TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

It occurs to me that i have loads of fairport music i do not have a single book. Presumably there have been quite a number written. What would members recommend? And what's best avoided?

Paul

Just finished  "No More Sad Refrains" the biography of Sandy Denny. Well worth a read.

Take a look at this:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/fcfansite/index1.htm

The Humphries' is good ....

And David Hughes' "The Fairport Tour" is indispensable.... and available from your own Folk Corporation shop (http://www.folkshop.net)! (Am I on commission yet, Colin?  ;))

The Ashley Hutchings bio, the name of which escapes me, is very interesting and well written.  Covers the formation of Fairport, Steeleye and the Albions. 

Thanks Barry, good thing I got payed today!!!

The Hughes book is REALLY enjoyable: warm, witty and a good insight intolife on the road with Fairport - and that of a support act.....(And I hope the Maldon Muse will be sending in regular reports from the forthcoming St Agnes Fountain tour AND his spring venture with Pentangle)

The Humphries book is a fairly good record of the band up until 1979, though it was his first biography, and the author has since admitted that if he were to do it again he would do it differently. His biog of RT is better, though

The Woodworm Era is fairly lightweight but OK.

The Sandy Denny book I didn't really take to for some reason, though it's quite comprehensive I found it a bit "snide'.


The Guv'nor (Ashley's biog) was well-written and very informative.

I have a pretty old one called "Unscrapbooking" - which is just a huge collection of Fairport articles produced by Martyn Kenny who used to run something called "Friends of Fairport".

Whatever happened to them? I still have the T shirt somewhere.

Anyway the scrapbook goes up to around the early 80's I think.

Friends of Fairport still exists... has been run by Ian Burgess for many years now.

Ian usually runs a stall at Croppers, but this year decided not to as it could have been the last...  wonder if he will in 2005.

Amy

Despite the feelings of some members of the board concerning Ms rydeR, I personally found her winter tour diary amusing.
The Sandy Denny book I have mixed feelings about.  It seems to be attempting to be a critique of Sandys life and work, however it does tend to get snarled in personal comments and this detracts from the central theme.  Still worth a read though as an insight into Sandys life and the development of Fairport.
Sorry to ramble but never been much good at expressing opinions such as these via the written word!

Big Dave (6X Warrior in Cheif)
 

Fairportfolio by Kingsley Abbott is really good

If you can find a copy

Jude

It is as well Jude. Similar to 'Unscrapbooking' but with Kingsley's memories etc included as well. Perhaps of limited appeal in that it's within a small timeframe - up until the crash - but for those wanting to read a bit deeper into the early days, it's a smashing book.

For anyone interesting in getting hold of a copy I reckon your best bet is direct from Kingsley.

Alex@Atrax

Ordered.  Wonder what's on the "free CD"

There are ten tracks of David from the FC winter tour  ('98).. taken from recordings at various venues.

My fav on the CD is 'Hold Your Horses Woman'... the 'Tango' song!!

Amy

WOW... I've reached my 1000th post!!! ;)

Walter Heger wrote a book about the history of Fairport Convention. It has about 400 pages. Walter knows absolutely everything about the band. It is very well written, very informative with a complete discographie of everybody who ever played in the band.

But - it is in German.

Any chance of a translation Ulla???

Amy

If you give me until Christmas next year I might be able to translate it.

Jen

We could always scan it with an OCR system and then feed it to a translation program.
That should make for a bizarre read  ???

I can forsee "Small Woodlands Matt" making a re-appearance  :o  :)

i seem to remember it as" few woodlands matty"but what the hell, go on do it

Going off topic but I only know "few woodlands matty".

Few Woodlands Matty
A holiday, a holiday and first of the year
Lord Darnell, woman into the church,
Into which gospel for came to hear
And as the session it had taken place, into it, threw their eyes approximately
and there saw it few woodlands Matty and home went into the mass
"Come with me, few woodlands Matty, come home with me this evening
If you come home with me, few woodlands Matty and sleep with me to light"
"Oh, I can come not home, do not come I not home and sleep with you this evening
by the rings on your fingers I can explain to you, woman"

"What, if I am woman of the Lord Darnell,
Lord Darnell of the lord Darnell
Not at home for him am out in the far Cornfields that am,
Which get home the Jaehrlinge"

And an official, that being available was hearing
And which he was mentioned lord Darnell swore,
Which, he would know, before the sun would adjust
and into its haste for carrying the messages, bent it its chest
and came as he ran to the expanded thousandth stream,
removed he its shoes and he swam

Few woodlands Matty, lays down he and took few sleep
As if it woke up, was to lord Darnell at its feet saying the fact that
"How you like my feather/spring bed and like to do you may do my pages?
How do you do, like you my lady, are situated in your sleeping levers?"

"Oh, I like recess your feather/spring bed and - recess,
Which I like, your pages however
Me likes your lady homosexual improves,
Who is appropriate for lord Darnell in my sleeping levers "

"Well, is up, " cried, "get so above fast up,
How it to be able!
It is never said in appropriate England that I turn a bright man ",
"Oh, cannot I not rise, do not rise I not, can I not for my life span
For you rise two blade struck for a long time and I do not have a pocket meter",

"Well, that is applicable it I two struck blade
And them to cost me deeply in the fund,
But you have the better of them and I have that false",
"And you fasten the all first impact and it to fasten like you a man,
Whom I fasten the very following impact and I terminate you,
If I fastened box",

Then Matty the all first impact
And he hurt wound of the lord Darnell.
Lord Darnell did not fasten the very following impact
And Matty did not fasten.

And then lord Darnell took his wife and he sat her on his knee
Saying that "Who do you like the best of us, of woodlands Matty or from me? ",
And then spoke its own dear wife, never belongs up, to speak the freely,
"I'd rather a kiss of the dead lips Matty as it or you finery. ",

Lord Darnell, which it branched above and loud bawl
It fastened, it its woman wife by the inside and it was against the wall fixed.
"A grave, a grave, " lord Darnell cried,
"To used these loving into however buries my lady at the top side
For it was from the splendid trunks".




As can be found on the mailing list website. http://www.mcvax.org/jghall/fairport/fc.html?

Jen

Do you have a copy? Are you sure you could do it? I mean: 400 + pages....... Walter is looking for somebody to do it.

Hiya!

Don't have a copy yet but I think I could translate it. If I reacall correctly, there are quite a few pages that are pictures only and others that have got names listed.
But yeah, it would be something I'd enjoy doing.

Jen

I´ll send you a copy. Believe me: It will be a lot of work  :o

Thanks :)
Will I be given a deadline? Or am I just translating it?
Maybe you could get in touch via IM Ulla?

Thanks,
Jen

Just finished "The Fairport Tour" by David Hughes (with additional photos by Colin Edwards  ;) )

I could wax poetical about the synergy between text and graphics and the effect that the book provides to the reader in describing the disperate feelings of playing, travelling and table tennis.

However, I will instead lavish the finest praise a man can give.


It's a great toilet book   ;D

Especially the descriptions of the morning habits on a tour bus  :-X ;D

Hi Jenny, sorry my answer comes so late ! I love you for willing to translate my book. Of course it will have to be updated, and some informations being rewritten or corrected. My editor will of course be involved in it. And I do have to inform them about your plan. But anyway I think they will be very interested in it. If you really want to do it, I would supply the updates and corrections, of course, and you would translate the whole thing. It would be the first Fairport biography covering 1967 up to now. Wouldn't that be great? And we could add some great photographs from all the Cropredys since 1991 that I have made.
Cheers and big love from Stuttgart, Walter !

Yes, I really do mean it!
I would so love doing it and enjoy doing it most of all!

Just let me know what I need to know. Best is, if I IM you.

Jen (feeling very cheerful  ;D)

What does "IM" mean ? I'll get in contact with my editor this week. Let's see!

Hi, Soon after i started this topic i had a look at the "Expletive Delighted" site as Barry had suggested and it seemed clear that the only reasonably up to date and comprehensive book was in German. This was a bit of a blow as my German is non existant[ in fact i spent quite a few years at school deliberatly not listening - which on reflection was stupid!]

I t's brilliant to see how the discussion is developing and i really hope that Walter and Jen can get it together to produce an English edition.

Please put me down for a copy when it comes off.

regards

Paul

HI Paul!

In fact, I've known Walter for a good few years now and it's funny that this question has not come up before.
I hope that you won't be the only one who wants to buy the book.

Walter, IM is instant message.
Anyway, let me know what the publisher thinks! I can't wait to get started.  ;D

Jen

This would definitely sell - you can put me down for several advance orders!

I wonder if anyone could shed any light on the value of the following item. I have a copy of 'Unscrapbooking' by Martyn Kenney...I have no idea if it has ever appeared on ebay for example. I am in an unfortunate position of needing to sell the majority of my record collection including a good many Fairport items and memorabilia...The 3 x Boot cassettes, AT2, Airing Cupboard tapes tape...and it is really difficult getting a realistic price worked out for the stuff...any advise will be appreciated...thanks.  

Unscrapbooking is quite uncommon (even rare), but that doesn't mean it is worth a huge amount or is any good.  In my experience, even rareish Fairport memorabilia doesn't do very well on eBay.  An exception is the CDs of the Boot/AT2 series...the cassettes struggle.  Fwiw I'd suggest £25ish for the book and £10-20 for each of the cassettes (except the Airing Cupboard tapes which really - and perhaps surprisingly - isn't worth much at all, probably as it's been reissued on CD).  Obviously, in an auction anything can happen.  If you've got the nerve start at £0.99 and let things find their own value.  If not, then have a buy-it-now price but with a 'Best Offer'.  

ps for valuing music you can't do much better than a combination of Amazon market place, eBay (look at completed sales, not at what people are asking for things) and  http://www.discogs.com/

I presume nothing ever came of Jen's offer to translate Walter's book?  I don't think I ever saw that discussion - it was about 6 months before I joined Talkawhile (gosh, that means this summer must be my 10th anniversary here!).

I have a copy of that. It's a nice book, if rather slim. Has a personal slant, iirc.

I risk making myself unpopular by liking the Fairport by Fairport book.

I do read quite a lot, but not many music related books.

Unscrapbooking is quite uncommon (even rare), but that doesn't mean it is worth a huge amount or is any good.  In my experience, even rareish Fairport memorabilia doesn't do very well on eBay.  An exception is the CDs of the Boot/AT2 series...the cassettes struggle.  Fwiw I'd suggest £25ish for the book and £10-20 for each of the cassettes (except the Airing Cupboard tapes which really - and perhaps surprisingly - isn't worth much at all, probably as it's been reissued on CD).  Obviously, in an auction anything can happen.  If you've got the nerve start at £0.99 and let things find their own value.  If not, then have a buy-it-now price but with a 'Best Offer'.  

ps for valuing music you can't do much better than a combination of Amazon market place, eBay (look at completed sales, not at what people are asking for things) and  http://www.discogs.com/
[/quote]


...thanks for this...it is interesting looking at current prices on ebay for Unhalfbricking.

I've  remembered I also have No More sad Refrains, not the Sandy biography, but a A4 book with pictures,  which I got  around the same time as Fairportfolio.