It’s with great sadness that we share the news that Paul Sartin, folk singer, oboist, violinist, composer and arranger and founding member of Faustus, Bellowhead, Belshazzar’s Feast, passed away on the evening of 14th September. Our thoughts are with all of Paul’s family and friends.
His booking agency, Good Honest Music, issued the following statement on behalf of Paul’s family:
“It is with great sadness that we must announce the passing of our beloved Paul, who left us unexpectedly yesterday evening. We know that he was someone who brought wonderful music into your lives, and that so many of you counted him as a close and dear friend. We have lost a son and a father, and while we ask now that we are allowed to mourn Paul in private, we understand that many of you will have lovely memories that you would like to share. We invite you to do this in the comments beneath this post so that we can read them when we feel ready.”
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Moments…
During Paul’s 35-year music career, he toured internationally. He was a founding member of Belshazzar’s Feast, Faustus, and the mighty Bellowhead. He also toured with Jon Boden as a member of The Remnant Kings.
In 2012 we interviewed Paul ahead of Bellowhead’s extensive Broadside tour…“We’ve broken the dance floor three times,” he confessed. “The first time was at Sidmouth Folk Festival, but it’s happened twice at Towersey.
“I should say that’s not us that broke the floor, it was the audience! The last time, they [Towersey Folk Festival] had this beautiful sprung wooden floor, which the week before had been used for a presentation of Land Rovers or Range Rovers, so it had had these big heavy vehicles on, and survived. But it didn’t survive our audience….”
As well as being an outstanding and highly respected musician, he also took on the daunting task of directing the music for a production of Peter Bellamy’s ballad opera, The Transports, in 2017 and 2018.
“Peter had a unique vision of the English tradition and was a first-rate setter of words and writer of songs, many of which, quite rightly, have entered the canon. He injected social and political discourse into the music scene via interesting narratives and historical subjects rather than proselytising.” Paul on Peter Bellamy
‘I was loaned a cassette of it [The Transports] by Oxford singer Ian Giles in the mid-1990s, which I still have failed to return. Then in 2011 I directed the band and singers and helped to rearrange it for a revival at Sidmouth Folk Festival in conjunction with the Southbank Centre. It was a great show, featuring many of the greatest talents of the scene (including the Young’uns), and was preceded by a talk on transportation by Southbank director Jude Kelly. Since then I have had numerous conversations and made fledgling plans to revive it again, but always felt that as it stood it was not a full evening’s entertainment, and was crying out for reworking, and not just the music.’
Paul was also a founding member of Faustus, alongside Benji Kirkpatrick and Saul Rose. In his review of their 2016 album, ‘Death and Other Animals’, Johnny Whally concluded that it was an album true to its roots, relevant to today and, above all, ridiculously enjoyable.
“Faustus have departed from their previous albums by including some recently composed songs. Oh to be a King is a Bill Caddick composition contrasting the life of the working man with that of the privileged classes and it fits well with the opening track, a poem set to music by Benji. Written by William Villiers Sankey, a chartist from the 1840s, and originally called Ode, the poem was composed when Sankey was based in Edinburgh. It’s a message from Scotland reminding the English common man of the myriad shackles that bind him, hence the new title, Slaves.”
A few years before that album, Paul wrote a piece for Folk Radio titled Why Faustus is not a ‘Supergroup’ in which he dealt with some myths and explained his “Faustus isn’t a ‘supergroup’, it’s a lifestyle decision.”
“…However, the Faustus ‘brand’ pre-dates all of that other work, having been conceived way back in the late Nineties. Whilst I won’t deny that the profile derived from our individual employment as folk tarts has helped Faustus to some extent, it isn’t the full picture, and with the benefit of distance and detachment I view our older recordings as having achieved something of a classic status.
“‘Supergroup’ also hints strongly at contrivance, as if the constituent members have been assembled to exploit their fame and make loads of money (I wish). This couldn’t be further from the truth. Both our friendships and our collaborations pre-date the current line-up. As is now public knowledge, Benji and I met in the gents’ at a pub session, and haven’t looked back since; duo work, often in community settings such as old peoples’ home and special needs schools, and of course Dr Faustus. Similarly, Saul and I met at pub sessions in Oxford, after which I guested with his band Dansaul. Benji and Saul first met when I booked them for a wedding ceilidh, and then dropped out and left them to it so that I could have a party at home. Pretty humble beginnings.
“And actually, the reason we formed the band was because we enjoy making sweet music together. This was driven home when, having had a sabbatical, we played an impromptu set at my somethingth birthday party a couple of years ago, and realised epiphanically how much we had missed the experience. And it’s not just the music. We are all fathers, and from the outset agreed that Faustus had to work around our families and domestic lives, which it does, and which is a pleasure. Plus there are our extra-curricular activities – pool and darts at The Bell or The Duke’s, late night wine and smelly cheese, football on the telly, etc. etc.”
Paul was also involved in teaching and many community projects. Among which, he was the Musical Director of the Andover Museum Loft Singers. He also gained an MMus (research Masters) with Distinction from the University of Newcastle for his work on the life and music of his ancestor, Edith Sartin. This legacy of over 100 songs collected from female members of his family grew into a solo project and his first solo tour.
Affectionately known as the two Pauls…when it came to comedy and music, there is no denying the magic of his collaboration with Paul Hutchinson as Belshazzar’s Feast…
Johnny Whalley’s review of Costa Del Folk in 2019 opened with one diary entry – “before the first note’s played I’m smiling, a smile that will be with me the rest of the day. Their music mix, traditional English dance tunes, Mozart, whatever else takes their fancy, is sufficient to make anyone sit up and take notice. Add in their anecdotes and stream of side-splitting asides and you’ve a package that’s hard to beat.”
I’m lost for words…my thoughts are with his family, friends and many fans.
Paul Sartin 1971-2022