TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

In May 1971 I did go to London fo the first time. My then wife and I stayed with an English couple my wife had befriended while they worked in Rotterdam. They lived in Brentford next to the stadium there, sometimes balls ended up in their back garden. As I was very much into Folk music then I could finally visit record shops to buy the albums I had read about in the Melody Maker, the Dobells record shop on Charing Cross Road was like Alladin's cave to me. One record I could not find however (not even in the HMV shops) was the Fairport single Now be Thankful. One day I was walking on Oxford Street not far from where the first Virgin shop was when I passed a shop which sold electrical supplies, when I looked at the shop window I noticed it also sold some records. When I entered I saw a man and a teenage boy behind the counter, the boy asked what I was looking for and I said that I was looking for a Fairport Convention single (the hope that they would have it had disappeared when I saw that they had but a couple of records on sale). He then almost shouted at me "NOW BE THANKFUL". I was rather taken aback by this thinking how would he know what was looking for, was he clairvoyant? It quickly became apparent that his shout was one of joy because from under the counter he took a box which contained 10/15 copies of the single and he was glad that finally someone had come to buy one. A nice find in a totally unexpected and unlikely place.

It's like it was meant to be ... nice story about one of my favourite FC songs ... very much a hymn. Does anyone know why it was excluded from the rather short Full HOuse LP ? (Yes, I know the "Poor Will" story !!) Was it from the same sessions ?

As far as I'm concerned they just "did a Beatles": A single With two non album tracks. And quality tracks, too. Though just being 14 at the time I was unaware of NBT until "History of" came along...

I think Island were trying to push them into coming up with a single to try and repeat the, all be it modest, success of Si Du Partir.
Nothing from Full House was really suitable,so a stand alone single was maybe the only alternative.
I don't think Sandy or Richard,as the songwriters in the band were into the idea of writing a 'hit'.
Fairport have never been a commercial proposition chart wise,and good on them for sticking to an artistic path.
Makes you wonder,though,thinking about your story,if Island were doing anything to help it be a hit if you couldn't find the record in a record store,but did locate it in an electrical shop.
Angel Delight was supposed to be an album full of singles, in response to the same record company persuasion for a hit, although I can't see it myself from the results.Maybe if they'd glammed up a bit, got glittery platform boots and put garish make up on,they'd have fit into the chart scene a bit more.
They did get onto the album spot on Top Of The Pops at this time,but I don't think they would have appealed to the youngsters.I was six at the time,and most probably saw it,but it certainly didn't stick in my mind.

Now Be Thankful was one of only a handful of new singles that I ever bought (though I did buy a few second hand singles) and that was probably because it wasn't on the album.

I can't remember having any great difficulty buying it within a day or two of its release.

Full House was in the bag before Now Be Thankful was written and recorded, otherwise it would surely have been included.

Jules

Could FC potentially have been a successful singles band ? In my view, yes, bearing in mind the success of Jethro Tull & Steeleye Span ... & I believe East of Eden's "Jig-a-Jig" was a considerable hit. Perhaps Walk Awhile would have been a better bid for singles glory than NBT. As mainly an albums collector, my small collection of singles does not include any by FC - but I will have them all on various CDs once my copy of Encore, Encore turns up in the post !