TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

I can't be the only person who's disappointed that the Albion Band is no more. According to Ashley the band was retired because of the reduced number of gigs available to them. Which presumably means not enough punters were interested any more

It's surely fair to rate Battle of the field, The prospect before us and Rise up like the sun as equal to anything Fairport & Steeleye were doing at the time, but I guess in the decades that followed people just stopped following the band. I'm kind of interested to know how long people persevered with the Albions' output. Did you buy the Cathy le Surf/Phil Beer albums of the eighties? What about the harder-rocking albums for Topic in 89/90? Did you follow them through the acoustic years?

Personally I bought their stuff all the way up to the "1990" album. I picked up compilations of their later stuff and it just didn't grab me at all. Did the band name lose any sense of continuity with the "glory years"?

I would have to say that for me, it hasn't "ended" as such, just the name has changed.  The Albion Band - just like Fairport and Steeleye - is a spirit and way of doing things, and that spirit continues through to The Rainbow Chasers, The Cecil Sharpe Collective, the morris material he does and The Albion Christmas Band.

Personally I loved the acoustic stuff (that's where I discovered While & Mathews) but the last few albums were beginning to tail off a bit.  But then ther Albions had peaks and troughs like any other band

Acousticity is one of my fave Albion albums....  fantastic.. that's where I discovered Chris and Julie too.

Very interesting post Max, well done  :)

I think I've got the lot, except for the live album of the final line-up (and only because Talking Elephant keep forgetting to send me it). I'm with you to a degree on the 90s era though - definitely my least favourite.

I've always loved the 1970s work, the very 1st Albion Country Band (Steve Ashley, Royston Wood etc), the 'Battle of the Field' album is one of my favourite folk-rock LPs, as is 'Rise Up Like The Sun' (perhaps the best folk-rock album), 'Lark Rise' is also an underrated/underheard gem.

The 1980s marked a totally new direction, a contemporary band, as opposed to the folk-rock bands of the 70s. So I find it very difficult to compare the two eras, but I have come to appreciate the 80s line-ups over the past few years. Both with the albums - including true classics in 'Light Shining' and 'Shuffle Off' - and I think more so through lots of live recordings. As well as hearing unreleased material, different versions - for example the 'Under The Rose' album was performed live by the 'Light Shining' line-up (with Doug Morter replacing Simon Nicol) so it's fascinating to hear their take on those songs - I find it also makes the music more approachable, adds a personal touch which perhaps is less to the fore on the studio albums. So I think, certainly after 'Shuffle Off', purely on the studio work I wouldn't have enjoyed/appreciated those line-ups as much as I do now.

The 89/90 Topic era was also really good, I always enjoy listening to those two albums.

The early 90s acoustic years are very different - in fact I often wonder if it should be called The Albion Band. They are good albums though, and Talking Elephant recently released two live albums which, again, I find enhance your enjoyment of the era.

I've never quite managed to click with the 97-2001-ish Ken Nicol etc era. That said, they're always nice albums to listen to, exploring interesting themes in the songs, with some nice instrumental work as well.

But I think certainly for me I would tend to favour the 70s & 80s work, with the 90s falling some way behind.

Has the Albion Band disappeared though? While there's always been subtle distinctions, in many ways has the band's name more or less meant Ashley Hutchings and whoever he's working with at the time? The Rainbow Chasers aren't that far away from the early 90s acoustic line-ups. The Morris On band could easily be called The Albion Dance Band. So I think perhaps the Albion journey is continuing, just under different names. (Which Barry has just said while I've been typing but never mind.... ;D)

Except Julie isn't on Acousticity  ;)

True Barry.. I must have coffed again.. but roughly the same era...

Does that sound rather condescending to anyone else?

Well the Albion Christmas Band was THE Christmas gig for me, I loved it just as I have all that went before.
 - Which was the Joe Broughton/unicycling incarnation?( I've lost half the sleeves of my CDs and only know the tunes, not the line-ups!)
Apart from pulling the strings and getting folk/rock started, Ashley's grteatest achievement must be to have introduced/encouraged more brilliant young musicians than anyone else on the scene. An 'Albions' concert will always be worth watching, for the new talent alone.

Hope not, certainly not to anyone who knows me cos I wouldn't mean it in that way.

Just nice to see the Albions mentioned, and mentioned in a fairly detailed/intelligent way.

Ended? I don't think so. I remember going to see the last-ever Fairport concert in 1979.

Keep digging, Alex!

i loved the early albions and the lot that became the home service

 the other line ups,  while always worth the effort, didnt quite do it for me

my fave line up is the battle of the field one,i'll never forget John kirkpatrick morris danciing on stage

rhe Tams version was a mighty beast and i felt that the subsequent lineups didnt quite have that power
although the shuffle off dance band was a hoot
ive not heard or seen the rainbow chasers so i cant really comment
but anything AH turns his hands to is always worth a listen

The most joyous incarnation for me was the "Lark Rise to Candleford" lot at the National Theatre.

And (I don't think anyone's mentioned this) "No Roses".

But I have to say, the 90s acoustic versions were mostly wonderful - a front line of Chris Julie and Chris has got to be good.

And who was the fiddler on Acousticity and what became of him?

No roses wasnt  a live band though, was it

No but it was the first incarnation of The Albion Country Band. First thing Ashley did after Steeleye I think.

I agree with the earlier comment, 'Light Shining' and 'Shuffle Off' were indeed strong. But I suppose, like Steeleye, they'd entered into a phase when they were trying not to trade on past glories and to prove they were a valid and modern outfit. Which is all well and good, but now some of those mid-period albums sound rather dated whereas Battle of the field still sounds fresh as a daisy

Re. Ken Nicol- obviously a talented musician, but I sometimes wish Ashley had had a quiet word with him about that trans-atlantic accent he adopts when singing. He's written some good stuff with Steeleye, but they'd sound even better if he'd use the same voice he speaks with. Just my opinion, of course!

cant argue with that



                                                                                                  yet

Quite right Jim, that was purely a studio project - a bloody good one though  :D

There was a scratch band put together to do a few gigs but it was more of a folky venture, four people in a van, and didn't bear much relation to the album.

The 'Albion County Band' name used for the album was more a conceptual title really, just a way to reflect the contribution of the musicians to the album. It wasn't til a few months later that the idea of actually having a band going by that name was floated. There was a rehearsal group - Simon Nicol on drums!  :o - and then the first ACB proper with Steve Ashley etc.

PS Max hits my main gripe with Ken Nicol right on the head.

Four People in a Van. Don't remember them. Four Men and a Dog, remember them. The Gang of Four. . .

Nurse! My medication, please.

i missed the Rt and linda version of the albions when they played the rainy city( the pre battle of the field line up)
i went out on the lash instead  >:(

Ashley Reed. Now lives in Dorset. Still playing. Interesting private release CD recently with shades of Afro-Celts

Thanks!

70s Albion Band is folkrock walhalla with Battle Of The Field and Rise Up Like The Sun the crown jewels! Utterly fantastic and I don't have to say much more about that.

For me I tend to really not listen much anymore to the 80s albums, that's because for me personally Cathy Lesurf's voice is a bit, err, so-so. I'm just not a fan and I don't like her Fairport outings either. I can remember sometime in 1989 or so in the Hokey Pokey magazine (remember these?) that Cathy would leave and that for me was good news. The Give Me A Saddle album followed and from then on, the Albion Band became really good again for me. I was disappointed when Phil Beer left (I was at his last gig with them as an official member at Albion Day 1991 - ahhhhh those were the days), but then again we did not know what was to follow with Show Of Hands. So, good for him!

I really liked the acoustic years even though maybe it should have had a different name. It's a nice period with some astonishing quality material and -musicianship and I cherish the memory of a gig somewhere in Devon in 1993 where I saw them live (inc one number where Ashley Reed and Ashley Hutchings did an instrumental duet for fiddle and typewriter). I think Chris While and Julie Matthews - good as they are! - took over a little too much in later years though.
 
Then the electric line up which followed in 1998 was a true Albion Band again and I think especially Happy Accident is a classic. Pity they could not continue as they were. Saw the Ken Nicol line up three times (Vlissingen (NL), Cropredy and Stratford-upon-Avon) and they were fabulous live.

I think I may have been at the last short tour billed as the Albion Band which was in Holland - I haven't read anything at all about this. I think in april (??) 2003 where they did a very short Dutch tour - put together before they announced the end of the band, performed well after this announcement, so they had a commitment to fulfill.
The line up was Ashley Hutchings, Kellie While, Joe Broughton and Neil Marshall. Pete Zorn had by then taken over from Ken Nicol, but for whatever reason he could not come, or had left, and Kevin Dempsey (!) would be his temporary replacement. Then Kevin fell ill and it would be an Albion quartet. And so they performed in the small room of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Fab gig, again. No mention was made of this being (one of) the last Albion Band performances, but soon after, the Rainbow Chasers were up and running.

Whom I find extremely interesting too and I suppose if the acoustic Albion Band years could be called "Albion Band" then so can the Rainbow Chasers, but I can see Ashley's reasoning as this being a really new departure, with a new generation, and not so much strictly folk- or folkrock.
 

Ashley Reed and I haven't a clue what became of him. For my money 'Rise up like the sun' is a masterpiece and Mr Sanders violin mayhem on Gresford Disaster is unbeatable.

Cheers Nigel

Let's see if this works ...
I took these pics at Albion Day 1991, Phil Beer's last. The line up was Hutchings, Beer, Simon Care, Trevor Foster and a newly arrived unknown Julie Matthews.
Anyone remember Albion Day? That day alone, there was at least Vikki Clayton & Ric Sanders, Whippersnapper, Downes & Beer, John Kirkpatrick & Sue Harris, and a dozen more, and oddly enough AFTER the Albions, Tickled Pink doing a ceilidh. John Tams guested as did Sid Kipper, according to my pics. Folkrockfan heaven :-)

I spent three+ months trekking in Ireland that summer and came over for Cropredy and, the day after that, Albion Day before returning to Ireland again. Those were the days indeed.

Cheltenham Town Hall, August 1991:

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y249/koenhottentot/albionday2.jpg)

(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y249/koenhottentot/albionday1.jpg)

Ashley Reed made a couple of great solo tapes (that long ago!)..  now where are they... I'll go and look...

... found them...     Fastnet Rock '91

Ashley Reed & the Savage Rabbits....  Hare 'N' Scare 'Em '92
 
  "        "     "   "      "         "             Following the Honeybird '93

Saw him playing in a folk club in Chesterfield a few years back with Judy Dunlop.

He was the fiddler on Acousticity.

I recently went through my vinyls/tapes and was amazed to find the Albions, in various formats, outnumber even Fairport... sadly I have not managed to replace them all on CD yet... ???
- now do I just wait and download the lot? Is Roses available on CD?

Yep, it's £8.99 on Amazon.

I-like many others- found the early years of the Albion Band terrific. I remember they even toured Sweden so I saw them here in Gothenburgh in the late 70´s. Great gigs and great music and musicianship! The albums were great but slowly my interest in the band began to wane. I cannot put the finger on why, but maybe the new course of the post-Lark-rise-Albion wasn´t to my taste - though to many others´. I remember finding "The Greatest Show on Earth" (on a live album, does anyone remember on which album  it first appeared?) was an intelligent way to move contemporary subjects into the Albion "folk" direction, but in the late 80´s I lost interest again.
And wasn´t Etchingham Steam Band a little four-persons-in-a-van outfit, featuring Shirley and Ashley.? Between No Roses and Albion?
Staffan

i thought the etchingham steam band were a stopgap thing between the battle of the field albions amd the prospect before us /first Tams version
 i might be wrong, it was 30 years ago :o

Nah, you're bang on Jim....clever lad  ;D

The 'Battle of the Field' line-up dissolved, the album wasn't even released - it only came out in '76 when the 'Prospect' line-up had reawakened interest in the band - and Ashley more or less retired. The Etchinghams were 1974-75, and led into the Albion Dance Band. The four (well sort of five) people in a van was just an informal thing - must have been Autumn '71. Shirley, Ashley, RT, John Kirkpatrick and Royston Wood (technically there as a roadie but would often sing).

And Staffan, I think 'The Greatest Show on Earth' was only released on the Windsong BBC Radio 1 'In Concert' CD - the one that was deleted on release.

was that the one with 2 in concert shows?
i didnt know it did a "sandy at the beeb", but at least i had some cash on me the day i saw it 8)

Was it?  I must put my copy away safely, then .....

that bugger 'll have it up on ebay and make a mint on it ;)

Aye, 1977 and 1982 - not to be confused with the Cambridge one which is 1977 and 1987, and is probably still available. I think a Richard & Linda Thompson one was in the works at the same time as the Albion, but that one didn't make it out. It was the 1975-ish 'In Concert' - the one with John Kirkpatrick & Sue Harris in the band.

its the one with a yellowish cover isnt it
 the cover looks like theyre on a pier or summat
 my 3 bbc releases are win cd 041 the AB live in concert
                                               the AB live at the cambridge folk fest strange fruit  cafe cd 002
and                                          the AB the bbc sessions strange fruit sfrsc 0850

I remember going out to look for it - it was advertised under "forthcoming releases" in Melody Maker

(http://www.musiq.pl/images/31/The_Albion_Band_BBC_Radio_1_Live_in_Concert.jpg)

thats the lad

I got my copy easy enough, back in the mid-90's at a reasonable price.  Never considered it a "rarity" because I'd spot it occasionally here and there.  This is the first time I've heard that it was deleted upon release. :o

It definitely falls in the "indespensible" category, although I like the Gresford Disaster from Cambridge a lot better. 8)

Amazed that two nice live recordings like that could be instantly deleted and still find its way into my hands.  :o
Staffan

Sort of makes one wonder what "instantly deleted" even really means.  Certainly nothing like having a print run of books pulped, I guess.

I know a lot of Windsong CDs are seriously collectable these days. Some have been reissued on the Strange Fruit label, I think, but others are very hard to find

Thanks for all the responses to this thread, by the way, it's very interesting to read

Perhaps the Albions took too many twists and turns to keep a sufficient fanbase on board. When your core member is a bassist/infrequent singer then the character of the band is liable to change drastically when the more dominant instrumentalists/singers change. And I think Ashley's talent is coordinating rather than composing, so the quality of the songs depends heavily on who he's working with

i suppose the albions end when AH decides to stop using the name
 just about everything with the albion trademark has been worth hearing
and we all know by now its just the name AH trades under, not any particular style

For me, the Albions - Band, Country, and Dance - were the essential guardians of what I'd term " trad-rock" to distinguish it from "folk-rock". They epitomised the perfect marriage olde songs to modern arrangements - in a way that only Ashley really ever managed ( with the greatest respect to FC and to Steeleye etc) and I never really got into the modern songs once Ashley went semi-acoustic again. I guess it's a personal thing - sometimes I find it hard to determine where my Albion Band finishes and the Morris On bands take over - I know I didn't buy any of the acoustic records.............the Morris On performance at Cropredy made me realise that I can have whatever version of the Albions I want just by choosing my favourite album tracks. Does that make sense ???

The Albions have only just started for me!  Just dipped my toe in and bought'Happy Accident' from Amazon cos' I know the song 'Wings' from one of the Fairport compilations and cos' I know Ken Nicol ... vaguely ( He bought me a pint once ..... I bought him a mineral water)

I love that record! In fact, if anyone happens to know the chords to "Midsummer Night Dreams", I'll be eternally grateful (the lead lick is easy, but the chords have eluded me!).

"Along the Pilgrim's Way" is another personal favorite.

For me Ken Nicol WAS the Albion band and was so sadly overlooked in favour of younger members.
He was the main songwriter. He also  reminded me of the guitarist I could have been If I hadn't been wasting away in the 70's.
Ken spent a number of years in the states which explains previous comments regarding his singing voice. Ashley is a great musician but his vocals are sometimes cardboard.

Hi Mark

Just had a listen a jotted down the chords for 'Midsummer Nights Dream' as I think they may be.
The lick at the begiining and through the song will take a bit more work!  (If the mods feel I've infringed any copyright, please feel free to remove this post)

Verse:
C E F C / F C D7 G/ C E F C / F Cdim C A7 D7 G7
Chorus:
F C F D7 G / C A7 D7 G7 .. lick

Not quite up to Maarts' standards but I hope it helps.

Thanks!

I'm your new best friend!!!!!!