Bonus Episode: Ashley Hutchings in conversation at Cecil Sharp House
Folk on Foot
Matthew Bannister
4.8 • 526 Ratings
🗓️ 24 March 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Bob Dylan described Ashley Hutchings as “The Godfather of English Folk Rock -he gave us a genre we couldn’t refuse”. Bass player Ashley was behind the formation of three great bands: Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band. As he celebrates his 80th birthday, Ashley joins Matthew Bannister on stage at Cecil Sharp House to look back on his life. He recalls the heady days of the 1960s, supporting Pink Floyd, being joined on stage by Jimi Hendrix, seeing Paul Simon play in a Soho folk club and inviting Sandy Denny and Dave Swarbrick to join Fairport. Then - following the road accident that killed Fairport’s drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklin - retiring to the country to come up with the first British folk rock album “Liege and Lief”. He also tells how he fell in love with the great singer Shirley Collins, but then was unfaithful and broke up their marriage. It’s a fascinating insight into the career of one of the great pioneers of British music.
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Find out more about Ashley Hutchings at http://ashleyhutchings.co.uk/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before we get underway, just a brief message to ask for your support. |
| 0:03.9 | We rely on our wonderful listeners to keep this show on the road, and there are three ways to help us. |
| 0:09.5 | The first is to become a member and get great rewards, including ad-free versions of every episode |
| 0:15.5 | and access to our astonishing Folk-on-Foot-film film archive of hundreds of songs shot on our travels |
| 0:22.4 | around the UK and Ireland. You can sign up at folkonfoot.com slash support us. Second, if you don't want to make |
| 0:30.7 | a regular commitment but do want to show how much you love us, then just buy us a coffee. Again, you can do this |
| 0:37.1 | at folk-onfoot.com slash support us. |
| 0:40.8 | Finally, we have some stylish folk on foot merch on sale with t-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags, |
| 0:47.1 | mugs and art prints, all designed by the artist and boss Morris dancer Alex Mary. |
| 0:52.6 | All the profits go back into making more episodes of Folk on Foot. |
| 0:56.4 | So order now at folkonfoot.com slash shop. Thank you and enjoy my chat with Ashley. I'm Matthew Bannister. In February 2025, I took to the stage at the indoor festival of folk at Cecil Sharp House in London, |
| 1:18.6 | alongside a legendary figure from the world of folk rock. Bass player Ashley Hutchings has had an extraordinary life and career, and we covered lots of it in our conversation. |
| 1:29.5 | I introduced him by quoting what he said about himself in a 1991 Radio Scotland programme called The English, a beginner's guide. |
| 1:41.1 | I'm English. I'm also a musician, a writer of songs, poetry and sundry media programs, |
| 1:48.5 | a dancer, a folklorist, romantic and appreciator of good food, a gardener, a natty dresser, as you can see, |
| 1:58.4 | lover of the countryside, yet a town dweller, and a sports enthusiast. |
| 2:04.0 | It's Tottenham Hotspur, isn't it? |
| 2:05.4 | It is, yeah. |
| 2:08.2 | Oh, good. |
| 2:10.2 | We'll do it, we'll do it. |
| 2:11.7 | My third way of introducing him is to say that he was a prime mover in three revolutionary bands |
| 2:17.0 | that took |
... |
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