FOTHERINGAY - last two dates for 2016. The return of the classic Folk Legends The essence of Sandy D

The line-up of Fotheringay ‘15 arrived as follows: original founding members Jerry Donahue on guitar, Gerry Conway on drums and Pat Donaldson on bass, along with some very special guests: PJ Wright on vocals and guitars, filling the late Trevor Lucas’s shoes, and Kathryn Roberts and Sally Barker, exquisitely sharing Sandy’s beautiful songs. Sandy was the best in her day, and so the remaining band members wanted the very best for Fotheringay ’15. They certainly found it here!

Sadly, in July 2016, Jerry Donahue suffered a stroke whilst at home in the USA. He is slowly recovering, but is unable to complete the UK and Europe dates with Fotheringay. The band have decided to continue as a five piece, as Jerry would of course want and he will be re-joining the band as soon as he is fit and well. Following the very successful European tour dates, Kathryn Roberts has moved on and stepping into the breach is singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Debbie Cassell.

A wee bit of history for those who don’t know: Fotheringay was formed in 1970 by Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. Despite persistent attempts by her management to persuade her to go solo – particularly following her Melody Maker award, two years running, as Best Female Singer in the UK (especially at a time when her contemporaries were ‘mainstream’ class acts such as Shirley Bassey, Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield, to name but a few) – Sandy, instead, elected to form a new band which would become Fotheringay – and with a resolve and determination that stunned her management.

Trevor Lucas, Sandy’s husband to be, together with Gerry Conway, Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson originally made up Fotheringay, which sadly, after only twelve months disbanded, during sessions for a projected second album, with Sandy finally agreeing to go solo. Eventually completed decades later, with care and love by the remaining members of the band, ‘Fotheringay 2’ is included in the new boxed set.

Guitarist PJ Wright will be known to many through his work with Little Johnny England and the Dylan Project. Sally Barker, of The Poozies, and regular guest of Show of Hands, was Tom Jones' finalist in the 2014 BBC programme, ‘The Voice’. Last but not least, Debbie Cassell, whose first solo album ‘Angel in Labour’ received a 4* review in Q magazine, as well as rave reviews in many other publications, including The Guardian & Mojo.

Forty odd years on, the surviving members (Donahue, who has gone on to work with, amongst others, Joan Armatrading, Fairport Convention, Chris Rea, The Proclaimers, Gerry Rafferty, The Yardbirds and The Beach Boys); Conway, now Fairport’s mainstay drummer, and also famously long time Cat Stevens band member; and Donaldson, (Kate and Anna McGarrigle, Richard Thompson Band, John Hiatt) reunited with some very special friends to perform a handful of live concerts and festivals to help promote the release of the limited edition boxed set,‘Nothing More’; The Collected Fotheringay’. So successful were these shows and demand so high to see the ‘reconstituted’ band perform, that they have continued since.

Come back to your folk roots and let Fotheringay demonstrate why the truly special music they created is still so truly loved. Or, dive in and discover for the first time, real magic.

NOVEMBER

FRI 18TH – SOUTH WOODCHESTER (Gloucs), The Convent Club, Convent Lane, GL5 5HS 8PM £25 + b/f http://theconvent.net/

SAT 19th – THORNER Victory Hall, Carr Lane, Leeds LS14 3EY http://thornervictoryhall.com/ £20 time tbc