Maddy Prior
Encyclopedia
Maddy Prior is an English
folk singer
, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span
.
, where she befriended the young Donovan Leitch
and Mac MacLeod
. She later formed a duo with MacLeod called Mac & Maddy. She became a roadie
for visiting American
musicians, including Reverend Gary Davis
. They gave her useful advice about singing British folk
songs instead of American
songs.
, was co-creator of the police drama Z-Cars
. Allan Prior also wrote Stookie, a 6-part series for television, about a boy with his arm in a sling. Maddy sang the title song, which was released as a single in 1985. It reappeared on the Steeleye Span album A Rare Collection 1972 – 1996.
, another St Albans resident, and together they recorded two albums before becoming founding members of Steeleye Span
in 1969. They were the backbone of the group until the early 1980s when ill-health forced Hart into semi-retirement. Apart from the tambourine
and spoons
, Prior doesn't play an instrument, but she always gives a sprightly performance of her individual dances. In 1974 Ralph McTell
wrote "Maddy Dances" in her honour, included on his album "Easy".
Prior married bassist Rick Kemp
, though they have since divorced. The singer Rose Kemp
is their daughter.
Prior has recorded session work, albums of her own songs and eclectic styles from medieval, through electric folk
— Steeleye Span and Maddie Prior appeared on television with a regular programme Electric Folk — prog-rock
and traditional
songs, including session work on Mike Oldfield
's Incantations
. She left Steeleye Span
in 1997 but returned in 2002. The 1999 album The Journey was recorded in 1995, when Maddy was still in the band but not released until four years later. She was also one half of the duo Silly Sisters
, which helped to boost June Tabor
's career.
Since 2003, Prior has run and hosted an Arts Centre called Stones Barn in Cumbria
. Working with fellow singers and performers like Abbie Lathe and daughter Rose Kemp, Maddy has offered residential courses focusing on singing, meditation, cookery and performance. Other events, hosted by other teachers, include classical Indian dances, painting and drumming. Maddy campaigns on behalf of the charity Cancer Research UK
.
in May 2007 for their "Music for Tavern and Chapel" tour. They celebrated the 300th anniversary of one of the key influences on their work, Charles Wesley
. She made a guest appearance with The Levellers at the Solfest
Festival in Cumbria in August 2007. On recent albums Troy Donockley
has been a co-producer.
Steeleye Span tours throughout Eastern US, Australia, & the UK beginning September 2009.
In December 2007 the album "Ringing The Changes" was issued. It is a collection of songs written by the band. In 2008 Prior appeared at the BBC's "Electric Proms".
A short tour with The Carnival Band
in November and December, featuring carols and seasonal music, has become a regular fixture for Prior in recent years.
for services to folk music.
albums from Hark! The Village Wait (1970) to Time (1996). She then returned for Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002) and subsequent albums.
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...
folk singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
, best known as the lead vocalist of 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"....
.
Early life
Born in Blackpool, Prior moved in her teens to St AlbansSt Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, where she befriended the young Donovan Leitch
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
and Mac MacLeod
Mac MacLeod
Mac MacLeod is an English musician who was a part of the Hertfordshire folk and blues scene from 1959 onwards. He played in St Albans alongside Mick Softley, Maddy Prior and toured with John Renbourn...
. She later formed a duo with MacLeod called Mac & Maddy. She became a roadie
Road crew
The road crew are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians...
for visiting American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musicians, including Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
. They gave her useful advice about singing British folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songs instead of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songs.
Maddy's father
Maddy's father, Allan PriorAllan Prior
Allan Prior was an English television scriptwriter and novelist, who wrote over 300 television episodes from the 1950s onwards....
, was co-creator of the police drama Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
. Allan Prior also wrote Stookie, a 6-part series for television, about a boy with his arm in a sling. Maddy sang the title song, which was released as a single in 1985. It reappeared on the Steeleye Span album A Rare Collection 1972 – 1996.
Singing career
In 1966 she began performing with Tim HartTim Hart
Tim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
, another St Albans resident, and together they recorded two albums before becoming founding members of 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"....
in 1969. They were the backbone of the group until the early 1980s when ill-health forced Hart into semi-retirement. Apart from the tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
and spoons
Spoon (musical instrument)
Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. "Playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way.- Techniques :# A pair of...
, Prior doesn't play an instrument, but she always gives a sprightly performance of her individual dances. In 1974 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....
wrote "Maddy Dances" in her honour, included on his album "Easy".
Prior married bassist Rick Kemp
Rick Kemp
Rick Kemp is an English bass player, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the pioneering electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Projects:...
, though they have since divorced. The singer Rose Kemp
Rose Kemp
Rose Kemp is an English singer and guitarist who performs in a variety of genres. She is the daughter of Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span.- Singing career :...
is their daughter.
Prior has recorded session work, albums of her own songs and eclectic styles from medieval, through 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...
— Steeleye Span and Maddie Prior appeared on television with a regular programme Electric Folk — prog-rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
songs, including session work on Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
's Incantations
Incantations (album)
Incantations is the fourth record album by Mike Oldfield, released in late 1978 on Virgin Records.The first Oldfield to be divided into more than two movements, it is the second longest work Oldfield has ever released...
. She left 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"....
in 1997 but returned in 2002. The 1999 album The Journey was recorded in 1995, when Maddy was still in the band but not released until four years later. She was also one half of the duo Silly Sisters
Silly Sisters (band)
The Silly Sisters is the name of the English folk music duo, formed by Maddy Prior and June Tabor. Initially they performed together under their own names, and as such released their first album, Silly Sisters, later taking this name as the name of their duo. As such they released a subsequent...
, which helped to boost June Tabor
June Tabor
June Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...
's career.
Since 2003, Prior has run and hosted an Arts Centre called Stones Barn in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
. Working with fellow singers and performers like Abbie Lathe and daughter Rose Kemp, Maddy has offered residential courses focusing on singing, meditation, cookery and performance. Other events, hosted by other teachers, include classical Indian dances, painting and drumming. Maddy campaigns on behalf of the charity Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research UK is a cancer research and awareness charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Its aim is to reduce the number of deaths from cancer. As the world's largest independent cancer...
.
Recent tours and albums
Prior took to the road with The Carnival BandThe Carnival Band (folk group)
The Carnival Band is an English early music group. Their broad repertoire focuses on popular music fromthe 16th and 17th centuries, and traditional music from around the world. Presentation is informal and humorous, and in the spirit of medieval and renaissance Carnival...
in May 2007 for their "Music for Tavern and Chapel" tour. They celebrated the 300th anniversary of one of the key influences on their work, Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
. She made a guest appearance with The Levellers at the Solfest
Solfest
Solfest is a Cumbrian arts organisation which runs an annual music festival held near to Silloth in Cumbria, England. It is held annually at Tarnside Farm on the August Bank Holiday weekend.- Solway Festival :...
Festival in Cumbria in August 2007. On recent albums Troy Donockley
Troy Donockley
Troy Donockley is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of uillean pipes.- Early life and career :...
has been a co-producer.
Steeleye Span tours throughout Eastern US, Australia, & the UK beginning September 2009.
In December 2007 the album "Ringing The Changes" was issued. It is a collection of songs written by the band. In 2008 Prior appeared at the BBC's "Electric Proms".
A short tour with The Carnival Band
The Carnival Band (folk group)
The Carnival Band is an English early music group. Their broad repertoire focuses on popular music fromthe 16th and 17th centuries, and traditional music from around the world. Presentation is informal and humorous, and in the spirit of medieval and renaissance Carnival...
in November and December, featuring carols and seasonal music, has become a regular fixture for Prior in recent years.
Awards
In 2001 Prior was awarded the MBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to folk music.
With Steeleye Span
Prior was on all the Steeleye SpanSteeleye 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"....
albums from Hark! The Village Wait (1970) to Time (1996). She then returned for Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002) and subsequent albums.
Solo albums
- Woman in the Wings (1978) — with Jethro TullJethro 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...
- Changing Winds (1978)
- Hooked on WinningHooked on WinningHooked on Winning is a 1982 album by the Maddy Prior band.Subsequent to its original release on vinyl, the album was unavailable for many years, until its 2011 re-release on CD on the Park Records label as part of a two album set with follow-up Going for Glory-Track listing:#Long Holiday [3:45]...
(1982) - Going for Glory (1983)
- Happy Families (as 'Maddy Prior and Rick KempRick KempRick Kemp is an English bass player, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the pioneering electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Projects:...
') (1990) - Year (1993)
- Memento (best of) (1995)
- Flesh and Blood (1997)
- RavenchildRavenchildRavenchild is an album by Maddy Prior.Ravenchild is the first album album that Maddy recorded after she stopped working with the Carnival Band. It has a distinctive flavour that we can now recognise as the influence of Troy Donockley. There are frequent sound effects such as wind, echo and washes...
(1999) - Ballads and CandlesBallads and Candles-Line-up:* Maddy Prior - vocals*June Tabor - vocals* Rose Kemp - vocals* Steve Banks - percussion* Troy Donockley - guitar, uilleann pipes, low and tin whistle, cittern, vocals* Nick Holland - keyboards, vocals* Rick Kemp - bass, vocals* Peter Knight - violin....
(2000) - Arthur the King (2001)
- Bib and Tuck (2002) — as 'Maddy Prior And The Girls' with Abbie Lathe and Rose KempRose KempRose Kemp is an English singer and guitarist who performs in a variety of genres. She is the daughter of Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span.- Singing career :...
- Lionhearts (2003)
- Under the Covers (2005) — as 'Maddy + Girls' with Abbie Lathe and Claudia Gibson
- The Quest (2007) (CD + DVD)
- Seven for Old England (2008)
Tim Hart and Maddy Prior
- Folk Songs of Olde England vol 1 (1968)
- Folk Songs of Olde England vol 2 (1968)
- Summer SolsticeSummer Solstice (album)Summer Solstice is a 1971 album by Maddy Prior and Tim Hart. The album was recorded after the duo had joined Steeleye Span. The songs are mostly pastoral, with subtle understated instrumental accompaniment. Also issued on CD in 1991 on the Shanachie label...
(1971)
Maddy Prior and June Tabor
- Silly SistersSilly Sisters (album)Silly Sisters is a 1976 album by English folk singers Maddy Prior and June Tabor, their first collaborative effort as a duo. The pair later adopted the Silly Sisters name for subsequent projects.-Track listing:#"Doffin' Mistress"...
(1976) - No More To The Dance (1988)
Maddy Prior and The Carnival Band
- A Tapestry of CarolsA Tapestry of CarolsA Tapestry of Carols is an album by Maddy Prior. It is a collection of ancient carols from across Europe, played by The Carnival Band on replicas of medieval instruments...
(1986) - Sing Lustily And With Good CourageSing Lustily And With Good CourageSing Lustily And With Good Courage is an album by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. It was recorded at Valley Recordings in March 1990 and released as a CD on the Saydisc label....
(1990) - Carols and Capers (1991)
- Hang Up Sorrow and CareHang Up Sorrow and CareHang Up Sorrow and Care, recorded and released in 1995, is an album by Maddy Prior with The Carnival Band.- Track listing :#Prodigal's Resolution #5 Playford Tunes...
(1995) - Carols at Christmas (1996)
- Gold Frankincense and Myrrh (2001)
- An Evening of Carols and CapersAn Evening of Carols and CapersAn Evening of Carols and Capers is an album by Maddy Prior with The Carnival Band.This double album is effectively an audio version of the DVD of the same name, though the tracks vary slightly. It is a collection of live recordings from concerts in Oxford and Salisbury. The dates are not given...
(2006) - Paradise Found (2007)
- Ringing the Changes (2007)
Maddy Prior and Martin Carthy
- Beat the Retreat (1994) Maddy Prior and Martin Carthy perform two songs, "Farewell, Farewell", and "The Great Valerio" on this Richard Thompson tribute album.
Maddy Prior singles
- Rollercoaster/ I Told You So (1978)
- Baggy Pants/ Woman in the Wings (1978)
- Just the Two of Us/ Acappella Stella (1979)
- Wake up England/ Paradise (1980)
- The King/ Ringing Down the Years (1980) (with Dave CousinsDave CousinsDave Cousins has been the leader, singer and most active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967.-Career:...
/Strawbs) - To Face/ Half Listening (1982)
- Deep in the Darkest Night/ Western Movies (1983)
- Stookie/ Incidental Music From "Stookie" (1985)
- Happy Families/ Who's Sorry Now? (1990)
- I Saw Three Ships/ Quem Pastores/ Monsieur Charpentier's Christmas Swing (1991) (with the Carnival Band)
- I Saw Three Ships (Dance Doctor's Christmas Re-Mix)/ The Boar's Head/ Poor Little Jesus (1992)
- All Around My Hat (1996) (with Status Quo)
- Forgiveness (2000) (with Jennifer Cutting All-Stars)
- Gaudete/ Greenwood Side/ Gaudete (extended mix) (2001) (with Keltic Fusion; Maddy's voice is sampled)
- Stuff (2007) (with the Carnival Band and Terry Jones)
DVDs
- Ballads and Candles (2004)
- An Evening of Carols and Capers (2005)
- Looking For a Grail Legend (2007) (documentary)
As a session or guest singer
She appeared on these albums:- Shirley CollinsShirley CollinsShirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
: No RosesNo RosesNo Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. It was recorded at Sound Techniques, and Air Studios in London, in the summer of 1971. It was produced by Sandy Roberton and Ashley Hutchings...
(1971) - Jack The LadJack The LadJack the Lad was a folk rock or electric folk group from North East England formed in 1973 by three former members of the most successful band of the period from the region Lindisfarne. They moved from the progressive folk rock of Lindisfarne into much more traditional territory and were in the...
: It's Jack The Lad (1974) - Ralph McTellRalph McTellRalph 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....
: Streets...Streets...Streets... is an album by British folk musician Ralph McTell. It was McTell's most successful album, entering the UK album chart on 15 February, 1975 and remaining there for twelve weeks. It opens with McTell's hit single, "Streets of London"....
(1975) - Jethro TullJethro 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...
: Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! is the ninth studio album released by British band Jethro Tull. It is widely considered a concept album. The remastered 2002 CD version contains two bonus tracks that were cut from the original LP, "Small Cigar" and "Strip Cartoon"...
(1976) - Wizz JonesWizz JonesRaymond Ronald Jones better-known as Wizz Jones is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been performing since the late 1950s and recording from 1965 to the present...
: Magical FlightMagical FlightMagical Flight is the 1977 album by the pioneer British Folk musician Wizz Jones. In addition to composing some of the songs, Alan Tunbridge produced the U.K...
(1977) - Mandalaband: The Eye of Wendor: Prophecies (1978) on the track Like the Wind
- Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
: IncantationsIncantations (album)Incantations is the fourth record album by Mike Oldfield, released in late 1978 on Virgin Records.The first Oldfield to be divided into more than two movements, it is the second longest work Oldfield has ever released...
(1978) - Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
: Exposed (1979) live album, re-released in 2005 on DVD-Video - Tim HartTim HartTim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
and Friends: My Very Favourite Nursery RhymesMy Very Favourite Nursery RhymesMy Very Favourite Nursery Rhymes is an album by Tim Hart and Friends.By 1981 both Tim Hart and Maddy Prior had children, so it was appropriate to create an album of children's songs. The treatment is very light and poppy. The clever use of synthesisers makes it seems as if there is a whole...
(1981) - Tim HartTim HartTim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
and Friends: The Drunken Sailor and other Kids FavouritesThe Drunken Sailor and other Kids FavouritesThe Drunken Sailor and other Kids Favorites is an album by Tim Hart and Friends.This album is even more fun than Tim Hart's first collection "My Very Favorite Nursery Rhymes". There is a greater variety in treatment - "Hush Little Baby" is sung as a calypso, with the tune of "Island in the Sun" on...
(1983) - Swan Arcade: Diving for Pearls (1986)
- Frankie ArmstrongFrankie ArmstrongFrankie Armstrong is a singer and voice teacher.She has worked as a singer in the folk scene and the women's movement and as a trainer in social and youth work...
: Till The Grass O'Ergrew The Corn (1996) - Rev Hammer's Freeborn John: The Story of John Lilburne-The Leader of the Levellers (1997)
- AyuoAyuoAyuo is a Japanese-American composer, poet, lyricist, singer and performer of plucked string instruments including guitar, bouzouki, Irish harp, Chinese zheng, Japanese koto,and medieval European psaltery...
: Nova Carmina (1986)(Maddy Prior sings two songs from the Carmina Burana) - Jennifer Cutting: Ocean: Songs for the Night Sea Journey (2005)
- Rev Hammer — Freeborn John Live (2007)
External links
- Official website
- Stones Barn
- Park Records, Maddy Prior's Record Label
- The Carnival Band