TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Hi all

I'm interested to know if any of you saw Sandy live, and if so where? Also which was the best gig if more than one?

Cheers!

Jamie

Hi Jamie!

At my age memories blur a bit but:

 1)  '69 Liege & Lief at Fairfield Hall.  My first live (indoor) gig.  Expecting Unhalfbricking style Fairport, hoping for Sailors Life etc.  Absolutely stunned by the whole unexpected experience.  Couldn't wait for Christmas and the release of the LP to see if Matty Groves was on it. If only I had known how many times I would hear it subsequently. Couldn't get my friends to understand how Jigs and Reels could be worth listening to.  I could fill a page of posting, - I think I might be turning into my grandfather!  Fell head over heels for Sandy's stage persona.  :-* :-[

 2)  Fotheringhay,   QE Hall?  (Who supported?  Nick Drake or John Martyn - I saw them there but was it that gig?) :)  Can't hear 'Banks of the Nile' without hearing that venue's acoustic and feeling young again.

 3)  Early 70's Aston University with RT I think.  Aston was 95% male and mostly 'Sponner men' who only wanted hard rock. (I had to stand in the street to listen to the 'Quo, don't think my ears ever recovered!) So although Sandy was brilliant there was a small crowd and a lot of heckling that made me so ashamed. :-[

40 years of gigs of all sorts and L&L one of the top 5  (which would include Segovia and Paul Tortelier) but I refuse to actually rank them.

I do feel very privileged.

And I am more than a little jealous.  Thanks for the memories...  :)

I first saw Sandy Denny just after she had rejoined Fairport.  Greenwich Borough Hall just after Live Convention was released.  Tickets 50p.  I remember her sitting regally at the piano playing (I think) "Like An Old Fashioned Waltz" when a baby in the audience started crying.  Cue sandy dissolving into helpless laughter with a cry of "it's not that bad"  

Saw them again at Drury Lane on the "Rising For The Moon" tour, when there was much excitement about "Tam Lin" and "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" being abck inthe set.

Last saw her at what sadly became her final concert at The Royalty.  I wish I could remember more about it other that us coming out thinking that it had been a great night.

Oh God Jamie, I've bored for England on this one, to the extent that I won a Fotheringay 2 CD for one posting.

Saw Sandy twice solo in 1973, once at Merlins and once at the Howff. The latter is reckoned to be her best gig ever by lots of people eg Karl Dallas who know better than me, but for what it's worth I agree. She was among friends, it was a small venue and she had some really good new material. The other one at Merlins was magic too. Steve Ashley got Richard Thompson to ask her to do it and she agreed - good call Steve....  

Also saw her with Fairport ("Nine" era) on several occasions - in particular I think she came on at the end of a Drury Lane gig but can't be sure, we were all "refreshed" and it's a long time ago. I do remember the gig was excellent though. Also after she rejoined Fairport a couple of times.   

loads with fairport and solo, band and solo solo
always excellent

Thanks all - great to hear these stories. To say I'm envious is an understatement!!!

I saw her once around '72 at Hanley Victoria Hall. Very nervous but memorable performance.
John Martyn was the support.

If only I hadn't been born in the '70's. I've only just forgiven my parents for leaving me with a babysitter in '76  while they went to see Steeleye play Georgetown University in Washington D.C. on the Rocket Cottage tour. They informed me that it was brilliant and ear-splittingly loud.

 :)

Jamie

A friend of mine told me the story of how when he was living in Brighton (must've been early 70s) he happened to see a poster advertising a Sandy Denny gig that very night so went along to find her with a backing band consisting of RT and various other Fairporters. He said the place was half empty due to poor advertising but it was an excellent gig.

I think that made up for his decision not to go to the Isle of Wight Festival to see Hendrix thinking he's see him on his next UK tour... so he never got to see Hendrix.

That sounds like fun  :)  I think she also guested at the end of a Richard and Linda show at the Drury around 75 as well (singing some rock and roll number a la The Bunch), didn't she (there's a recording around somewhere but I can't put my hands on it)?  She must have liked it there...

According to Heylin's book she also turned up in April '75 at the end of a R & LT gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall where she did "When Will I Be Loved?" The story is she requested "Meet On the Ledge" as a joke from the audience and then R & L got her up to sing...

J

Well done Jamie...that's the one I'm thinking of - so not Drury Lane after all.  No suprise there!!  Here's the details...it's a fairly ropey (in parts) recording but nice to have nonetheless...

RICHARD & LINDA THOMPSON featuring Sandy Denny
Queen Elizabeth Hall 1975

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London,
April 25, 1975

CD 1:
1. Dark End Of The Street   
2. Beat The Retreat   
3. The Sun Never Shines On The Poor   
4. A Heart Needs A Home   
5. The Great Valerio
6. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
7. The Poor Ditching Boy   
8. Nobody's Wedding
9. The Wild Side Of Life
10. Withered & Died
11. Shaky Nancy
12. Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair   
13. Calvary Cross

CD 2:
1. Smiffy's Glass Eye
2. Love Hurts
3. Hokey Pokey
4. Mole In A Hole
5. It'll Be Me
6. When Will I Be Loved - with Sandy Denny

Fab - thank you!

I had the great good fortune of seeing Sandy on several occasions, the two that stand out in particular are a free outdoor Fairport show in Harlow Town Park, Essex, in early summer 1974, where Sandy & the whole band seemed to be having a whale of a time & previously, upstairs at the Red Lion, Leytonstone, London, on my birthday in April 1972. Being a small venue, it was crowded & very intimate. Sandy was in great voice & Richard was his usual blistering self (he initiated a sub voce conversation with me from the stage, between numbers, regarding the stifling atmosphere & how unseasonably warm it was). I remember a few North Star songs, inc John The Gun, Blackwaterside, etc & a bit of Bunch type R&R, but little else. Think the rhythm section was Pat & Timi, but I may be mistaken.  :)

David, thank you for confirming that Sandy came on at the end of that Queen Elizabeth Hall concert in 1975. I too was there and was sure I remembered all that. The trouble is that it's nearly 34 years ago and these memories get mixed up in some vast morass, not helped by the alcohol consumed at the time.

Anyway, I DEFINITELY remember something else about that gig! I'd passed a couple of spare tickets to my Sarf Landon mate Steve and he turned up late with his partner Susie. She was wearing a very revealing top and Steve was wearing white clogs with metal bits on the front (does this have anything to do with him being a Genesis fan?). The hall had wooden flooring. They rushed up the stairs grinning apologetically, Steve making a noise like the Britannia Coco-Nut Dancers amplified by a Marshall stack. Ohmigard. Richard and Linda did notice unfortunately - I tried to hide under the seat with no success.  

One ought to start a new thread about "embarrassing moments at Fairport related gigs" but I'll leave that for now as I gotta go out!  

I have no embarrassing moments at Fairport related gigs, but I did once knock a glass of wine over Jane Birkin (honest!). Can that count???

Jamie

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Jane Birkin!!  How much did I fancy that woman?!  I'm envious that you were even in the same room as her!   :P

Jules

It was actually her own glass of wine I knocked over her, but she was very nice and stopped my stuttering apology with "Oh well, it saves me from getting smashed! Don't worry..."

J

If knocking a glass of wine over her was the only way I had of meeting Ms Birkin, then I'd gladly take it.  I'm so incredibly envious!

Jules

I saw Sandy live a couple of times - both at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

The first time was with Fairport in November 1974. They were (of course) excellent but ultimately I remember being a bit frustrated as you wanted to hear more songs from Sandy, Swarb & Trevor.  They each took a turn at the mic but inevitably so many great songs missed the cut - mind you they would have been there all night to fit all of my favourites in.  

The second time was on her final solo tour in November 1977 with Trevor & DM in her band & supported by Danny Thompson.  I think that was on the same tour as the London show which was recorded & released as Gold Dust.

I also had tix for the Rising for the Moon tour visit to Edinburgh in October 1975 but sadly missed that one as my car had an argument with a tree earlier that week & I was laid up as a result.  my friend who took my ticket told me it was the best gig he had ever seen at that time so you can imagine how I felt about that!

I recall seeing her with the Fairports on a festival outside Oslo in 1974. As she was doing a slow ballad a wasp or a bumble bee took a shine to her freshly washed hair. She spotted it as it got too close for comfort. Her reaction was quite a sight. I thought Keith Moon had joined on keyboards.

Half a year later I saw her with the Fairports again for the show that became the Many Ears To Please CD.

Despite trying to be in the right place at the right time I never did get to see Sandy play. From the Van Dike club, Plymouth in the late 60’s to Birmingham University in the 70’s it just didn’t happen.

The 1st time I got to see FC was on their farewell tour in 1979!

Sadly, I never got to see Sandy in live performance.  I can only report two near misses.

In May 1973, I was living in Berkeley California, & she performed solo at the Berkeley Community Theater.  But I was off visiting New York City just then and missed out.

In Oct. 1974 and June 1975, I saw Renaissance twice in New York City, to where I had moved.  In this time period, Fairport (with Sandy) were double-billed with Renaissance for a number of concerts - but, unfortunately, not for the two that I was able to attend.

Ah, well...

Cheers ///  Tom M.***

Any one else on this board who saw L&L?   (..and who had a seat!  - I assume Simon remembers being there!)

I'd love to compare memories over a pint in August!