Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by vo… Read Full Bio ↴Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by vocalist Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from Denny's 1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay Castle, in which Mary, Queen of Scots, had been imprisoned. The song originally appeared on the 1969 Fairport Convention album, What We Did on Our Holidays, Denny's first album with that group.
The band expressed Denny's vision of the potential of folk rock to express complex meaning and deep personal emotion, using traditional ballad forms, but with the power of a rock band. Their self-titled first album (Fotheringay) was also only one of two albums, as they broke up a year later, in January 1971, while working on their second (recently released). The cause appears to have been personal difficulties, made worse by lack of success and thus income! Oddly for such talented musicians the band were widely reported to have been poor in live performance, which may well have also contributed to their short life as a band. Tracks later surfaced on her three-disc compilation.
The rhythm section was formed by Gerry Conway and Pat Donaldson, lauded by Denny as the best in the business. In the absence of Richard Thompson, who was prepared to tour with her, and act as session musician but wanted to follow his own career, lead guitar was taken by Jerry Donahue, whose transatlantic country roots and softer personality brought a different, less edgy feel to the music. However he was a skilled technician, with great feel, as he showed on their album, and later Fairport Convention records. The group was completed by rhythm guitarist and second lead vocalist Australian Trevor Lucas, whom Denny was to marry, and who also later accompanied her back into Fairport.
Fotheringay contains a majority of tracks by Sandy Denny, with one each by Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Trevor Lucas, as well as the atmospheric trad arr. Fotheringay, The Banks of the Nile.
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.
The band expressed Denny's vision of the potential of folk rock to express complex meaning and deep personal emotion, using traditional ballad forms, but with the power of a rock band. Their self-titled first album (Fotheringay) was also only one of two albums, as they broke up a year later, in January 1971, while working on their second (recently released). The cause appears to have been personal difficulties, made worse by lack of success and thus income! Oddly for such talented musicians the band were widely reported to have been poor in live performance, which may well have also contributed to their short life as a band. Tracks later surfaced on her three-disc compilation.
The rhythm section was formed by Gerry Conway and Pat Donaldson, lauded by Denny as the best in the business. In the absence of Richard Thompson, who was prepared to tour with her, and act as session musician but wanted to follow his own career, lead guitar was taken by Jerry Donahue, whose transatlantic country roots and softer personality brought a different, less edgy feel to the music. However he was a skilled technician, with great feel, as he showed on their album, and later Fairport Convention records. The group was completed by rhythm guitarist and second lead vocalist Australian Trevor Lucas, whom Denny was to marry, and who also later accompanied her back into Fairport.
Fotheringay contains a majority of tracks by Sandy Denny, with one each by Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Trevor Lucas, as well as the atmospheric trad arr. Fotheringay, The Banks of the Nile.
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.
Eppie Moray
Fotheringay Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Fotheringay:
10Two Weeks Last Summer The dancing flames grow low Painting embers start to glow Th…
14. Gypsy Davey There was a gypsy came over the land, He sang so…
6. Banks Of The Nile Oh hark! the drums do beat, my love, no longer…
Bold Jack Donahue Come all you gallant bushrangers who gallop o′er the plains …
Gypsy Davey There was a gypsy came over the land, He sang so…
I Don't Believe You I don't want your lonely mansion With a tear in every…
John The Gun My shadow follows me Wherever I should chance to go John The…
Late November The wine it was drunk, the ship it was sunk, The…
Nothing More My friend I know you've suffered, Although you are still you…
Silver Threads And Golden Needles I don't want your lonely mansion with a tear in…
Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution Don't you know you're talking about a revolution It sounds l…
The Banks of the Nile Oh hark! the drums do beat, my love, no longer…
The Pond And The Stream Annie wanders on the land. She loves the freedom of the…
The Sea Do I ever wonder? You don't know. You'll never follow, and…
The Way I Feel The way I feel is like a robin, Whose birds…
Too Much Of Nothing Well, too much of nothing Can make a man fell ill…
Two Weeks Last Summer The dancing flames grow low Painting embers start to glow Th…
Wild Mountain Thyme Oh, the summer time is coming, And the trees are sweetly…
Winter Winds Winter winds they do blow cold, The time of year, it…
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Michel Vignères
Each band member taken all alone, probably the best musicians in all the long river flow of Rock / pop genre !
mickigoe
Sandy for sure. Jerry a contender definitely. But after that ? Mind you, as a collective, one of the tightest revival bands.
froggieperson
Anybody else notice how different Sandy's voice sounds in each of her two verses? Not only are they in different channels, but her voice sounds a bit rougher in the second verse she sings. They must at minimum have been recorded on different days. It would be interesting to learn the history of this record and why it came out this way
Natalie Downes
That's right! A version of a very famous Scottish folk song!
Marcoz A. Santamaria
Melodic!!!
tealkly
A version of a famous Irish (Scottish?) folk song.
Troy Skirchak
It just is.
Natalie Downes
Scottish not Irish! That's quite a distinctive Scottish accent!
mickigoe
Also , as an Irish man of 67 winters, I've never heard anything so charmingly gruesome as "stretch her spey" in any of the Irish ballads. Our Scottish cousins care little for euphemism.
claypots47
The lyrics are sung in Scots, which is the form of Middle English spoken in the Lowlands. This is known as a Border Ballad, as the Lowlands border England, so some songs are known in England as well.