the process was inevitably exhausting. Pegg played on three more Jethro Tull studio albums: Rock Island
Rock Island (album)
Rock Island is the 17th studio album by the British rock group Jethro Tull, released in 1989.The album continued the hard rock direction the band took on the previous effort, Crest of a Knave...
(1989), Catfish Rising
Catfish Rising
Catfish Rising is the 18th studio album by the British rock group Jethro Tull, released in 1991. It is the first Tull album to feature keyboardist Andrew Giddings.-Vinyl edition:Side One# "This Is Not Love" – 3:56# "Occasional Demons" – 3:48...
(1991) and Roots to Branches
Roots to Branches
Roots to Branches is the name of the 19th studio album by the band Jethro Tull. It carries characteristics of Tull's classic 1970s art-rock and folk-rock roots alongside jazz and Arabic and Far Eastern influences. All songs were written by Ian Anderson and recorded at his home studio...
(1995). In the same period he contributed to three studio albums by Fairport Convention: Red and Gold (1989) the Five Seasons (1990) and Jewel in the Crown
Jewel in the Crown (album)
Jewel In The Crown is a 1995 folk-rock album by Fairport Convention which is viewed by many as the best record produced by the line up which had been formed in 1985 for the one off project, Gladys' Leap...
(1995). Fairport’s popularity and the scale of their tours were growing throughout this period and the strain of undertaking two jobs, plus his other commitments, was becoming too much and he decided to leave Tull and focus on Fairport.
Focusing on Fairport 1995-present
Over the Next Hill
Over the Next Hill, released in 2004, is an album by the band Fairport Convention. It has been described by Mojo as "simply [Fairport's] best album in 25 years"....
(2004), beside four live albums and compilations. Pegg also released his second solo album Birthday Party (1998), which combined recordings from a celebratory concert for his fiftieth birthday at Dudley Town Hall with studio recordings.
In 1998, Pegg formed The Dylan Project, a Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
tribute band with Simon Nicol
Simon Nicol
Simon John Breckenridge Nicol is a guitarist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He was a founder member of British folk rock, or electric folk group Fairport Convention and is the only founding member still in the band...
, PJ Wright, Steve Gibbons, and Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway (musician)
Gerald Conway is an English folk and rock drummer/percussionist, best known for having performed with the backing band for Cat Stevens in the 1970s, Jethro Tull during the 1980s, and currently a member of Fairport Convention as well as his side projects...
. In 2006, Nicol was replaced by Birmingham keyboard player Phil Bond. They tour annually in the autumn and have produced two studio albums and a live album recorded at Cropredy Festival.
In 2004 Pegg and his wife Christine divorced. The Woodworm studio was sold, and a new record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Matty Grooves
Matty Grooves Records
Matty Grooves Records is a record label which was started by the members of Fairport Convention in 2004, when Woodworm Records was put into hold. The name is derived from the English folk song of similar name.-Release List:-DVD Release List:...
was established for the band and the group as a whole now organises the Cropredy Festival, now called Fairport's Cropredy Convention.
Pegg also formed Peggy & PJ, a duo with guitarist PJ Wright, who had been lead guitar with the Steve Gibbons Band
Steve Gibbons Band
Steve Gibbons is an English rock vocalist.-The Dominettes:Steve Gibbons started his professional life as a plumber's apprentice in Harborne. He joined the Dominettes by 1960 to replace Colin Smith, who had left to join Jimmy Powell's backing group...
, touring smaller venues and producing an album Galileo's Apology in 2007, a collection of pop and folk-rock songs and instrumentals. Pegg also had a second ‘birthday bash’ at Birmingham Town Hall, released as Dave Pegg's 60th Birthday Bash (2008).
In 2007 a major retrospective of Pegg’s career was launched. A Box of Pegg's contained four CDs, summarizing his work with Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, Crawdaddy, Richard Thompson, Mike Heron
Mike Heron
Mike Heron is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
, Steve Ashley, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, The Ian Campbell Folk Group and others.
Since 2010 he plays as soon as he can, in France, with the breton band Red Cardell
Red Cardell
Red Cardell are a Breton Rock band formed in 1992. Its members include Jean-Pierre Riou, as singer and guitarist, Jean-Michel Moal on the accordion, Manu Masko on Drums, and since spring 2011, Mathieu Péquériau on Harmonica.-Biography:...
.
Pegg now lives in Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. He has a daughter, Stephanie, who works as a PR consultant: his son, Matt Pegg
Matt Pegg
Matt Pegg is an English musician and bass guitarist.Pegg is the son of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull bass guitar player Dave Pegg. He is an experienced bass guitarist in his own right and has been known to stand in for his father on Jethro Tull tours...
, is a bassist who has played with, among others, Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
and Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery
Francis Dunnery is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as a solo performer , and for fronting the original lineup of the band It Bites between 1982 and 1990 .Dunnery served as a sideman and...
.
Public recognition
In 2002 Dave Pegg shared with other Fairport Convention members in the coveted ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk AwardsBBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
. At the 2007 awards Pegg shared with Fairport Convention and the late Sandy Denny an award for ‘Favourite Folk Track Of All Time’ for ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes?’.
Discography
For Fairport Convention albums see Fairport Convention discographyFairport Convention discography
This is a list of recordings by the folk rock group Fairport Convention, usually credited as the first English electric folk band. Founded in 1967 and initially covering songs by artists such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, they developed a devoted niche following by providing electrified and...
For Jethro Tull albums see Jethro Tull discography
Jethro Tull discography
This is the discography for the British progressive rock band Jethro Tull.-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:-Extended plays:-Singles:-Videos:...
As solo artist or with friends
- The Cocktail Cowboy Goes It AloneThe Cocktail Cowboy Goes It AloneThe Cocktail Cowboy Goes It Alone is the first solo album by Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull. It was recorded at his Woodworm Studios in Barford St. Michael during Spring 1983; it was released in 1983 as Woodworm WR003....
(WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1983). - Birthday Party (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1998). - A Box of Pegg's (Matty GroovesMatty Grooves RecordsMatty Grooves Records is a record label which was started by the members of Fairport Convention in 2004, when Woodworm Records was put into hold. The name is derived from the English folk song of similar name.-Release List:-DVD Release List:...
, 2007) - Dave Pegg's 60th Birthday Bash (Matty GroovesMatty Grooves RecordsMatty Grooves Records is a record label which was started by the members of Fairport Convention in 2004, when Woodworm Records was put into hold. The name is derived from the English folk song of similar name.-Release List:-DVD Release List:...
, 2008)
On Nick Drake albums
- Bryter LayterBryter LayterBryter Layter, recorded in 1970, was the second of three albums by British folk musician Nick Drake. Like Five Leaves Left, the album contains no unaccompanied songs: Drake was accompanied by part of the British folk rock group Fairport Convention and John Cale from The Velvet Underground, as well...
(Island, 1970) - Fruit TreeFruit treeA fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by people — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, the term 'fruit tree' is limited to those that provide fruit for...
(Island, 1979) - Way to Blue: - An Introduction to Nick DrakeWay to BlueWay to Blue is a 1994 compilation album featuring tracks by English singer/songwriter Nick Drake, taken from his original three albums plus "Time of No Reply". The album reached gold certificate in the U.K...
(Island, 1994) - Nick Drake Treasury (Island, 2004)
On A. L. Lloyd albums
- The Great Australian Legend (Topic, 1971)
- Old Bush Songs (1995)
On Mike Heron albums
- Smiling Men with Bad ReputationsSmiling Men with Bad ReputationsSmiling Men with Bad Reputations is the 1971 solo debut release by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band.Here Heron was prone to generate odd, atmospheric melodies, some of which were drawn from Celtic and Eastern sources. "Spirit Beautiful" is a fine example in which Heron creates an Indian...
(Electra, 1971)
On Marc Ellington albums
- Rains / Reins of Changes (B&C, 1971)
On Alan Taylor albums
- Sometimes (United Artists, 1971)
On Mick Greenwood albums
- Living Game (MCA, 1971)
On John Martyn albums
- Solid AirSolid AirSolid Air is a folk jazz album released in 1973 by John Martyn on Island Records.Contemporary reviews were favourable with music paper Sounds declaring that Solid Air flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips." The album has continued to...
(Island, 1973) - One WorldOne World (John Martyn album)One World is a 1977 album by John Martyn. One of his more experimental works, it features atmospheric, reggae influenced rhythms and free-flowing, jazzy arrangements. Acclaimed for its collaborative spirit, the album includes contributions from Lee Perry on "Big Muff", and Steve Winwood...
(Island, 1977) - Little Sweet Mysteries: the Island Anthology (Island, 1995)
On Chris Darrow albums
- Chris Darrow (United Artists, 1973)
On Bryn Howarth albums
- Sunny Side of the Street (Island, 1973)
- Songs and Hymns (Kingsway, 1999)
On Sandy Denny Albums
- Like an Old Fashioned WaltzLike an Old Fashioned WaltzLike an Old Fashioned Waltz is the third solo album by English folk rock singer Sandy Denny, released in June 1974. The album featured a more pop and jazz influenced production style, a marked change from Denny's previous folk rock albums as lead vocalist for Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, The...
(Island, 1973) - RendezvousRendezvous (Sandy Denny album)Rendezvous is a 1977 album by English folk rock singer-songwriter Sandy Denny, and was her last release before her death.Sandy Denny and Trevor Lucas left Fairport Convention at the end of 1975 and Denny embarked on Rendezvous in the spring of 1976. Trevor Lucas produced the album with a...
(Island, 1977) - Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (Island, 1985)
- A Boxful of TreasuresA Boxful of Treasures- Disc two :- Disc three :- Disc four :- Disc five :- References :* *...
(Fledg'ling, 2004)
On Krysia Kocjan albums
- Krysia (RCA, 1974)
On Steve Ashley albums
- Stroll On (Gull, 1974)
- Steve Ashley's Family Album (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1983) - Mysterious Ways (Lighthouse, 1990)
- Test of Time (Topic, 1998)
- Stroll On Revisited (Market Square, 1999)
- Everyday Lives (Topic, 2001)
- Acoustic Folk Box (Topic, 2002)
- Speedy Return (Market Square, 2003)
- Live in Concert (Dusk Fire, 2006)
- Time and Tide (Topic, 2007)
On Richard & Linda Thompson albums
- Pour Down Like SilverPour Down Like SilverPour Down Like Silver is the third album by the British duo of singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard and singer Linda Thompson. It was recorded in the summer of 1975 and released in November 1975....
(Island, 1975) - SunnyvistaSunnyvistaSunnyvista, released in October 1979 is the fifth album by Richard and Linda Thompson.After the artistic mismatch of the previous year's come back album , the Thompsons made greater use on this album of backing musicians that they had worked with previously.Sunnyvista is a curate's egg of an album...
(Chrysalis, 1979) - Shoot Out the LightsShoot Out the LightsShoot Out the Lights is the sixth and final album by British husband-and-wife folk rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson. It was produced by Joe Boyd and released in 1982 on his Hannibal label...
(Hannibal, 1982)
On Ralph McTell albums
- Streets (Warner Brothers, 1973)
- Right Side Up (Warner Brothers, 1976)
- Slide Away the Screen (Warner Brothers, 1977)
- Streets of London (Warner Brothers, 1981)
- From Claire to Here: the songs of Ralph McTell (Red House, 1996)
- Red Sky (Leola, 2005)
On Dave Swarbrick albums
- Swarbrick (Transatlantic, 1976)
- Swarbrick II (Transatlantic, 1977)
- The Ceilidh Album (Sonet, 1978)
- Lift the Lid and Listen (Sonet, 1978)
- Smiddyburn (Logo, 1981)
- Flittin (Spendthrift, 1983)
- The English Fiddler: Swarbrick plays Swarbrick (Naxos World, 2002)
On Richard Thompson albums
- (guitar, vocal)(guitar, vocal)is a 1976 album by Richard Thompson. It was released by Island Records as a career retrospective after he and his wife Linda had gone into semi-retirement from the business of making and performing music following the release of Pour Down Like Silver .Most tracks are unreleased recordings from...
(Island, 1976) - Hand of KindnessHand of KindnessHand Of Kindness is an album by Richard Thompson recorded and released in 1983.After the "Tour From Hell" to promote Shoot Out The Lights Richard Thompson resumed a solo career as a recording and performing artist....
(Hannibal, 1983) - Watching The Dark: The History of Richard Thompson (Hannibal, 1993)
On Gay & Terry Woods albums
- The Time is Right (Polydor 1976)
- Lake Songs from Red Waters-The Best of Gay & Terry Woods (2004)
On Dan Ar Bras albums
- Douar NevezDouar NevezDouar Nevez is a folk rock album by Dan Ar Bras. It was originally released as an LP in 1977 by Hexagone , catalogue number 883 009. The album was produced by Hugues De Courson....
(Hexagone, 1977)
On Julie Covington albums
- Julie Covington (Fame, 1978)
On Craig Nuttyholme albums
- It’s Just a Lifetime (A&M, 1978)
On Murray Head albums
- VoicesVoices (Murray Head album)-Track listing:#"Last Daze of an Empire" - 4:17#"Affair Across a Crowded Room" - 4:37#"Hey Lady" - 3:05#"On your Own Again" - 3:45#"She's Doing Time on the Line" - 4:00#"Chance Encounter" - 3:37#"Children Only Play " - 4:46#"Old Soho" - 4:05...
(Mercury, 1980)
On Dick Gaughan albums
- A Different Kind of Love Song (Celtic, 1983)
- Dick Gaughan Prentice Piece (Green Trax, 2002)
On Simon Nicol albums
- Before Your Time (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1987)
With various artists
- Circle Dance—The Hokey Pokey Charity Compilation (Hokey Pokey ConeD, 1990)
- Footsteps to Fame, vol 2 (Repertoire, 1991)
- Best of British Folk Rock (Park, 1997)
- House on Fire vol 2, an Urban Folk Collection (Red House, 1997)
- Blues Britannia (Bridge, 2000)
- Acoustic folk box (Topic, 2002)
- Acoustic vol 2 (Topic, 2002)
- Master Craftsmen (Terra Nova, 2002)
- Along the Pilgrim Way (Pickwick, 2003)
- Best of British Folk (Prism Leisure, 2003)
With The G.P.s
- Saturday Rolling Around live from Broughton Castle (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1991)
On Beryl Marriott with Fairport Convention & Chris Leslie albums
- Weave The Mirror (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1991)
On Sally Barker albums
- The Rhythm is Mine (Hannibal, 1990)
- Another Train (Hypertension, 2000)
On Linda Thompson albums
- Dreams Fly Away: A History of Linda Thompson (Hannibal, 1996)
- Fashionably Late (Topic, 2002)
On Steve Tilson and Maggy Boyle albums
- All Under the Sun (Flying Fish, 1996)
On Ashley Hutchings albums
- The Guv'nor vol 4The Guv'nor vol 4The Guv'nor vol 4 is a compilation of recordings by Ashley Hutchings.These recordings come from studio demos, live performances and some studio finished product. Almost all had never been released before and the quality is variable. They date from the period 1967 to 1996. Most of the songs and...
(Castle, 1996)
On Phil Pickett albums
- The Bones of All MenThe Bones of All MenThe Bones of All Men is an album by Philip Pickett.The exact credits on the front of the album are "Mr Philip Pickett with Mr Richard Thompson and the Fairport Rhythm Section" - giving a mock-formality to the event, as if it were a classical music concert. All of the tracks on this album are...
(Hannibal, 1998)
With the Dylan Project
- The Dylan Project (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1998) - The Dylan Project...Live At Cropredy Festival (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 1999) - The Dylan Project 2 (Matty GroovesMatty Grooves RecordsMatty Grooves Records is a record label which was started by the members of Fairport Convention in 2004, when Woodworm Records was put into hold. The name is derived from the English folk song of similar name.-Release List:-DVD Release List:...
2005)
On Alan Simon albums
- Excalibur: La Legende des Celtes (Sbme, 1999)
- Excalibur: Concert Mythique (Epic, 2000)
- Excalibur II: The Celtic Ring (EMI, 2007)
On Fallen Angel albums
- Happy Ever After (Tara, 1999)
On Jerry Donahue albums
- Telecasting recast (Pharaoh, 1999)
On David Hughes albums
- This Other Eden (The Folk Corporation, 1999)
- Recognised (The Folk Corporation, 2002)
On Bob Fox albums
- Dreams Never Leave You (WoodwormWoodworm RecordsWoodworm Records was a record label created in 1979 to enable the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention to release their album Farewell Farewell. The album was a recording of performances taken from the band's 1979 farewell tour...
, 2000)
On Shirley Collins albums
- Within Sound (Fledg’ling, 2002)
On Chris Leslie albums
- Dancing DaysDancing Days (Chris Leslie album)Dancing Days is an album by Chris Leslie, released in 2004.Compared to Chris Leslie's earlier album The Flow, this is much more of a recognisable instrumental folk-rock effort. Occasionally Chris drifts off into a reverie that sounds like a monastery in Tibet, but this is less obvious than before...
(Talking Elephant, 2003)
On Amazing Blondel albums
- Going Where the Music Takes Me (Shakedown, 2004)
On Anna Ryder albums
- Paper Girl (RowdyMusic, 2004)
With PJ Wright
- Galileo's Apology (Matty GroovesMatty Grooves RecordsMatty Grooves Records is a record label which was started by the members of Fairport Convention in 2004, when Woodworm Records was put into hold. The name is derived from the English folk song of similar name.-Release List:-DVD Release List:...
, 2007)
On Steve Tilson albums
- Reaching Back: the Life & Music of Steve Tilston (Free Reed, 2007)
On Ric Sanders albums
- Still Waters (Talking Elephant, 2008)
On Deborah Bonham albums
- Duchess (Warner, 2008)
On Tim Moon album
- Invicta (Inside Motion, due for release 2010)
On Red Shoes album
- Ring Around The Land (Cedarwood Records, 2009)