Fairport Convention box set, Come All Ye – The First 10 Years, out 28 July 2017

Album release: 'Come All Ye – The First 10 Years' by Fairport Convention
Release date: 28 July 2017
Label: UMC
More info: Band website

July 28th sees the release of this lavish Fairport Convention CD box set, 'Come All Ye – The First 10 Years'. Compiled by Andrew Batt, the curator of the very successful show, ‘ The Lady –A Tribute To Sandy Denny’, which toured the UK in 2012, this collection celebrates Fairport’ s first 10 years, beginning with their eponymous debut for Polydor in 1968, through all of their seminal albums for Island Records and finishing with tracks from their two albums for Vertigo, The Bonny Bunch of Rosesand Tippers Tales.

Of the 121 tracks featured here, 55 are previously unreleased. Highlights include key tracks from all of their classic albums, single B-sides, BBC Radio Sessions, 5 songs from the French TV programme, ‘Pop 2’  (December 1970), 5 songs from the Television show, ‘The Man They Couldn’ t Hang’  (1971) and the audio for an entire concert at The Fairfield Halls, Croydon (December 16th1973) plus 2 songs recorded live for the Scottish Television programme, ‘ Anne Lorne Gillies –The World of Music’  (1976). The set comes complete with liner notes by respected English writer, Patrick Humphries, author of many highly regarded books including,  ‘ Nick Drake – The Biography’  ( Bloomsbury 1998 ), ‘Richard Thompson – The Biography’ ( Music Sales Ltd 1997 ) and ‘The Many Lives of Tom Waites’  (Omnibus Press 1989).

Since 1979 the band have been hosting their very own yearly festival, Cropredy, the annual highlight of which is the Saturday night headlining performance by the current incarnation of Fairport Convention plus past members and guests. This year’ s festival promises to be very special as it marks the band 50th anniversary.  

Formed in London in 1967, Fairport Convention are the hardy perennials of the British Folk scene and are credited with inventing the genre known as Folk Rock on the release of their influential  album Liege and Lief in 1969.

Over the years they have enjoyed a shifting line-up, which has helped to launch the successful solo careers of founder members Richard Thompson, Judy Dyble, Ashely Hutchings and Simon Nicol and subsequently the careers of Sandy Denny, Dave Swarbrick and Dave Pegg.