MacD on Music: The song remains the same

Throughout history, certain bands have been just as famous for who has passed through their ranks as they are in their own right. Groups like John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers gave us Eric Clapton and most of the original line-up of Fleetwood Mac, N.W.A had Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, and the Whole Tribe Sings had Paddy Nash, Declan McLaughlin and Hypnic Jerk.

This week, I’m talking to Dave Pegg, legendary bass player for Fairport Convention (and Nick Drake, John Martyn, Jethro Tull, Ralph McTell and many, many more) a group that has produced it’s own fair share of greats, including Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson. Fairport Convention will be playing Derry's Guildhall this Saturday (April 18th) and I caught up with Dave to talk a bit about the group and their incredible sixty year history.

“We’re celebrating, on May 27th next year, the exact date of Fairport’s first gig, and we’re going to be playing in the Union Chapel in Islington. We’ve got some ex members, Iain Matthews, Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings. It’s a long story, Fairport, and it’s quite complicated, although for the last thirty years we’ve had more or less the same line-up. We lost our drummer Gerry Conway.

"He sadly passed away and was replaced with Dave Mattacks, who’s been in and out of the band four times. Dave won’t be with us on the two Irish gigs because he’s got to go back over to the States. He’s got other commitments, session-wise and albums to make, so we’ll be coming to Derry as a four piece, with myself, Simon Nicol, who’s a founding member of Fairport from 1967, Ric Sanders and Chris Leslie, who have been with us for over thirty years.”

“We’ve had some fantastic singers and musicians over the years. Sandy Denny would be eighty next year, and we’re going to be celebrating what would’ve been her eightieth birthday. Sandy’s music is always with us. We still play a lot of her songs. We’ll be doing that fantastic song ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes’. We’re not doing it on the current tour but we’ll be playing it in Ireland, and we do lots of songs from ‘Liege & Leif’, from 1969, which is supposedly considered to be the first folk-rock album from the UK.”

READ MORE: MacD on Music

“Songs like ‘Matty Groves’ very rarely escape from the repertoire. It’s usually the last number and Chris Leslie, our multi-instrumentalist, gets the banjo out. We call it a folk song, which of course it is. It goes back hundreds of hundreds of years. It’s gone from Ireland and the British Isles, across to America and back in many forms with many different versions. It’s a song that gives us a chance to improvise. The verses are always the same. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the song remains the same, but occasionally, if Simon forgets a verse, the end result can alter [laughs].”

“Live music has always been what Fairport is about. We’ve never sold vast quantities of albums, we’ve always had to keep the creditors away by treading the boards, which we love doing. We’re lucky because we’ve still got an audience. A lot of them are around my age. I’m seventy-eight now, and I’ve been playing music since I was seventeen years old. A lot of our audience is getting on, which is why we tour really extensively. We’re doing twenty-four gigs in a month. A lot of young bands do two or three gigs and have to lay down for a week or so. We like getting in the van and getting out of the van, and that’s the hardest part of the day. Playing the music is always a pleasure. I shouldn’t say it’s not difficult. People will think it’s not work then, like the Dire Straits song. All the years trying to be Celts, drinking as much Guinness as we can, and as much Irish whiskey. I’m the only drinker in the band now, so I’m really looking forward to coming over to Derry. We’re English, but we don’t do many English songs. Our influences are, certainly instrumentally, very influenced by Irish and Scottish music. We’re honorary Celts, I’d like to think.”

And that’s it from Dave. I could write another article’s worth from our interview but, unfortunately, I only have so much space and I’ve got more to mention. Fairport Convention will be playing the Guildhall this Saturday (April 18th). Tickets can be found at ticketsource.com for £36.50 plus booking fee. Doors are 6.30 and the gig starts at 7.30.

Now, onto other business. First up, Sister Ghost, who will be releasing her new EP ‘Oracle’ this Friday (17th April). The four-track EP follows her acclaimed debut album ‘Beyond The Water’ and was recorded in California with legendary producer Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Veruca Salt, The Bangles) and will be supported with gigs at The Hope and Anchor in London on April 22nd, Bar Bloc in Glasgow on the 25th and The Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on the 26th.

Lastly, a quick reminder about another major event this Saturday, Record Store Day. The annual celebration will once again be happening in Derry’s only local independent record shop, Cool Discs and will have hundreds of exclusive releases. It’s strictly first come first served, so make sure you get there early to avoid disappointment. For a full list of this year’s releases, visit shop.cooldiscsmusic.com.

Finally, time for the socials. Cool Discs can be found on Instagram @cooldiscs and Sister Ghost @sisterghostofficial.