British Folk-Rock - An Overview

Ranked #10,537 in Music, #286,755 overall | Donates to Squidoo Charity Fund

Greetings

This lens will take a look at some of the iconic bands of the British folk rock scene. This genre had its greatest flowering (at least in terms of popularity) in the late 1970s, but never really went away.

I'm a fan, not really an expert on this field, though I'll probably become one as I do research for additions to the lens. I've started off with a few bands with which I am familiar, and will add more as time goes on. Visitors are encouraged to make suggestions for additions, either in the Guestbook or through "Contact Me".

Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention was one of--if not the--first of the English "electric folk" bands. They originally came together in 1967, and continued, with numerous personnel changes, through 1979. After disbanding they played annual reunion concerts until reforming in 1985. They continue to be active today.

Early recordings owed much to American folk-rock, but a distinctive Britishness had begun to emerge by the band's third album Unhalfbricking.

Instrumentation is primarily electric, though there has been, at times, a parallel acoustic version of the band.

The most noted line-up was: Sandy Denny, vocals; Ashley Hutchings, bass; Dave Mattacks, drums; Simon Nicol, guitar; Dave Swarbrick, violin; and Richard Thompson, guitar. See the Wikipedia entry (link below) for a full history.

The band's Official website is HERE, and their Wikipedia entry HERE.
Loading
Loading
Loading

Steeleye Span

Founded in late 1969 when Ashley Hutchings left Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span tended toward a harder rock sound for their best-known work.

While they have recorded a fair amount of original work, the emphasis is on electric arrangements of traditional material.

The band was even more afflicted with personnel changes than most--Wikipedia lists 14 different rosters--but managed to maintain an overall consistency in spite of it. As of Parcel of Rogues, the line-up was: Maddy Prior (vocals); Tim Hart (vocals, guitar, appalachian dulcimer); Bob Johnson (vocals, guitar); Rick Kemp (bass guitar, drums); Peter Knight (violin, viola, mandolin, piano, recorder, harmonium).

Steeleye Span continues active today, with a new studio album expected in 2009.

An unofficial home page is HERE, and the Wikipedia entry is HERE
Loading
Loading
Loading

Pentangle

Pentangle leans toward the jazzier side of the spectrum--so much so that they almost don't belong on this lens. The flowering of their initial popularity, however, coincided with the rise of British folk rock, and they will almost certainly appeal to anyone who likes others on the list.

Though they do use electric instruments on some recordings, most of their work was done with acoustic instruments. Their material is a mix of traditional and original pieces.

The original line-up, which lasted from 1967 to 1973, was: Jacqui McShee, vocals; John Renbourn, guitar; Bert Jansch, guitar; Danny Thompson, double bass; and Terry Cox, drums.

Beginning in the early 1980s, several successor bands--including one re-designated "Jacqui McShee's Pentangle"--continued to carry the standard. The original band formally reunited in 2008.

You can find Pentangle's MySpace page HERE, and their Wikipedia entry HERE
Loading
Loading
Loading

Oysterband

A relative newcomer in this company, Oysterband formed around 1976 out of the earlier band Fiddler's Dram.

Material is a mix of originals and traditional songs, with a slight lean toward the former (and a few cover tunes thrown in).

Oysterband produces a distinctive rock feel despite using acoustic instruments almost exclusively.

Current line-up is: Chopper (bass guitar, cello, vocals); John Jones (melodeon, lead vocals); Alan Prosser (guitars, viola, vocals); Ian Telfer (fiddle, English concertina, vocals); Dil Davies (drums).

They continue active today.

The band's official website is HERE, their MySpace page is HERE and the Wikipedia entry is HERE
Loading
Loading
Loading

You, too, can be a Lensmaster

Join Squidoo for FREE

Not yet a Lensmaster? Got something to say? Click the Squid to join for Free!

Great Stuff on CafePress

These items aren't directly folk-rock related, but they are instruments that are used frequently within the genre....
Loading

Reader Feedback

  • RadioGuitar Jul 18, 2011 @ 7:17 pm | delete
    I'm a big fan of British Folk - especially Pentangle and Davy Graham.
  • Waxing-Lyrical Mar 17, 2011 @ 1:34 pm | delete
    I certainly remember Steeleye Span (All Around My Hat) and Fairport Convention. Some great memories here :)
  • mysticmama Jan 16, 2011 @ 11:53 pm | delete
    Very cool, I was expecting Van Morrison & Donovan lol...I've never heard of these bands before, love it!
  • theraggededge Apr 21, 2010 @ 1:45 pm | delete
    Nice to see these bands featured - would like to see more! Blessed :-)
  • poddys Jan 3, 2010 @ 1:31 pm | delete
    Just checking in to see how your lens is going. BritFolkRock rules.
  • Load More

TagfootMusic

A Clearspring Widget
There was an error loading the Clearspring module (Unable to load Clearspring widget from Uri: http://widgets.clearspring.com/cscallback/urlexchange/4b00532d3ff3a97a/squidoo.xml?x=ZDhbIV9zWnBdJ1wlCXAOelgiQncNc191XnUMJlh2CnNZdlhuWyFfc1pwXSdcJQlwDnpYIg). Please try again later.

by

RolandTumble

I'm an eclectic creative and impoverished aristocrat.... Okay, I'm a starving artist. I live in the upper left corner of the United States.

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!