In Jeanette Leech’s ‘Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk‘ (Jawbone Press), Ashley Hutchings recalls how the idea behind the creation of Steeleye Span first emerged in the summer of 1969, a couple of months before he made Liege & Lief with Fairport Convention when he met two couples at a music festival: Bob and Carole Pegg, and Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. This was the same year we had David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love“.
Steeleye Span’s electrified traditional folk music has gone on to become one of the most enduring stories in the folk-rock world and beyond. Over the past fifty-five years, Steeleye Span has come to define the concept of English folk rock – taking it from the world of small clubs into the charts, concert halls, festivals around the globe and TV appearances.
Here’s a restored clip featuring rare footage 1970 TV appearance from ATV’s Music Room. The restorer called it the ‘holy grail’ for Steele Span fans…you can see why.
Taken from the BBC TV series Electric Folk which featured live performances in historic venues, watch them performing in 1974, complete with Morris Dancers, at Penshurst Place.
When they reached the big 50, we previoulsy highlighted some of their incredible moments which are worth remwntioning – taking the Latin carol ‘Gaudete’ onto Top Of The Pops…
…recording with David Bowie and Peter Sellers, showering their audiences with pound notes (remember those?), scoring a top five hit with ‘All Around My Hat’, touring UK arenas with Status Quo, reuniting virtually all their members for a famous 25th-anniversary show and entering their fifth decade as creatively inspired and active as ever – including the acclaimed Wintersmith album with the late Sir Terry Pratchett.
Over the years, their members have included some of the most well-known names in folk, including Martin Carthy, Tim Hart, Bob Johnson, John Kirkpatrick, Peter Knight, Ken Nicol, and Liam Genockey. Over this time, the band has perhaps been most identified with Maddy Prior – one of the most distinctive voices in British music. She has steered Steeleye through their various incarnations, as well as a successful solo career and a number of regular collaborations with the likes of June Tabor and The Carnival Band. Steeped in the mythology and history of the British Isles – and beyond – her lyrics have retold some of the most notable stories in the tradition. Tales of love, tragedy, injustice, murder, revenge and redemption – all have come to personify the band’s musical sound, a marrying of folk tunes with the finest in rock instrumentation.
Last year’s compilation album The Green Man Collection (buy it here at Park Records), brought together tracks from their recent albums with new versions of three Steeleye classics (including a reworking of ‘Hard Times’ featuring Status Quo’s Francis Rossi) and a cover of Elvis Costello’s ‘Shipbuilding’.
Of special note, the album’s title track was a song by Bob Johnson – who was a member of the band throughout the early years and responsible for many of their classic ballads from that era. Previously lost for 40 years, the song addressed the issue of climate change long before it became such a widespread topic.
The lineup this year includes new member Athena Octavia (in the above video), an electric/acoustic violinist and pianist who is no stranger to performing in front of live audiences…she performed with Ed Sheeran at the BRIT Awards 2022. Her bio also reveals that she’s a member of the Indie-Folk band Iris and Steel, who released their debut EP in November 2022 and were also handpicked by George Ezra to perform at Latitude Festival 2023.
Steeleye Span 55th Anniversary Green Man Tour
Wed 2nd October – Queens Hall, Hexham
Thu 3rd October – Playhouse, Whitley Bay
Fri 4th October – Victoria Theatre, Halifax
Sun 6th October – The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury
Mon 7th October – Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham
Wed 9th October – Elgiva, Chesham
Thu 10th October – Saffron Hall, Saffron Waldon
Sat 12th October – Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea
Sun 13th October – The McMillan Theatre, Bridgewater
Mon 14th October – The Pavilion, Bournemouth
Tue 15th October – The Becs Theatre, Hayes
Thu 17th October – The Haymarket, Basingstoke
Fri 18th October – Westlands ballroom, Yeovil
Sat 19th October – Savoy Theatre, Monmouth
Sun 20th October – Corn Exchange, Exeter
Wed 23rd October – Shrewsbury Theatre, Severn
Thu 24th October – Hertford Theatre, Hertford
Fri 25th October – Southend Palace Theatre, Southend
Sun 27th October – White Rock, Hastings
Mon 28th October – The Pavlion Theatre
Tue 29th October – Fareham Live
More: https://steeleyespan.org.uk/