'Fairport by Fairport'

[DarrenWilliams]

It's a great read and there are some wonderful insights. Being a pedant, though, I noticed one glaring error about Sandy opting to bring A Sailors Life back in to the set in the mid-80s... Sorry!!! Anyway, a corker and beautifully presented.

I spotted that one too, also a reference to 'David Hill' rejoining the band for some live dates. Otherwise its a good read - there were some details in there that I wasn't previously aware of but no real revelations. Coffee table style book might have been nice, or at least a few more photos, but it does look nice on my shelf alongside the Sandy and Fairport BBC CD sets. And its got my name listed at the back  

[Darren_j]

...does look nice on my shelf alongside the Sandy and Fairport BBC CD sets. And its got my name listed at the back  

Yes that was a nice touch, Darren

[davidmjs]

It's a great read and there are some wonderful insights. Being a pedant, though, I noticed one glaring error about Sandy opting to bring A Sailors Life back in to the set in the mid-80s... Sorry!!! Anyway, a corker and beautifully presented.

I spotted that one too, also a reference to 'David Hill' rejoining the band for some live dates.

Would have been fun.  I've always wanted to see Fairport play Cum on Feel the Noize.

[Pat Helms]

I'm glad so many people thought better of it than me. But for £40 I wanted something more.

I agree.
It's a nice sturdy book, as I wrote earlier. But for that amount of money they surely could have added some more pictures.
As far as the written text goes, the book offers not much more then I already knew from various other sources. There is some repetition: certain facts are mentioned more than once. There was one strange addition to my knowledge. The truckdriver that drove into The Angel at Little Hadham was Dutch.
The good thing about the book is the fact that it consists mainly out of quotes by Fairport members. The title of the book is fully justified.
The signatures of the present members of the group are placed on a piece of paper that has a smaller size than the pages of the book, but that piece of paper is bound with the rest of the book, so it's not a loose insert.

Conclusion: a nice history of Fairport, but somewhat overpriced.  Will not sell it for the original price, though..

--
greetings from Holland,
Hans Valk

I agree as well - was expecting a far bigger production for the steep price.  

[John From Austin]

It's a great read and there are some wonderful insights. Being a pedant, though, I noticed one glaring error about Sandy opting to bring A Sailors Life back in to the set in the mid-80s... Sorry!!! Anyway, a corker and beautifully presented.

I spotted that one too, also a reference to 'David Hill' rejoining the band for some live dates. Otherwise its a good read - there were some details in there that I wasn't previously aware of but no real revelations. Coffee table style book might have been nice, or at least a few more photos, but it does look nice on my shelf alongside the Sandy and Fairport BBC CD sets. And its got my name listed at the back  

It's a little-known fact that Roger Hill was compelled to change his name to "David" to avoid confusion.

[RobertD]

It's a great read and there are some wonderful insights. Being a pedant, though, I noticed one glaring error about Sandy opting to bring A Sailors Life back in to the set in the mid-80s... Sorry!!! Anyway, a corker and beautifully presented.

Well I don't have the book yet but that is a bit of a doozy I think! Then again Nigel Schofield did make several in the Free Reed Box sets collectively that made me shake my head, but to be fair it is a lot of information and I couldn't guarantee I would not make factual errors as well.

[davidmjs]

It's a great read and there are some wonderful insights. Being a pedant, though, I noticed one glaring error about Sandy opting to bring A Sailors Life back in to the set in the mid-80s... Sorry!!! Anyway, a corker and beautifully presented.

Well I don't have the book yet but that is a bit of a doozy I think! Then again Nigel Schofield did make several in the Free Reed Box sets collectively that made me shake my head, but to be fair it is a lot of information and I couldn't guarantee I would not make factual errors as well.

That will just be a typo, and if edited by someone with no direct knowledge (or not properly edited at all), how the hell is it likely to get caught?  We carry this sh1t around with us...lots of normal people don't, of course  

[Alan2]

[/quote]

It's a little-known fact that Roger Hill was compelled to change his name to "David" to avoid confusion.
[/quote]

Who he?

[DarrenWilliams]

Roger Hill

Who he?

Part of the post-Simon, pre-Rosie line-ups. I think he replaced Simon, then was replaced by David Rae, and returned to fulfil some live dates. Recorded with Fairport but not on an official album. He was in The Uglys with Peggy in the 60s and later played with Chris Barber for many years. Sadly passed away in 2011.

Didn't he appear at Cropredy in 2002?

[Marky]

He did indeed, along with Tom Farnell from the same era.

[hendo (Dave)]

I was expecting more reviews on this thread.
Having now read it cover to cover........
I know limited editions are expensive but my final impression was that the book was expensive for what it was.
However , prompted by Maurice on the 'I'm reading' thread, I went looking fora copy of 'The Guvnor, The Rise of Folk Rock'
Amazon offer me a new copy from £45 or 2 s/hand copies at £111 and £156 each!!
Serious e bay watching i think!  

[Jules Gray]

I went looking fora copy of 'The Guvnor, The Rise of Folk Rock'
Amazon offer me a new copy from £45 or 2 s/hand copies at £111 and £156 each!!
Serious e bay watching i think!  

It's weird how these things become collectable almost overnight.  I bought a copy of that book about 6 years ago for about £11 or £12.  Very frustrating situation I imagine.  

Jules

[mickf]

Finished reading the book now.  I'm not the font of all knowledge on Fairport so I found it extremely informative. Small grouse - I wonder why the inset with the signatures on couldn't have been made the same size as the book's pages, as it would have seemed more part of the book.   On the whole I'm happy with it (doubly so as it was a prezzie and I didn't have to fork out 45 quid).

[Darren_j]

I finally got around to watching the DVD yesterday. I thought it was nice how they didn't attempt to cover same old ground as the BBC documentary but instead focused on how the present line-up came together.

[gower flower (Shirl)]

It's weird, but I don't feel a great compulsion to pick the thing up and actually read it!    I have dipped into it a little, but I am in no rush to read it from cover to cover.    The lack of photos is a disappointment.  

[Staffan]

Is it possible to call this an outtake?  

http://rocket88books.com/2013/01/21/fairports-round-dozen/

[GubGub (Al)]

Is it possible to call this an outtake?  

http://rocket88books.com/2013/01/21/fairports-round-dozen/

I would say no, as that is the precise part of the book that I am up to and I read that exact passage just last night. How strange.  

[Staffan]

Is it possible to call this an outtake?  

http://rocket88books.com/2013/01/21/fairports-round-dozen/

I would say no, as that is the precise part of the book that I am up to and I read that exact passage just last night. How strange.  

I am stunned!
How can they imply that what they put on the blog didn't make the book?

"As vast as the book is, there was some material that couldn’t be fitted in, but we are very happy to be able to publish some of it on our blog. The selection below has band members discussing their first album for the Vertigo label, Bonny Bunch of Roses:"
Quotation copied directly from the site.
I read the piece finding it vaguely familiar but wasn't sure. Tonight I have checked the book and it's all the
I read it through and it sounded familiar but have checked the book tonight and with the exception for a word or to it's all there.
Am I disappointed?  
Yes!

[Andy]

Well, I'm glad that so many people like this book, but I'm really not of that opinion. I found it an at times confusing rehash of previous writings by the author, who is indeed Nigel Schofield, not Fairport, so the title is somewhat misleading. I know several dozen interviews with Fairport members are in the book, some going back over 30 years or more, but the narrative is not theirs.

It's also a bit of a whitewash, no mention of several well-known bumps in the road or explanations when members mysteriously departed.

The "signed copies" are nothing of the sort (an inserted half-sheet does not a signed copy make) and most of the pictures are far from unique, although a couple may have not been seen elsewhere, perhaps deservedly.

The DVD is anodyne, but ok. At least it's the chaps speaking for themselves.

Looking back I already said this here.

Additionally I was of the belief that it'd be a coffee table book (price, mostly - see this about the Stones for comparison, which is just a damned lovely book - at half the money) and when it arrived I thought it had shrunk in the incessant 2012 rain.

I regret my foolishness in buying it.

[Jim]

i must read it some time