Fotheringay

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Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group.

Career

Fotheringay was formed in 1970 by singer Sandy Denny upon her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from Fotheringhay Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in England. The castle was also the inspiration for the song "Fotheringay", which Fairport Convention had included on their 1969 album, What We Did on Our Holidays, before Denny's departure from that group.

Two former members of Eclection, Trevor Lucas and Gerry Conway, and two former members of Poet and the One Man Band, Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson (bass), completed the line-up responsible for what was long assumed to be the quintet's only album. This folk-based set included several Denny originals, notably "Nothing More", "The Sea" and "The Pond and The Stream", as well as meticulous readings of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel" and Bob Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing". During the year of its original release, the album failed to match commercial expectations, and pressures on Denny to undertake a solo career — she was voted Britain's number 1 singer (two years consecutively) in Melody Maker's readers poll — increased.

Fotheringay disbanded in January 1971 during sessions for a projected second album.^[1] Some of its songs surfaced on Denny's 1971 debut album, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Lucas, Conway and Donahue resurfaced in Fairport Convention in 1972 to record the Rosie album (on which some Fotheringay material was also used). However, Conway played on three tracks only and began session work afterwards. Both Conway and Donaldson have worked with Richard Thompson, among many others. Lucas and Donahue stayed with Fairport (the Nine album came out in 1973) for another couple of years, with Denny rejoining in 1974. This line-up recorded two additional albums: Fairport Live Convention (re-titled A Movable Feast in the U.S.) and Rising for the Moon. Denny, along with Donahue and Lucas, left the band in December 1975. Conway eventually joined a reformed Fairport in 1997.

In 2007 the BBC announced that Donahue would be attempting to complete the abandoned project (which he accomplished using previously unheard takes from the original archived tapes). Permission had finally been granted and the work was completed by summer of the following year. The resulting album, titled Fotheringay 2, was released by Fledg'ling Records on 29 September 2008.

Discography

• Fotheringay (Island/A&M, 1970)
• Fotheringay 2 (Fledg'ling Records, 2008)

References

• Fotheringay 2
• NEW SANDY DENNY FOTHERINGAY ALBUM
• http://www.thebeesknees.com/?p=106 Fotheringay at Fledg'ling Records

Literature

• No More Sad Refrains: The Life And Times Of Sandy Denny, Clinton Heylin.

External links

• Official website