RT Memoirs Due 2019

[Col D]

Faber & Faber have obtained the UK rights to RT's memoir Beeswing: Britain, Folk Rock and the End of the 60s. Not due until Autumn next year though.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/faber-signs-60s-legend-richard-thompson-735351

[Dan O.]

Faber & Faber have obtained the UK rights to RT's memoir Beeswing: Britain, Folk Rock and the End of the 60s. Not due until Autumn next year though.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/faber-signs-60s-legend-richard-thompson-735351

Unexpected, but very welcome. Looking forward to reading this.

By the way, according to his Winter Tour programme notes, Peggy's writing his memoirs with Nigel Schofield at the moment, so there's an imminent Fairport biography double whammy.

[davidmjs]

I hope someone can persuade Simon too.

[Tasha]

Does anyone know if the biography of Swarb Now Be Thankful: The Lives of Dave Swarbrick by Jason Wilson and Jill is still in the pipeline?

[Chris]

Should have asked while they were on tour - and forgot.

[John From Austin]

Does anyone know if the biography of Swarb Now Be Thankful: The Lives of Dave Swarbrick by Jason Wilson and Jill is still in the pipeline?

I hope so, though Professor Wilson will have to be scrupulously accurate without the benefit of Swarb's proofing and fact-checking, to avoid being struck by lightning.

[Tasha]

Does anyone know if the biography of Swarb Now Be Thankful: The Lives of Dave Swarbrick by Jason Wilson and Jill is still in the pipeline?

I hope so, though Professor Wilson will have to be scrupulously accurate without the benefit of Swarb's proofing and fact-checking, to avoid being struck by lightning.

 

[Chris]

Martin Carty informed me last night that Professor Wilson is still talking to Swarb's friends & family collecting material. It serms its still at least a year away.

Martin also said that Ken Hunt is writing Martin's bio

[quodlibet (Ian)]

Just like Crossrail, it's a bit behind schedule, but on the horizon. This has popped up on Amazon.  

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Beeswing-Losing-Finding-Voice-1967-75/dp/1616208953/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=richard+thompson&qid=1598773282&s=books&sr=1-1

[Sue & Chris]

Article about RT's memoirs in the Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/14/richard-thompson-beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-interview

Includes the statement that Sandy Denny was sacked by the band in 1969, as opposed to leaving of her own accord, which is news to me.

[Nick]

Not sure if they're signed everywhere but this popped up in my stream...

https://www.thefloodgallery.com/products/beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-and-finding-my-voice-1967-75-signed?mc_cid=9b000a87f1&mc_eid=846af3fb44&variant=39312959766698

Cheers

Nick

[davidmjs]

Article about RT's memoirs in the Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/14/richard-thompson-beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-interview

Includes the statement that Sandy Denny was sacked by the band in 1969, as opposed to leaving of her own accord, which is news to me.

I did wonder if they'd got the two Jude/Sandy stories mixed up....?

[davidmjs]

Signed copies also available from Rough Trade https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/richard-thompson/beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-and-finding-my-voice-1967-75/hardback-plus

[peter m]

Article about RT's memoirs in the Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/14/richard-thompson-beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-interview

Includes the statement that Sandy Denny was sacked by the band in 1969, as opposed to leaving of her own accord, which is news to me.

Isn't it wonderful to see one of your heroes on the front page of the Observer review. At this rate he'll be famous one day!

[Shankly (Peter)]

Signed copies also available from Rough Trade https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/richard-thompson/beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-and-finding-my-voice-1967-75/hardback-plus

Thanks - copy ordered

[Col D]

Article about RT's memoirs in the Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/14/richard-thompson-beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-interview

Includes the statement that Sandy Denny was sacked by the band in 1969, as opposed to leaving of her own accord, which is news to me.

The story has been around for a few years but that's the first time I've seen it substantiated by one of the band - previously only Linda T has broken cover about it and she's adamant Sandy was sacked. There's a long quote from her in Mick Houghton's book which also appeared in a Mojo article, although sadly it doesn't seem to be available online anymore.
 
Just a snippet of it - "They definitely sacked her. It wasn't told that way. I think they knew she was in a state about it."

The way it's told she became something of a liability due to her unwillingness to travel, due at least in part to the after effects of the the motorway crash. She refused to go on a US tour that Joe Boyd was arranging and then deliberately missed the flight to Copenhagen for a TV appearance, which is when the others discussed asking her to leave. Hopefully RT's book will make things a bit clearer how it all panned out after that.

[Jamie73]

Article about RT's memoirs in the Guardian today:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/14/richard-thompson-beeswing-fairport-folk-rock-interview

Includes the statement that Sandy Denny was sacked by the band in 1969, as opposed to leaving of her own accord, which is news to me.

The story has been around for a few years but that's the first time I've seen it substantiated by one of the band - previously only Linda T has broken cover about it and she's adamant Sandy was sacked. There's a long quote from her in Mick Houghton's book which also appeared in a Mojo article, although sadly it doesn't seem to be available online anymore.
 
Just a snippet of it - "They definitely sacked her. It wasn't told that way. I think they knew she was in a state about it."

The way it's told she became something of a liability due to her unwillingness to travel, due at least in part to the after effects of the the motorway crash. She refused to go on a US tour that Joe Boyd was arranging and then deliberately missed the flight to Copenhagen for a TV appearance, which is when the others discussed asking her to leave. Hopefully RT's book will make things a bit clearer how it all panned out after that.

It seems to me that they pretty much saw her departure on the horizon and just decided to put her out of her misery after the Copenhagen debacle. Even if they did "sack" her, there was clearly no animosity whatsoever given how she attended the first Full House gig. But I'm looking forward to reading about it in the book!

[Andy]

In her unpublished biography of Sandy, "No Thought Of Leaving", Pamela Murray Winters certainly alludes to Sandy being sacked after her no-show for the Denmark gig.

It was time, once again, to play “Where’s Sandy?” Ashley, Richard, Simon, Swarb, and Dave Mattacks were at Heathrow, and the tension was rising. Oh, Sandy had been late before. The lyric “I have no thought of time” must have crossed more than one rueful Fairport mind. But this wasn’t some van drive to Bath or Plymouth; it was a flight to Denmark to appear on television.

Anthea Joseph was sent to Sandy and Trevor’s flat. Trevor was off on a
tour of his own. Sandy wasn’t home either.

“What is she playing at?” her bandmates grumbled. “How can she let us
down like this?”

By the time the plane landed, Ashley was adamant. This could not go on.
She couldn’t be allowed to continue in the band with this behavior.

“Girl singers are far too much trouble,” his bandmates concluded. “Let’s just go on, just us chaps.” (c) 1999, 2000 Pamela Murray Winters

[PhilipK]

For those who prefer to use Amazon, they are now showing it as available to pre-order at £15.49 for the I-want-to-kill-lots-of-trees version or £5.03 for the I've-moved-into-the-digital-world Kindle version.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beeswing-Fairport-Finding-Voice-1967-75/dp/0571348165/

[Paul B]

It's the same price on Hive

https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Richard-Thompson/Beeswing--Fairport-Folk-Rock-and-Finding-My-Voice-1967-75/25586900