"Fairport Convention has always been a working band," muses bassist Dave Pegg. "We don't like being held up in the studio. We need to be on the road. We still love doing that – getting in the van and going."
      It is this resolute drive and devotion, both to themselves and their legions of fans, that has steered folk-rock architects Fairport Convention through periods of uncertainty and transition that would have leveled lesser bands. Not only do they survive, they grow stronger – translating their experiences into consistently inventive art. Now, entering their 37th year, the source of Fairport Convention's unyielding momentum is twofold. Part of it stems from their roots in English traditional song – the noble nomadic legacy of the troubadour is indeed deep in their collective bloodstream. The other key to their longevity is something few other groups can lay claim to: having persevered for nearly four decades, Fairport Convention has created their own tradition. They are the inheritors of their own legacy, a sound that is distinctly theirs but, like all traditions, thrives on innovation and reinvention.
      Beginning life in 1967 under the auspices of visionary bassist Ashley Hutchings (later of Steeleye Span, the Albion Band, the Etchingham String Band, and many others), Fairport shared bills with Sid Barrett's Pink Floyd and other early rock radicals. Their first sound was an inventive hybrid equally influenced by the American underground of the time, electric blues, as well as traditional and contemporary folk music.
      The arrival of folk-steeped vocalist Sandy Denny in 1968, along with the blossoming of guitarist Richard Thompson's songwriting ability, pointed the future direction of Fairport Convention. A horrific motorway crash in May of 1969, which killed drummer Martin Lamble and Thompson's girlfriend Jeannie Franklin, sent the band into a sudden, reclusive spiral. Deciding for the first of many times to carry on, they returned in December of 1969 with Liege and Lief, one of the defining albums of British folk-rock. Epic traditional ballads were embroidered with electric fury, original compositions at last achieved the depth and weight of the folk tunes that inspired them, and fiddle – courtesy of new member David Swarbrick – was introduced to their sound.
      What followed was decades of re-alignment, as members departed and returned with confusing frequency. The current lineup, an ideal balance of seasoned vets and musicians young enough to have been originally inspired by Fairport's early albums, and has been in place for 6 years now. Bassist Hutchings left in 1970, allowing Dave Pegg to assume the role which he continues to hold to this day. Guitarist and vocalist Simon Nicol, present at the earliest gigs in 1967, is the band's link to its earliest days. Drummer Gerry Conway, a longtime fixture of the British folk-rock scene (that's him bashing the skins on Fairport spinoff group The Bunch's 1972 album Rock On), joined officially in 1998. Fiery fiddler Ric Sanders (previously of Soft Machine and Ashley Hutching's Albion Band), signed on in 1985, while multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter Chris Leslie hopped aboard in 1997.
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