TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Last month, I finally ordered the "Fairport @ Forty" DVD - paid my money, sat back and waited.

When it hadn't arrived by last week, I e-mailed to ask where it was....

....and got a personal reply back from Mr Nicol himself, which was entirely unexpected.  Rather than just fob me off, he was very apologetic and rather humorous (the signature on his e-mail reads "Singer and Office Drudge").  I wonder if Britney Spears puts all her DVDs in the post herself???

Simon Nicol: an absolute star.

Amen to that!  Years of being nearly-but-not-quite-famous certainly haven't gone to his head.   ;D

Jules

I reckon that's one of the reasons why he won the Hancock for "All Round Good Egg Folkie" a couple of years ago. ;D {:-)

Couldn't agree more. Had the pleasure of sharing a bill with Fairport a couple of times a while back and they were all amongst the more gracious and charming people I have ever met. Just a great bunch of fellows.

..but did you get your DVD?

;D

Just one of Simon's good deeds. I saw Fairport Acoustic at Chesham last year, and wasn't sure about the Theatre's policies on taking photos, because I know some theatre's don't like people using cameras. So in the break, I went and asked Simon if it was OK. Him and Peggy both agreed that they didn't mind me taking photos. Simon went and found a member of staff from the theatre to ask about it for me, and it was OK with them.

I concur! Had a tshirt from Cropredy a few years back and the writing started peeling  off it after a few weeks mentioned it in passing on here. Simon got in touch and voila new tshirt ;D ;D ;D

We had a similar experience as MisterKeith.  Last year SWMBO bought me F@40 for my birthday.  She sent an email to chivvy it along what with it having to arrive for my BD.  You can imagine Rose's surprise to receive a phone call "Hello this is Simon Nicol.  From Fairport Convention. (he didn't need to add that bit ;D)  I was just calling to check you have received the DVD".  

She had been so excited and couldn't tell me about it for fear of spoiling the surprise ;D

This thread seesm to be more about problems folks have with FC merch than how nice Simon is - not that he isn't nice of course ;)

David W

i think that for a cottage industry who retain the personal touch they do really well. compare the service to some of the bigger companies like HMV for example who are utter ****.

I don't think FC were slow - my wife had emailed telling them the importance of speedy delivery - I don't call her SWMBO for nothing you know :-X :-X

And they've been doing it themselves since before myspace etc. was a gleam in the eye of somebody yet unborn.....

Folk stars are doing it for themselves! Standing on their own two feet and ringing on their own bells!  ;D

on the winter tour he blew my 10yr old a kiss as she was leaving and made her day! ;D

I'm happy to join the chorus. In 2003 I booked Fairport for "my" Festival. They arrived in the afternoon directly from airport (it was their first gig in the tour) and they were very tired and asked to have a rest. All but Simon, who hugged me (first time he met me, of course, but maybe liked my welcome words: "Hello, we never met before but we have been friends for 25 years") and told me he wanted to have a beer together before having his rest.

best to all - and Simon

Paolo

2002, Sunday morning on my way to breakfast when Simon came strolling over Cropredy Bridge and bade me a cheery good morning and asked "how was the weekend, did you enjoy last nights gig?" was gobsmacked that a hero had spoken to me!! ;D

Sad people that we are, we still have the reply from Simon on our answerphone from a couple of years ago, when we phoned the Fairport office to ask what the start time was for the relocated Woodford Halse warm-ups.

Smashing chap.......but then they all are.

S&J

I recall being in my local grocers and Simon walked in and asked for five loaves and five fishes. Not sure what he was planning

I dunno, but I'm sure I saw him skipping across the surface of our local lido a few hours later!   ;)

Jules

With the Lido Swimmers chorusing...

"Andy Leslie walks on water,
Tra la la la la, la la la la"

 ::)  ::)

I have a very good reason to agree that Simon Nicol is a lovely man indeed. You'll find out at Cropredy, all being well  :D

(sorry, can't tell until then)

Tease... ;D

Yeh! come on Keith, you can't leave a comment like that hanging in the air!

You know we will only start to make things up speculate.

One of the other Keiths

Speculate away - I just wanted to add my bit to this thread, because he *is*.

Simon Nicol is a kind and generous guy.

I have proof.

Congratulations, Keith, when's the big day? And can I be a bridesmaid?

 ;D ;D ;D ;D

Veiled in secrecy.

Ah but have you seen the front page of the News of the World today? Caption competition: Mr Nicol wakes up at Cropredy.... ;)

This thread is now far too cryptic for me ;D

Now if I really WERE Andy Leslie, I might take exception to such a scurrilous comparison...

At least we're not now immortalised in rhyming slang, Simon ;D

Well not yet: but I expect if the Cocker of Freeman were to pick up the baton he's run with something mutually damaging to us both...

Yikes! Heaven forfend! ;D

Here's another example of what a nice chap that Mr Nicol is, though it happened a long time ago, so I'm sure he doesn't remember it. My better half and I had arranged our wedding for February 3rd 1998, in Cambridge. It just so happened that Fairport were playing the Corn Exchange that night, so we booked tickets. I wrote to Simon well in advance (it was all letters in those far off days, or at least it was in our house) to ask if he could dedicate a song to us on the night. This he did at the opening of the set (Royal Seleccion). But what was nicest of all was this: I had let him know in my letter that my then future wife is a baroque musicologist. So when he wrote back, he included a cassette (letters! cassettes!) of the then yet-to-be-released Bones of All Men. I don't think the album even had a title at that point. As far as I know, then, my betrothed and I were the first members of the public to hear it. It always struck me as both a very kind, and, let's face it, very trusting gesture. One of these days, I'll buy him a pint in return.

Look we all know he is a good sort, but you lot need to be careful otherwise all these compliments may go to Simon's head and he may start having omnipotent thoughts!

Lets test this out and see how really nice he is to his fans?

Simon,

Will you let me have your 62 Strat and Santa Cruz?.......Please!  

I like your thinking!

Simon - I was wondering if I could join Fairport as your new co-singer and songwriter.  I promise not to grandstand overmuch, nor hog the limelight, and that you still get first refusal of between-song banter.

Thanks,

Jules

Can I supply the bad jokes?

Surely, Andy, your appearance onstage alonside Mr Nicol will have the audience believing they are victims of some strange space/time warp malfunction, perhaps resulting in cardiac arrests etc...  Therefore I suggest that we persue any such possibilities with great caution.

 :-\

Jules

Blurred & double vision is about the Norm for Fairport fans isn't it? It is for me anyway.  ;)

As a postscript to my post on the Hertford gig - we were having a quiet pre-concert drink in a pub down the road from the Corn Exchange when Simon came in with some friends (later to be joined by Peggy), so we just waved to say "hello", and let them have some space, but that nice Mr Nicol came over to our table and said hello, explaining that they'd turned up at the venue to be informed that there was to be a support band! Life as a touring band sure must be full of surprises!

Anyway, nice of Simon to come and say hello to us.

DC

i know he's lovely.   ;D

I went back to the start of this thread to see what it was that made this Simon specific, because as we all know it could well read FC, what a lovely man. Each and every member right down to Rob B of the more recent decades and including RT and probably including most of the Fairports I have not met and an extremely dear woman who was their first singer have been without question the most friendly people I have met in the entertainment business with maybe a handful I would add from the music world, and one from sports. I know I have been 30 years grateful for the amount, I think 6, of Fairports who have been willing to have a go with that unit from whom I take my  name here, where the air of conviviality is considerably less, and in pockets, non existent. Clever of Simon to have avoided this, as I recall at the Swarb party, he announced, "You couldn't afford me!"

I'd like to add my appreciation of Mr Nicol as I've just received some cds he sent me for my radio show. I've received cds from various artists over the last 11 months but apart from Simon's generosity what is great is the personal touch. So often when I send begging emails for cds it gets passed on to some member of their support team and I never actually hear from the musicians themselves, so for Simon to reply to my request in person is just really nice.

 8)

You've made me feel all self-conscious now putting "So often when I send begging emails" as my custom title. :-[

Unlike Mike Harding, who I'm sure gets more CDs sent to him than he knows what to do with, at our little (skint) community radio station we have to beg, borrow or steal in order to get new music to feature on our shows. I'm not big on the whole stealing thing but do borrow cds from the local library. Maybe a better way to put it is to say I send requests to artists for cds.

Better go - time to feed the cat.