Fairport Live Recording from 1975 for sale

[mikec]

First up apologies for the long post but I promised Thor I would copy his full story. And if anyone wants to move this to another part of the board feel free I wasn't sure if it was best here or on the Fairport thread. Anyway, Thor-Rune Haugen posted this on the FC list (yes the other one). I thought a few of you would be interested in a new recording of the chaps coming to light. When I have any info about links to buy the CD for those not making it to the Winter Tour I'll post them here.

cheers
MikeC

From: "Thor-Rune Haugen" <thr-hau at online.no>

So here is the full story about the "Many ears to please - Live in Oslo 1975" CD. Anyone who's easily bored or couldn't be bothered better jump ship here.

In 1975 I went to this incredible gig FC played at Chateau Neuf in Oslo. DM had left the band just before this short tour and it looked like it would have to be cancelled because there was no way they could hold auditions and rehearsals for a new drummer in time. But Paul Warren, who was an FC roadie, amazingly told the band he'd done some drumming and asked for an audition. He'd been watching DM from the wings many a time and, to the band's amazement, he did a splendid job. More than good enough for the tour to go ahead.

This was FC's first ever indoor gig in Norway (they'd previously only done a festival). The hall was filled to capacity with Fairport die-hards and was a huge success. The atmoshere was absolute magic. It was extremely loud, but wonderful. The reviews were great. I came home, visibly trembling with the excitement (I was only 18 at the time and had been a massive fan for 5 or 6 years) and imagined what a live album of it would have been like.

Then 15 years later the phone rang. A mate of mine had stumbled across two boxes of tapes that simply said "Fairport Convention". Nothing else! But knowing I was a fan, he asked me to come and try to identify what it was. What I heard made me shiver. You guessed it: THAT concert! From tapes nobody knew existed. But it was obvious the recording had been made without the band's knowledge. I was told it had been lying untouched and uncopied for 15 years.

Me and my mate Jonny bought the tape for our own collection. I was (and still is) an unstoppable FC completist. And to own a recording of this concert was too good to be true. But we had absolutely no intention of using it for anything else. I am not a bootlegger and was certainly not going to rip off my own favourite band. But in the mean time I'd gotten to know both Peggy and Jerry. So I sent them both a copy. They both liked it. Which was good enough for me. But as time went by, Jerry went one step further: "Why don't we release it on CD? This is, after all, a totally unrecorded Fairport line-up."

Jonny and I started talking. Could this really be happening? Jerry offered to write in the booklet and help out with anything he possibly could. I called Peggy and after what was probably the shortest negotiation in the history of recorded music (some 20 seconds) we had agreed. Let's do it as a 50/50 release. The band supply the performance - we supply the tape.

It was agreed that we'd do the CD and the booklet in Norway. I knew a mate of mine had unseen pix taken at the show in Skien, Norway the day after "our" concert. They did, however not include shots of Lucas or Warren But we found a line-up shot from the website of a Danish photographer. Jerry delivered his heart felt liner notes. Word of the CD filtered through to Swarb (courtesy of Peggy, actually). He wanted to write for the booklet, too. Which was his very intention. But in his more recent state of health, he just couldn't go through with it, for various reasons. Which his wife Jill explained to us in a deeply heartfelt letter on his behalf. They kindly agreed to let us use that letter instead. And I think anyone reading it will agree it really says it all.

We did everything we could to track down the elusive Paul Warren, but eventually time ran out and we had to give up. Hopefully he will hear the CD and finally get to hear himself coping with the close to impossible task of repleacing one of the most respected drummers at such short notice. Both Jerry and I give him a hero's treatment in the booklet. There were one or two hiccups, but he did more than well enough for the band to seriously consider him as the permanent replacement (JD relates this story in the booklet). I think he would have been much better than BR. Who was an OK drummer, he just wasn't a Fairport drummer. To these ears, at least.

The booklet is 16 pages long, no less. Partly because I now had a chance to write liner notes on a CD by my favourite band. And like hell I was gonna let that chance go. As for the music, it includes many well known FC numbers, but also rarely performed songs like "All along the watchtower" and "Six days on the road". The whole gig is on the CD, with the exception of "Sloth". Which went on for days and couldn't fit in. There are so many great versions of that one out and bout, anyway.

Peggy instructed me to have it ready for the winter tour, so they could sell it there. Then, as the wheels of production were already in motion, I learned that there is also a double CD of recent live recordings coming out at the same time. And I certainly hope our CD will not be in the way of the band's own new live CD. But hopefully you will find copies of "Many ears to please" there, too. We have put every effort into making this a worthwhile release. The music has been remastered as good as can possibly be done with two track tapes recorded through mikes hanging from the roof of the hall.

Yes, the tape started life as a bootleg. But has now been legalised by the band. Every songwriting and arrangement royalty will be paid. And the band get the same share of the profit as we do. They trust us on this and feel we won't rip them off. Can you imagine that? I feel very proud as I think such archive releases could be done this way more often. By the fans for the fans - with the band's total approval and co-operation. It will be probably be sold through the internet and postal order only.

So there you have it. Having been on this list for years, I have been aching to tell you this story for a while now. Hope some of you enjoyed it. I'm over the moon, in fact. And I feel privileged and lucky to support such a friendly, openminded bunch of musicians.

Thor-Rune

[Nuthouse]

Yes, the tape started life as a bootleg. But has now been legalised by the band. Every songwriting and arrangement royalty will be paid. And the band get the same share of the profit as we do. They trust us on this and feel we won't rip them off. Can you imagine that? I feel very proud as I think such archive releases could be done this way more often. By the fans for the fans - with the band's total approval and co-operation. It will be probably be sold through the internet and postal order only.

This is the key bit for me......  and I am sure endorsement from FC will give peace of mind to all concerned

Mike & Thor-Rune... thanks for the info

Anything to add Simon ?

(Shame about the lack of Sloth though  )

[Jim]

at last !
 a live cd to look forward to(even if the recording might be a wee bit bootleg quality)
 this is the class of thing we want
 well done the norwegian lads

[Nick]

Thor; if you're reading this, well done!

It will be probably be sold through the internet and postal order only.

Will this be through the Fairport site? Please let us know contact details as soon as they are available!

Cheers

Nick

[Tasha]

From: "Thor-Rune Haugen" <thr-hau@online.no>


We did everything we could to track down the elusive Paul Warren, but eventually time ran out and we had to give up. Hopefully he will hear the CD and finally get to hear himself coping with the close to impossible task of repleacing one of the most respected drummers at such short notice. Both Jerry and I give him a hero's treatment in the booklet. There were one or two hiccups, but he did more than well enough for the band to seriously consider him as the permanent replacement (JD relates this story in the booklet). I think he would have been much better than BR. Who was an OK drummer, he just wasn't a Fairport drummer. To these ears, at least.

Thor-Rune

Is it the Paul Warren who plays or played drums with the Hastings folk rock group Better Days who have supported Steeleye Span in the past?Or is he too young I can't remember him really.

[mikec]

If anyone does have any info on Paul Warren can I suggest they email Thor with it as i'm sure he would appreciate any updates going.

ta

MikeC

[Malcolm]

Is it the Paul Warren who plays or played drums with the Hastings folk rock group Better Days who have supported Steeleye Span in the past?Or is he too young I can't remember him really.

If my memory serves me right, Peter Knight of Steeleye lives in Hastings, so this may be the connection.

Sherlock of Farnham

[Jim]

i seem to remember a thread about paul warren a while ago , and didnt it turn out he runs a business in australia?

[Mark]

Paul Warren?

http://www.folking.com/reviews/reviews/148.shtml

Same Paul Warren?

[Alex Lyons]

Looks sort of like the same bloke. Compare:

http://www.angel.dk/Fairport/OversG2.html

(the Fairport 75 line-up)

with:

http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~pdcs/bday0002.htm

(Better Days)

[Mindwarper]

I am very excited about the cd. I think there is a huge ammount of live concerts and videos that should be released. I am also a completist. Sounds like a wonderful job that will be enjoyed by many. Any chance of listing the setlist to get me drooling? 

Ps  Does anyone know what tours lord marlborough was played?  The angel delight tour?

[mikec]

Update from Thor-Rune posted on the FC list this morning. Note his point that it WON'T be on-sale during the upcoming tour. A web link is on its way though.

cheers

MikeC

snipped.....

First of all, I'd like to say a huge thank you for all the wonderful
response I had to the story of the "Many ears to please - Live in Oslo 1975"
CD release. Jonny and I feel very inspired by it. We can't wait for it to be
released.

However, it seems that this CD will not now be for sale from the merch
stalls during Fairport's winter tour. FC have had second thoughts - for the
very understandable reason that they do, after all, have their own new live
CD to sell. So it's obvious they have to make that their top priority. The
last thing I want is for our CD to get in the way of the band's own product.
But they do consider selling it at the website at a slightly later date.
Which would be incredibly generous of them, considering that only one of the
current members is on "Ears...".

We expect the CD to arrive from the factory sometime during the coming week.
Probably fairly early in the week, too. We are in the process of setting up
a website for it. Which should be up and running by the time the CD arrives
here. I'll be around with a URL once it's up, I promise.

In the mean time, here's the tracklist:

1. Down in the flood
2. Rising for the moon
3. Solo
4. Dirty linen
5. It'll take a long time
6. One more chance
7. The Hexhamshire lass
8. Fiddlestix
9. All along the watchtower
10. Six days on the road
11. John the gun
12. Matty Groves
13. Sir B. MacKenzie
14. Who knows where the time goes

More next week - I promise!

Thor-Rune

[Malcolm]

Worth buying for tracks 9 & 10 apart from the other good stuff. Always good to hear one-offs which showed they were having fun playing. Make sure you print enough for me to have one

[Big Dave]

This looks fantastic, a definite purchase for me.
Slightly off topic, but Mike has reminded me.  What is happening with the FC list? I don't seem to be getting e-mails from them anymore.  Wonder if I've been banned or summat?

[mikec]

Dave,
The list is stil going and is livelier than its been for a while.

I've IM'd you.

MikeC

[Amethyst (Jenny)]

Save a copy for me too please!!

[mikec]

OK, its update time. I received an email from Thor-Rune this morning. The website is up and running and orders can be placed if you want one.

snipped from T-R's email....

The address is: www.molldur.no

Just click on the British flag to get to the English part of the site. And then click "order" and follow the instructions. If you want to hear some samples from the CD you can do so by clicking "release".


cheers

MikeC

[Jim]

done and done, i cant wait

[Speleologist (Robin)]

Mine's ordered. Also had a listen to the samples, this line up sounds quite distinctive. Should be a worthwhile addition to the collection.

[Chris]

Thor has just posted this....

I promised to tell you when the website for the FC CD "Many ears to please -
Live in Oslo 1975" was up and running. I am pleased to announce that this CD
can now be ordered at:

www.molldur.no

You will first be welcomed in Norwegian. Just click the Britisk flag. Be
aware that not all functions are up and running. But you can now order and
hear some samples. For samples, just click "release" and then select from
the track list. For ordering, just click...well..."order", actually. And
then follow the instructions. You can use credit cards through Paypal. But
there are also other possibilities.

For those who may have forgotten, "Many ears to please" has been released
with the full approval and cooperation of JD, DP and DS. Who were all in
this particular line-up. The remaining members are either no long with us
(SD and TL, of course) and the elusive drummer Paul Warren. It was
originally a bootleg tape, but has now been legalised by the band. All
royalties for songs and arrangements are being paid and the band get the
same share of the profit as we do.

Outside of Norway this CD will only be available through the internet. And
the promotion is basically done by "word of mouth". So please spread the
word for us, if you like. We'd really appreciate it.

Again, thanks everyone for your wonderful response to the news of this
release. No expenses have been spared in order to increase the sound and to
create a proper booklet. I simply do not give a toss whether I get my money
back. This has been a dream come true, no matter what.