After Dinner Speakers: Steeleye Span, Charles Handy, Richard Claderman

The roots of this pivotal English folk-rock group lay in several ill-fated rehearsals between Ashley Hutchings (b. 26 January 1945, Southgate, Middlesex, England; bass, ex-Fairport Convention), Irish trio Sweeney's Men - Terry Woods (vocals, guitar, mandolin), Johnny Moynihan (vocals, fiddle) and Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin) - and Woods' wife Gay (vocals, concertina, autoharp). When Moynihan and Irvine subsequently retracted, the remaining musicians were joined by Tim Hart (b. 9 January 1948, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; vocals, guitar, dulcimer, harmonium) and Maddy Prior (b. 14 August 1947, Blackpool, Lancashire, England; vocals), two well-known figures in folk circles. Taking their name from a Lincolnshire waggoner celebrated in song, Steeleye Span began extensive rehearsals before recording the excellent Hark! The Village Wait. The set comprised of traditional material, expertly arranged and performed to encompass the rock-based perspective Hutchings helped create on Fairport Convention's Liege And Lief, while retaining the purity of the songs. The Woods then left to pursue their own career and were replaced by Martin Carthy (b. 21 May 1940, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England; vocals, guitar) and Peter Knight (vocals, fiddle) for Please To See The King and Ten Man Mop. This particular line-up toured extensively, but the departure of Hutchings for the purist Albion Country Band signalled a dramatic realignment in the Steeleye camp. Carthy resumed his solo career when conflict arose over the extent of change and two musicians of a rock-based persuasion - Bob Johnson (guitar) and Rick Kemp (bass) - were brought in. The quintet also left manager/producer Sandy Robertson for the higher-profile of Jo Lustig, who secured the group's new recording deal with Chrysalis Records. Both Below The Salt and Parcel Of Rogues, displayed an electric content and tight dynamics, while the punningly-entitled Now We Are Six, which was produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and had David Bowie playing saxophone on "Thomas The Rhymer", emphasized the terse drumming of newcomer Nigel Pegrum. The group enjoyed two hit singles with "Gaudete" (1973) and "All Around My Hat" (1975), the latter of which reached the UK Top 5 and was produced by Mike Batt. On Commoners Crown the group recruited actor/comedian Peter Sellers to play ukulele on "New York Girls". However, the charm of their early work was gradually eroding and although the soaring harmonies remained as strong as ever, experiments with reggae and heavier rock rhythms alienated rather than attracted prospective audiences. The group was "rested' following the disappointing Rocket Cottage (1976), but reconvened the following year for Storm Force Ten. However, Knight and Johnson were otherwise employed and this line-up was completed by John Kirkpatrick (accordion) and the prodigal Martin Carthy. Although their formal disbanding was announced in March 1978, Steeleye Span was subsequently resurrected, although Hart left for good in 1984. On 2 September 1995, a reunion of all the members in their 25-year history (except Terry Woods) assembled for a War Child charity concert. The results were subsequently released on The Journey. The following year's Time featured Prior, Kemp, Johnson, Knight, Liam Gonockey, Tim Harries and from the very beginning, Gay Woods. Prior announced she was finally leaving the band in July 1997, leaving Gay Woods, Knight, Johnson, Harries and Dave Mattacks to record the following year's Horkstow Grange. Mattacks was replaced by Gerry Conway for the band's subsequent 30th anniversary tour, but returned to play on September 2000"s Bedlam Born.