Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay Castle, in which Mary, Queen of Scots had been imprisoned. The song originally appeared on the 1969 Fairport Convention album, What We Did on Our Holidays, Denny's first album with that group.
Two former members of Eclection, Trevor Lucas and Gerry Conway, and two former members of Poet and the One Man Band, Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson (bass), completed the line-up responsible for what was long assumed to be the quintet's only album. This folk-based set included several Denny originals, notably "Nothing More", "The Sea" and "The Pond and The Stream", as well as versions of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel" and Bob Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing". Though, during the year of its original release, the album featured in the UK's two music papers' Top 20 (Melody Maker and NME), it did not meet commercial expectations, and pressures on Denny to undertake a solo career — she was voted Britain's number 1 singer (two years consecutively) in Melody Maker's readers poll — increased. The album peaked at No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart. Fotheringay disbanded in January 1971, during sessions for a projected second album. (Read more at Wikipedia,)
Links to Peel[]
As well as Peel favourite Sandy Denny, Fotheringay included two members of Eclection, a band who had been launched by Elektra Records in 1968 to music business acclaim and Peel's approval, but gradually fell apart after their first album. Fotheringay experienced a similar fate, breaking up in 1971 during sessions for a second LP. During their short career they did one Peel session, and other Sounds Of The Seventies sessions for David Symonds and Bob Harris, although their first and final broadcasts were both for the Folk on 1 series.
While Sandy Denny went on to a solo career, the other members of the band became part of the Fairport Convention "family", performing in various permutations as part of the 1970s folk-rock scene, and (in the cases of Jerry Donahue and Gerry Conway) with Richard Thompson.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None.
Sessions[]
One session. The Sea on Nothing More (The Collected Fotheringay) 3xCD+DVD, 2015 (Universal 471 848-2).
1. Recorded 1970-04-13. First broadcast 25 April 1970. Repeated 04 July 1970.
- Banks Of The Nile / Ned / Nothing More / The Sea / The Way I Feel (first broadcast 04 July 1970)
Other Shows Played[]
- 16 May 1970: The Pond And The Stream (LP - Fotheringay) Island ILPS 9125
- 13 June 1970: Peace In The End (7") Island
- 11 July 1970: Nothing More (LP - Fotheringay) Island ILPS 9125
See Also[]
External Links[]
- Wikipedia
- Official site
- [1] Other