TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

From the Voiceprint newsletter....

In related news we have found the original 35 mil master tape of the short
film documenting Fairport Convention's concert in Maidstone at the Maidstone
Fiesta in 1970. The film which was directed by Tony Palmer received a
limited release in the cinema in early 1971 and features rare footage of the
"Full House" line up of Fairport Convention. Also featured in the film are
two songs performed by Matthews Southern Comfort featuring former Fairport
Convention vocalist Iain Matthews.

So, maybe a DVD on the way?

Isn't it amazing how all of these things keep turning up in an anniversary year, with a BBC box set and the anniversary itself all getting lots of well deserved publicity?  :)

they dont say if its markedly better than the version thats been doing the rounds for donkeys years, do they

Unless they spend £000s on cleaning it up, which I think unlikely, it's the same source that the video was lifted from.

Probably banking on people picking this up that have already worn out the video.

or transferred it to dvd themselves 8)

Fine, if you own a legit copy of the video!

and i do

The video release was only 500? copies....so there'll be plenty without a legit copy. I think there';s commercial sense in putting it out.

trouble is it lasts less than half an hour, which i reckon makes a stand alone release unlikely

Anyone got any sandpaper ?  My wooden legs got an itch ;)

There were just over 1000 copies of the Maidstone video produced. We numbered them all.

Maybe they could re-release it with some other Fairport stuff from that sort of time, maybe the Gottle line-up that is mentioned here (http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=21635.0) or maybe just re-release that  :)

And there's a million and one copies of it - both on Video and DVD  ;)

There is a ton of unreleased video. I would love an attic tape dvd. Put all the footage into a two volume set. I know I would buy it.

There's all those early Cropredy reunion shows too.  I'd love to be able to get a hold of the Broughton Castle show, and others.  So there's certainly enough desirable footage out there.

Jules

I just received notification from Key Mail Order (http://www.keymailorder.com)

FAIRPORT CONVENTION
Maidstone 1970
Released 19/11/07
Cat: TPDVD105
Filmed by Tony Palmer. Also features Matthews Southern Comfort. £13.99

On the Key Mail Order site, search (box in top left hand corner) for "maidstone".

No doubt available elsewhere before long.

That's a lot of money for a VERY short DVD.  That's readily available, er, elsewhere.....  

But it is bloody fine, so, what the hell.....  :)

I recently started to archive my videos onto dvd, and when I got to 'It All Comes 'Round Again' it was copy protected and wouldn't record.

What kind of video? What kind of copy protection? There's ways around, y'know...

I've got one of those dual deck things, video and dvd, you can record on to the other. But 'It All comes 'Round etc' brings up an on-screen message saying 'this type of tape cannot be copied'. What you do get if you proceed anyway isn't a blank dvd but short intermittent bursts.
My machine is made by Bush (the shame) and was quite cheap, about three years old.



Edit: Can I suggest this discussion is continued in The Help Desk inside the Arms? Cheers Nick

I want the video. Do you know if will be available in ntsc instead of pal?

Ps If you have another vcr, you can buy a cheap macrovision overide box. It cost about 20$. You put it between the deck and the recorder and it lets you record copy protected tape. Mine uses a 9 volt battery.

I wish they would re release it all comes around on dvd with additional footage. Or make a airing cupboard dvd.

I wish there was a way that those out of print Cropredy DVDs and CDs could be made available to the fans again.  There has to be a way for Matty Grooves or whoever to do it.  Surely Fairport own the rights to them all?

Jules

It All Come Round Again is an Island video, not a Woodworm release. I'd like all the really early Cropredy videos, especially 81, 82 and 83. The 'Boot' tapes were re-released by Talking Elephant some time ago and I did e-mail them, with no response, about a possible re-re-release. HTH

Ollie

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean IACRA, I meant the ones you just mentioned.  I'd love those to be reissued too.

Jules

Well, the Live at Birmingham Town Hall is out there, at a really stupid price of £4.80.....

http://www.freakemporium.com/site/display_product.cgi?s=FACD131

No it isn't.

It's the Classsic Rock Productions stuff that has been highly controversial. Read the last couple of lines

Is that why it's been pulled?

I don't know but it wouldn't surprise me!

Robert Fripp has had a long running battle with them to stop them marketing stuff they shouldn't.

It takes a bit of hunting but if you type CRP or Classic Rock Productions into the search bit on this page
 http://www.dgmlive.com/search_diaries.htm?diarist=3

It goes on quite a bit though.... :D

 

It turns up regularly on evilBay, or you can wait till next August where the bloke at the Bridge Stores stand (Cropredy Motors?) has loads of them (well, he did this year and last year).  :)

Interesting - I got that piece of news from them only yesterday....someone was quick of the mark!

Just received the following e-mail from Voiceprint:

Fairport Convention: Maidstone 1970 DVD

2007 sees Fairport Convention celebrating their fortieth anniversary. This uniquely British Band which started out as an English answer to Jefferson Airplane soon broke free of the conventional rock bounds by mixing traditional English folk music with rock instrumentation. In doing so the band became groundbreaking musical pioneers inventing a whole new genre called "Folk Rock"

By 1970 Fairport Convention had been together as a band for some three years. During this period the band had recorded and released five studio albums with one of the albums Liege and Lief being hailed as genre defining. Some feat when you consider that most of the band was still in their early twenties!

By the time of the filming of this performance the band had recorded their most recent album Full House with the line up featuring founder members Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol alongside Dave Pegg, Dave Swarbrick and drummer Dave Mattacks.

This line up was, and still is considered one of the key line ups of Fairport Convention, although the band only managed one studio album and a posthumous live album before Richard Thompson departed. Apart from the footage contained on this DVD the Full House line up were never filmed commercially until reunions at the band's regular Cropredy Festival years later.

The film directed by renowned British film director Tony Palmer captures the band at the Maidstone Fiesta during the summer of 1970 as they run through their set of the time which included various jigs and reels and the songs Sir Patrick Spens and Now Be Thankful.


More interestingly the film also features two songs from Matthews Southern Comfort the band led by former Fairport Convention member Ian Matthews. Matthews Southern Comfort as well as having the Fairport connection with Ian Matthews would also go on to have a massive hit single with a cover of the Joni Mitchell song Woodstock in late 1970.

The film has been restored and the restoration has been overseen by Tony Palmer. The DVD also includes bonus footage of an exclusive interview filmed in spring 2007 with director Tony Palmer where he explains how he first met Fairport Convention and his thoughts on the band and the film over thirty five years later. This interview is a rare insight into the workings of one of the most unique and treasured of Britain's bands.

Due to this DVD being the only official filmed document of the Full House line up of Fairport Convention and 2007 being the fortieth anniversary of the bands inception demand for this DVD is expected to be high

 Available NOW from:

 http://www.classicfairportconventiondvd.com


Cost is £9.99 + £1.00 p+p which is cheap enough to make it worth looking at the restoration and Tony Palmer interview, I believe



Edit: Added the http:// to the web address

Why is that more interesting?

Is there actually anyone here who wanted a copy that hasn't already got one ???

;D ;) :-X

Yes. Me! I did used to have it on video from when it was shown on TV years ago but I have lost it.

I want to know if a ntsc copy will be available. I'll buy a clean copy.

Looks like this is being officially released by Voiceprint:

www.classicfairportconventiondvd.com

Tony Palmer has been involved in the restoration of the footage.

No obvious involvement from Fairport themselves though...

Until I looked at the new cover, I'd completely forgotten that Gerry was in MSC..... The Pedal steel guy is bloody amazing too isn't he...

That was Gordon Huntley. He was a truly nice man and very talented.

http://www.dawson.lu/tribute.htm

Fascinating - thanks Jude...  :)

Does anyone know if it will be available in ntsc format? I want a clean copy.

Have you noticed that they've missed off half of MSC on the back. Only mention 3 of them. And they haven't given the lark medley it's proper title.

Email orders@voiceprint.co.uk and ask?

Hmmmm, that's pretty shabby isn't it...It's really not hard to get stuff like this right is it?  Is it?

i'll sick with my own vhs-dvd copy then

Me too.  I like it's reassuring yellow-ness.

Then I hope that the cover is wipe-proof!

 ;D

Jules

no comprende
being a bit thick here possibly

Jim -

ahh

finger trouble

Just keep the fingers away from your throat there Jim!

 ;)

Jules

Was he? He is on the album Matthews Southern Comfort, made before there was a band of the same name
I doubt it is Gerry behind the drums at this concert, though.
Not that I know exactly how he looked in his younger days, but I think it's not him here
Look for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqtcv1mYZ48

If it is not him, the coverinfo is even worse than we thought

That's not Gerry is it....  Bejesus...I'm amazed they've even got the bloody band names right...

So, has anyone purchased this, and if so, any thoughts?

Here is a link to the only review I've found so far:

http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200765.php#fairport

Anyone else care to share their thoughts?

THere are plenty of reviews of the video - or there were, when it came out - has anything changed? I know there are additions, I think, but the whole video is on the DVD, no?

I'm still trying to find someone who has it in stock...at a cheap price

I want a nice priced ntsc format dvd.

The sites that I nosed around from the find-cd.co.uk site did mention that this was an NTSC coded disc.

You might want to check them out yourself. But I couldn't find anyone stocking it (and had stock) at less than full price.

Finally got round to watching the interview with Mr. Palmer on this DVD today and I realise why their appearance
is mildly interesting as he tells us we have Michael Winner to thank for MSC's appearance and in fact Stanley Baker's
tax affairs for FC's own appearance plus many other comings together of course but these things don't happen
without the finance.

Bryan

Blimey - who'd have thought that we'd have to thank Michael Winner for anything?!?!

 :o

Jules

Calm down, dears, its only a talkawhile topic...  ;)

Looks as though Amazon have it vback in stock....

Finally got mine from Amazon today. They have worked a lot on the sound, which was terribly distorted on the VHS. It's definitely improved now. I would think they've had a difficult task making it sound as good as this. There are still technical shortcomings, but I certainly prefer it to the VHS. And I'd forgotten that MSC actually finished one of their songs with a verse off Nottamun Town. Both bands play brilliantly, but I'm still aching for a DVD release of the Paris film by the Full House line-up currently doing the rounds at Youtube.

The bonus is an interview with Tony Palmer. Not really that interesting, but some fascinating insight.

T-R

Managing to be both at the same time is quite some feat!

 ;)

Jules

I would love to see all of the odd fc material available on a airring cupboard type dvd release. Sad that all the copyright bs makes this almost impossible.

http://www.harpmagazine.com/news/detail.cfm?article=12066

The holy grail would be a release of the stuff they did for French tv back in 1968 :)

Quite a worthwhile release bringing back memories of the time it was part of a programme supporting 'Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii(?)'.
Clips from the Floyd film along with Joe Boyd 'voxpops' were in the recent BBC 1 documentary on PF's history.
Fairport deserve the same overview perhaps on BBC 4

Don't agree it's Gerry Conway on Drums for Matthews Southern Comfort. The credits at the end give Ray Duffy (drums).

There were only three songs on that, the rest of it were pretty incomprehensible items :o and Oh yes a track by Julie Driscoll and the Brian Auger Trinity from a local club - all eyes and a fantastic hat! ;D

 

I've probably posted this years ago but old age (not to mention Christmas pud) makes one forget....

I saw the original Live at Maidstone film at the Nottingham Arts Theatre (I think) around 1971 when Tony Palmer was present & did a bit of chat. Apparently it was filmed in some sort of early multi-camera video process (French patent I believe) and was then copied to 35mm film. It was all quite spontaneous & I'm not sure if there was any extra lighting for the film. All this therefore accounts for the slightly naff quality (I noticed it at the cinema - Hi-Def it wasn't!)

If you want to view a recent effort by Mr. Palmer, have a look at "O Thou Transcendent" on Channel 5, New Year's Day. It's about Ralph Vaughan Williams so has a folk element. Tony has provoked a bit of a spat in the press by claiming he got an idiotic rejection letter from the Beeb when he suggested the documentary. Genuine or not, the letter is a hoot - see link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/09/bbc.tvnews

Any publicity is good publicity eh Tony?  ;D

There were only three songs on that, the rest of it were pretty incomprehensible items :o and Oh yes a track by Julie Driscoll and the Brian Auger Trinity from a local club - all eyes and a fantastic hat! ;D

 
[/quote]

Only three songs but what a fantastic performance!   ;D

This DVD is reviewed in current (February) edition of "Uncut" magazine-not a bad magazine of music and film reviews and articles if bought every now and again, this latest edition has a "free CD" of music that is said to have influenced the early Dylan- anyway, the review of the "Maidstone" DVD is generally positive, but slags of Matthews Southern Comfort. Some interesting observations on the (un)hippyish festival crowd of a late 60's/early 70's British provincial town.

Only three songs but what a fantastic performance!   ;D
[/quote]

Yes, and the frustrating thing is that these must be available somewhere in full colour, rather than the black and white clips normally seen. Presumably in the archives of French TV.They used a bit of the colour print in the Richard Thompson docu Solitary Life. Can someone remind me what the third song is. I can remember Time Will Show The Wiser, and the amazing Reno Nevada. What was the third one then?

Morning Glory.....

Beat me to it Jude  ;D