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Fairport Convention at Bath.
6-27-70.

fairport 1

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 2

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 3

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 4

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 5

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 6

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 7

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 8

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 9

© Jake Matchett.

fairport 10

© Jake Matchett.

Fairport Convention onstage at Bath 1970 © Derek Halsall

 

© Derek Halsall

 
   Fairport played an excellent show , parts of which were available on boot many years ago.I know its out there somewhere!

Anyone with details of tapes or setlist Contact us

Personnel ;
Richard Thompson. -Guit/vocal.
Dave Swarbrick- Violin /vocal.
Dave Pegg- bass.
Simon Nicol- guitar/vocal.
Dave Mattacks. -drums

Definite Setlist 
Dirty Linen .( Thanks to Martyn Jonas for this info and a sample of the track )

TVX filmed 20 minutes of Fairports set, I wonder if a copy is still in Hoppy's vaults.....

Still from the video - Dave Swarbrick . © Kenny Feuerman contact

  Although I was there, the only solid recollection I have of this set is of Fairport being delivered to the stage by The Hells Angels, who drove through the crowd to get them there, causing some commotion. They were a godsend as we had been waiting for fresh musicians for some hours, as by then Joe Jammer were beginning to wear decidedly thin .......

However once installed in the front, the Angels were loath to go and they camped out there for most of the Saturday ( one of the reasons why I did not venture down there until Sunday when the Byrds , Tuna  and Airplane were on and the Angels had minced off into the night).

     Fairport were a pretty high energy act at this time with Swarbrick and Thompson more than making up for the absence of Sandy Denny ( instrumentally , not vocally of course) .If you are interested in what the band were like in those days there is a good film of Fairport from this era , filmed at Maidstone with a far smaller audience ,which shows the 1970 line-up in action. Well worth seeking if you are a fan of the band.

 

Fairport onstage with Angels lurking at right of stage .

Photo © John Griffiths

Richard Thompson- guitariste extraordinaire and bassist Dave Pegg - was this their biggest audience ever ? Certainly it was with this line-up , but Fairport did play Knebworth with Led Zeppelin in 1979- the audience was probably bigger at that show

This rare photo of Fairport on-stage at Bath courtesy of Ian Morrison .The presence of the TV camera indicates that video footage of the bands set does exist , although whether it would be included in a festival video release would be debatable.

 

© Al Bye

Probable set list

Tapes from this time indicate Fairport playing the following songs. Its very likely their set included most of these tunes. Dirty Linen was definitely played at Bath, it has featured on a bootleg .

Walk Awhile.
Dirty Linen
Staines Moriss.
Lark in the Morning.
Medley of Jigs /reels.
Now Be Thankful.
Matty Groves.
Banks of the Sweet Primroses.
Fatback Caper.
Sloth.
Tam Lin.
Sir Patrick Spens.

      Having now heard Dirty Linen , the one track included on the bootleg, its not at all bad, certainly one of the better audience recordings made at Bath - shame more of it isn't in circulation. 20 minutes of video of Fairport at Bath was reported to be in the TVX vaults in the mid 70s but whether Hoppy has still a copy that is playable is not known at this time .

 Corrections/additions , eyewitness reports contact us please...

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Ross Mortimore's streaming Quicktime movie of the crowd features clear images of the stage PA , Colosseum onstage and bikers with Canned Heat at Bath as a soundtrack provided courtesy of Bob C .

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To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1970 Bath Festival we have brought out a special commemorative set. Anyone interested can view it on http://www.rockmusic-offer.co.uk/

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