Cropredy 2022

[Sue & Chris]

The Full House section was going along nicely, but it kind of fell apart a bit during Sir Patrick Spens and didn’t seem to fully recover.
There were obviously discussions of some sort going on on the stage, but from half way up the field it was impossible to see what was going on.
I assume that Marty Groves was dropped due to time restraints. (Either that or they saw the blisteringly good version by The Sandy Denny Project at the Brasenose on Wednesday and simply threw the towel in!🤣🤣🤣)

It looked to me as if Peggy had spotted that they were running late, and tried twice to move things along by skipping the last two tracks (I'm sure he knows that Flatback Caper isn't the last track on the album!), only to be overruled by Simon (cue minor dummy spit).  I'm sure you're right about Matty Groves being cut for time.  I've never seen Fairport overrun at Cropredy before, and was beginning to worry that they wouldn't do MOTL.  Happily, despite having already overrun the supposed hard curfew, they clearly thought 'sod it' and played it anyway.

[PaulT]

A great set from FC last night (apart from Flowers of the Forest, on which the harmonies just didn't seem to "gel" - just as per the Tuesday warmup).

I noticed that Gerry was already in place behind his kit at the start of the set, and that he seemed to have some difficulty getting down off the drum riser before the Full House section.  He appeared to be limping on Tuesday - hope it's nothing serious...  Didn't affect his drumming/percussion performance though!

[Shane (Skirky)]

The running order is up at setlist fm for those completists among us. Having not heard it, I was surprised at the quality of the Shuffle and Go material. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fairport-convention/2022/cropredy-festival-field-cropredy-england-53b3e3d5.html

[Ian_]

At the end of yesterday I was left wondering if midnight is just too late to be finishing. I was about 3/4 of the way back in the field and it seemed as though an awful lot of people were filing away from about 10.30 onwards. I don't think this was in any way a reflection on Fairport, but just the length of the day and the lateness of the hour. A similar exodus happened on Friday, and I know some people (!) will attribute that to the on-stage performance, but having seen it replicated on Saturday with the Festival headliners I can't help thinking that the lateness of the show mitigates against a certain proportion of the audience gaining full enjoyment of it  

[Delfini (Diane)]

At the end of yesterday I was left wondering if midnight is just too late to be finishing. I was about 3/4 of the way back in the field and it seemed as though an awful lot of people were filing away from about 10.30 onwards. I don't think this was in any way a reflection on Fairport, but just the length of the day and the lateness of the hour. A similar exodus happened on Friday, and I know some people (!) will attribute that to the on-stage performance, but having seen it replicated on Saturday with the Festival headliners I can't help thinking that the lateness of the show mitigates against a certain proportion of the audience gaining full enjoyment of it  

It seems to be a ‘thing’. It has always been so when I’ve been there ( only missed five years apart from the C years). Some people cite wanting to miss the traffic etc.  I used to stay in a B&B about 8-10 years ago, and the b&b owner asked me if I wanted a lift home with the other attendees. She generally picked them up at about 10.30/45 because it ‘ended then’. I gaped and said ‘no thank you’.  Some people don’t ‘need’ the end. It happens at Cambridge FF too. I chose to go, knowing the length of the day - and see what I need to - tending to arrive later if I’m tired.

[Shane (Skirky)]

Double drummer goodness.

[davidmjs]

At the end of yesterday I was left wondering if midnight is just too late to be finishing. I was about 3/4 of the way back in the field and it seemed as though an awful lot of people were filing away from about 10.30 onwards. I don't think this was in any way a reflection on Fairport, but just the length of the day and the lateness of the hour. A similar exodus happened on Friday, and I know some people (!) will attribute that to the on-stage performance, but having seen it replicated on Saturday with the Festival headliners I can't help thinking that the lateness of the show mitigates against a certain proportion of the audience gaining full enjoyment of it  

It seems to be a ‘thing’. It has always been so when I’ve been there ( only missed five years apart from the C years). Some people cite wanting to miss the traffic etc.  I used to stay in a B&B about 8-10 years ago, and the b&b owner asked me if I wanted a lift home with the other attendees. She generally picked them up at about 10.30/45 because it ‘ended then’. I gaped and said ‘no thank you’.  Some people don’t ‘need’ the end. It happens at Cambridge FF too. I chose to go, knowing the length of the day - and see what I need to - tending to arrive later if I’m tired.

I also think, unpalatable as it may be to some (including myself) that there are people at Cropredy who are, at best, ambivalent about Fairport. I think this first became clear to me in the immediate post-divorce years when it relaunched as something a little different to what it had been before.  I'm fairly certain that in the late 80's and 90s the vast majority of the crowd were there for Fairport and the field (there are obviously exceptions - people with kids etc) was largely present to the end.

[Nick Reg]

At the end of yesterday I was left wondering if midnight is just too late to be finishing. I was about 3/4 of the way back in the field and it seemed as though an awful lot of people were filing away from about 10.30 onwards. I don't think this was in any way a reflection on Fairport, but just the length of the day and the lateness of the hour. A similar exodus happened on Friday, and I know some people (!) will attribute that to the on-stage performance, but having seen it replicated on Saturday with the Festival headliners I can't help thinking that the lateness of the show mitigates against a certain proportion of the audience gaining full enjoyment of it  

It seems to be a ‘thing’. It has always been so when I’ve been there ( only missed five years apart from the C years). Some people cite wanting to miss the traffic etc.  I used to stay in a B&B about 8-10 years ago, and the b&b owner asked me if I wanted a lift home with the other attendees. She generally picked them up at about 10.30/45 because it ‘ended then’. I gaped and said ‘no thank you’.  Some people don’t ‘need’ the end. It happens at Cambridge FF too. I chose to go, knowing the length of the day - and see what I need to - tending to arrive later if I’m tired.

I also think, unpalatable as it may be to some (including myself) that there are people at Cropredy who are, at best, ambivalent about Fairport. I think this first became clear to me in the immediate post-divorce years when it relaunched as something a little different to what it had been before.  I'm fairly certain that in the late 80's and 90s the vast majority of the crowd were there for Fairport and the field (there are obviously exceptions - people with kids etc) was largely present to the end.

Two of the friends we spend most of the time with were exactly as you describe. But over the years, since 1997, they have come to love the band and now come down as early as possible, this year Sunday.

[Lubiloo (Lorna)]

This year,I think, the heat played a huge part in people leaving early . Though it cools off later, the exhaustion of not having slept, of dealing with the heat itself, certainly  meant we left early on Friday, as well as that particular performance not engaging us at the time.

There is no way we would miss Meet on the Ledge with the people we only meet there once a year.

Funnily enough, we were saying we didn’t notice as many of the ‘here coz it’s a festival’ brigade this year.

[Nick Reg]

There seemed fewer of the gangway blocking crew this year (you're going to have to pole vault to get to the bar pal)

[Andy]

There seemed fewer of the gangway blocking crew this year (you're going to have to pole vault to get to the bar pal)

There were definitely exceptions to this.

[mickf]

The heat was a huge factor.  I drank more water than beer - it's not natural, I tells ya! Not being a huge prog fan I took the opportunity to leave early on Friday - Steve Hackett and band are obviously talented musicians, but not my cup of tea, sorry. Seth Lakeman was brilliant, an excellent way to start the Saturday, Loved Turin Brakes and also the Slambovians (whom I hadn't seen before). Trevor Horne was good and the Fripps were good value too. However, I feel he was stretching it a tad when they played Rubber Bullets, which came out 1973 and was produced, if memory serves, by Jonathan King. Then straight after he said he first met Lol Creme in 1983! I enjoyed Home Service but I can't have been the only one who noticed that John Tams' voice was decidedly croaky. The Doonicans were brilliant and were just what was needed. Fairport were excellent, in my opinion, and I think the absence of Matty can be forgiven, given the occasion. Apart from meeting the Talkawhilers for the toast, which was lovely, my non musical highlight was seeing my brother's name on a plaque at Jonah's Oak. It must be more than two and a half years since I ordered it.

I may have to opt for Glamping next time, as I think my camping days are behind me - even in a campervan. Anyway, so nice to see it all again after the dreaded lockdowns.

[Andy]

Rubber Bullets was on their first album, 10CC. Whilst it was released on King's UK records (as was Sheet Music), production was credited to 10CC, as were all their albums. King had no input whatever.

[PhilipK]

Having heard Graham Gouldman's 10CC doing Rubber Bullets at Wickham last week, I thought that it was vastly better than Lol's version.

At the risk of being burnt as a heretic, I thought that Fairport's set was poor - as if they were just going through the motions - and lacked some of the passion of previous times that I have seen them. And I hated SN's version of WKWTTG.

On the positive side, Sharon Shannon was the set of the weekend for me. Even better than the one she did last week at Wickham.

[StephenB]

I think this year due to the heat a lot of people's plans went awry, and i suspect some of the early leavers were just too exhausted at the end of the day. I did half the walking around that i normally do and i had to stop in the afternoon and have a sleep in the (hard to find) shade- it was just so draining. Still better than p**ing rain and tent-breaking winds though... all in all, despite some obvious flaws it was a blistering and ultimately emotional set, and so good to have them back again where they belong (and I'm sure they felt that too)

[StephenB]

"On the positive side, Sharon Shannon was the set of the weekend for me. Even better than the one she did last week at Wickham."
I agree, I've seen her several times before but this blew the roof off for me - her Tune for a Lost Harmonium has gone up there into my top 3 non-Fairport Cropredy musical moments.
And was there ever a happier looking act? She just exudes the.joy of life IMO.

[colin h]

I see that Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp joined the Trevor Horn band for one number.

Toyah also featured on Sunday evenings Radio 4 "The Archers", as a celeb buying organic juice at a Midlands music festival !

[iandiddams]

 And I hated SN's version of WKWTTG.

I wouldnt have said i hated it...  but I did find it odd, so generally concur

didds

[davidmjs]

 And I hated SN's version of WKWTTG.

I wouldnt have said i hated it...  but I did find it odd, so generally concur

didds

Was it different to the version he's been singing for decades, then?

[StephenB]

Nope