TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

Blimey! Just received an email announcing 'Fairport by Fairport' book will be available in November.

fairportconventionbook.com

I thought this one had bitten the dust, I registered interest so long ago.

Just bought my first xmas present, whoopee.  :)

I've just noticed I have it too. How exciting. I have taken a punt and ordered it.

I seem to remember somewhat categorically [Eh?  Ed.] stating that this would never appear.

I'm off to eat my Cropredy '89 cap and scramble around behind the sofa for cash.

Good news!  Thanks for posting.

Another order in, thanks for the heads up....I think.

A bit steep shipping cost for getting it across the North Sea, but what the heck...
Ordered and paid for!  ;D

Indeed! Amazon.uk sends books across for a whole lot less. But I bit the bullit and ordered as well. I wondered how long it will take before the announced 2000 copies will sell out. I did not want to wait for it to happen...

A nice thing to look forward to!

--
Greetings from The Netherlands,
Hans Valk

Yikes..80 quid for rest of the world (for some reason the US always gets a separate lower rate)..too much for me..

What Staffan said + it's £40 shipping to Norway, cos we ain't an EU country (which I'm pretty pleased about in any other way). AND a 25 % additional tax. I'll have to sell my entire family for it. But so what - ordered! Can't wait for it...    ;D

Er, I may have inadvertently ordered it too...  8)

Hang on! Hang on! I broke the news and now you lot have gone out and ordered all the first editions! I can't spend anything on myself after this weekend (according to Mrs. Gouty) until our 'double-dip' overdraft has had some 'quantitative easing'... save one for me!

Speaking of this weekend, I'm leaving at 6am - why am I still up?

Goodnight y'all.  ;)

Have just seen the email...Well that's a nice surprise!...Had completely forgotten about this!

Copy now pre-ordered and paid for!

Feels a bit self indulgent really!... but I am on holiday this week, and have been quite frugal so far!... :-\

Off to Cropredy Friday, so will just have to resist the temptation of the CD Stall!... ::)

Read the email, looked at the description, ordered a copy.  :)

How upsetting  :(  Both my cards have been declined?  No idea as to why.

Doh! Just yesterday I spent the last bit of birthday money I had!  :(

 ;D Scrap earlier post!  Obviously the site didn't like my spanish cards  ::)  All done and dusted now  ;D  Perfect xmas pressie for someone who is usually impossible to buy for!

Ooh, that's a lot of money.  I do want it though.   ???

Jules

Ordered, well I hope it is. I will have to wait until Xmas to see if I've been good enough  ;D

I keep wondering what I said in this book..

We'll let you know when we get it jude  ;)

Made me curious..according to Wikipedia DM was with George when the news came in of John's murder.

Just ordered it.
Roll on Christmas  ;D

I am very much tempted and will probably shell the money out if I can, because its simply too tasty to pass up. But...one ever so slight reservation that maybe somebody knows about. I see this was put together in part by Nigel Schofield. Now I just wonder if this is something indeed very large scale a la the U2 book from a few years ago in which it went in chronological order with interviews culled together from people involved, and relavent pictures. Or...is this in any way a bit of an expaned mashup of all the material already out there in the books for the Free Reed boxsets? Not putting me off getting it mind you, it would be a great addition to my Fairport memorabilia, just wondering.

That thought occurred to me too.

Jules

I had time to think those thoughts several times before hitting the "Pay" button, but with a 400+ page volume in  - as it looks- "coffee-table-book" format, I rest assured that there is enough new and interesting material even for us die-hard fans. My second, or third, thought was also: this is probably the last book to be written about the band, so I 'd better get this one quick. I have the old ones so I hope, as I have stated elsewhere, that this will be a more "warts-and-all" description of this loveley band's history. Writing a truthful biography doesn't mean you have write about those things that might hurt people, but being as truthful as possible concerning the things you do write about is what the "warts-and-all" metaphor stands for to me.
So I look forward to this book with great enthusiasm. For one, I am curious if I'll get an answer to Peggy's cryptic comment about his shoes on pictures from a photo session during the 1974 Australian tour with Sandy.... ;)

I am excited about this and just put my order in but holy smokes,the shipping costs almost as much as the book.

Yes, and they're getting away with it too!   :)  

 

Ordered.
(with these shipping fees , I guess the Royal Mail will get into the comfort zone)

When is it being released/ published?

The website (www.fairportconventionbook.com) says "this autumn". Elsewhere I have seen November quoted.

Thanks Andy lets hope they don't refer to Jeff Wayne when they are looking for the Autumn timeframe.

Duly ordered. That's my Christmas present sorted.  {:-)

More news on the book here!...I can't wait!... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2GwiOWjEGI&feature=youtu.be

The postie has posted a card through, saying a packet is too big for the letter box. I've got to pick it up tomorrow.
Is it the book ?
Has anyone else had it yet ?
I'm excited  ;D

Whose pretty thatched place is that then? Very nice...  ;)

Don't think it'll be arriving just yet, by all accounts, though I could be wrong.

That large packet was probably your gas bill  ::)

False alarm.
My daughter ordered some hair straighteners  >:(

Ha!

Hairport by Hairport.   ;D

Jules

that is truly terrible!

Guilty as charged, your honour.   :-[

Jules

Email today:

Thank you for preordering Fairport by Fairport. We've been hard at work on the book and DVD documentary in preparation for publication later this month. Here's a taste of what we've been doing.

THE BOOK
The book is being printed at this very moment. It boasts a specially commissioned cover illustration, and is being produced with some of the finest papers and book cloth we have ever used. To see more of the production process, follow Rocket 88 on Facebook (http://facebook.com/rocket88books), where we will be posting images taken of the book as it rolls off the presses.

THE DVD
The documentary film that is only available with the book, and which features new candid contributions from all current band members, has finished post-production. You'll find a DVD of the film tucked inside the front cover of your book when it arrives. For a preview of it, take a look at the trailer on this website (http://rocket88books.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=c0ff0d1628042e0d02ce4be57&id=b973593752&e=4826280fd3).

COMING SOON
The finished book will be making its way to you later this month. Since it may be some time since your preorder, please take this opportunity to check that the delivery address and information you have given us is correct. If you need to change your address, please use the link in your order confirmation email. If you have any queries, please do drop us an email (http://rocket88books.com/contacts).

Got my email today too,I have to admit I am usually averse to these things especially when they start going on about the quality of the paper and the cover , but am still looking forward to it.

My thoughts exactly!...The description initially brought to mind those ads on the back cover of the TV Times for "limited edition" commemorative plates and similar tat... :-\  :-[...But no!...I'm sure it will be terrific and a quality book...I can't wait for mine to arrive!... :)

I have to admit that when ordering, I just hoped it wouldn't be a compilation of old facts and photos, today I am beginning to feel an excitement about a unique -fat - book, presented in the best possible way.  I have a soft spot for "the finest papers and book cloth".
My hope is that this is going to be great!

Congratulations to everyone who has 'ordered' the book - I shall do likewise.

Here is a light hearted challenge to anyone who 'pre-ordered' as some have.    Do you know what on earth that means or why we as a society have allowed that piece of meaningless 'Amazon' speak to creep onto our english language?

Paul

Paul I shall read this when i pre get up.

While I'm as keen as the next man to protest whenever violence is done to the English language, I don't see any big problem here. Amazon use "pre-order" to mean "order pre-publication" (as opposed to order from stock). Ugly, perhaps, but not a hanging offence.

I didn't order this, pre- or otherwise, but I do think the term pre-order does serve the
Purpose of indicating one has ordered something before it exists as a physical
entity.  It changes not the nature of ordering, it speaks to temporal physical
existence of that which is being ordered.  It serves purpose for those who want to
have indication that a market exists for a product which doesn't.  Unfortunately,
sometimes the pre-ordered item never materializes, but when it does, it will either
live up to or fail to meet the expectations of consumers who have taken a leap of
faith that were said item to physically exist, they would like it in hand as soon as
possible.

Oops. How did that happen ... I appear to have ordered it too.  ;D  ::)
Himself says it can be my Christmas present from him   [;-)  but I can't have it until Christmas.  :(
(Hmmm - How do I stop him from reading it first?!!)

Very good responses - thanks.      It is certainly not worth dying in a ditch over (whatever that means as well) but if you go on a web site and ask a company to send you something and pay for it - then whether it has been released for sale or not or whether it is finished or not matters little - you have ordered it.

I am looking forward to what Dave says when he has finished 'pre getting up' and gets up.

A minor point maybe but with the winter tour a long way off and being at work, and it's raining, I need some sort of fairly pointless arguement to keep me amused, whilst I eat a sandwich waiting for my next appt to arrive in the building.

The book looks looks good though,

Paul

Head the postman off at the pass!

Well I swore I'd never buy another book, but I just been and went and dun it. Xmas is my excuse. :)

You did?  Why?  Kindle?

Jules

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo Nooooooooooooooo ( a thousand times no!!)  get the book, treasure it, let it be well read, passed around and down (Like the Bible well it will be Good News Fairport version) Your children and your childrens children will marvel at juxtapositions that make Fairport the band we love...........

Looking forward to browsing the Gideon version next time I stop over at an hotel

Maart has more adequately expressed it than our friends at Amazon: "My new album Chilli Morning is now being manufactured and I am taking pre-sale orders on my website...."

Harumph.  The words 'pre-sale' are entirely superfluous.

I swore off book buying for reasons of space just a few years ago. But this one's an exception - it is indeed one to have and hold. Kindle? Ye work of ye Deville. :o  

Hopefully this book will restore my faith in the pre-order process. The last time I pre-ordered something that I saw mentioned on the Talk-Awhile forum, I got stiffed for 150 bucks.... >:(

what was that?

not any fault of talkawhile if you got done

Never said it was ,did I?

sounds like it was in the firing line


anyway, what did you get done on?

I like the Talkawhile Forum. Didn't mean to come across like that. Sent You a P.M.

Any sign of this actually turning up? Sorry to sound grumpy but I am getting a little bored now.  >:( (Okay, maybe I have missed something, in which case I apologise)

I've been wondering the same. It's all gone a bit quiet hasn't it?

The target date was the end of November, right? So, hopefully, in the next week.



Edit:  Update: Asked the publisher. They replied "Hi Andy – very very soon. Will update some more as soon as we can!"

The first edition of 2,000 copies are signed by all of the current band members.
Could it be this that's holding it up ?
Can you imagnine how long it would take you to sign your name 2000 times, without resorting to a quick scribble  ???
That's a thought - I wonder if we'll be able to identify which ones were signed first / last by the quality of the signatures  :)

I think we'll be getting a warning email when it gets sent out. I know why folk are a tad impatient, though-  they've got our money.  ;)

Given in to temptation and ordered it.  Now to explain my decision to my wife :o

Just give it to her as a Christmas present, no explanation required!

Well, some evidence of its physical existence as it is reviewed, not entirely favourably, in the new issue of Mojo.

That could be recipe for divorce Will.. I may be be totally enamoured by the Fairports' but I'm afraid Maggie is still in process of Assimilation. It may be some time before she qualifies to read the book ( though she may throw it at me!!!!)

Tell us more.

Jules

"Light on emotional insight but full of exhaustive (and exhausting) detail."

Perhaps the reviewer isn't a fan  ???
MIght be different for us - hopefully

Not too worrying.  I'm not sure the Fairports were ever big on emotions!  I'll settle for the detail, though I'm still suspicious about it just being an inflated version of the Fairport Unconventional box set book.

Jules

Not sure that she is a big enough fan (she'll listen to the music happily, but wouldn't put it on herself) to be fooled by that! ;D

That worries me too, but I couldn't stay away from it, should it br THE Fairport book. So the sooner I can decide for myself, the better.  8)
Just wish the shipping has begun......

I have been hesitating to buy this or even put it on my Christmas wants list. £40 is £40.
With a biography/autobiography of a band/singer etc it's the emotional stuff I want, and not a superficial approach. Of course I appreciate that some of these will be very painful recollections.  In Fairports case, the effect of Martin's death, Sandy and Ashley leaving the band so quickly in a yr,Swarbs influence, Peggys influence, the arguments, drink , drugs, arguments, why they chose Ric, why didn't Swarb rejoin, why did Maart leave, why choose Chris over a lead guitarist, tales from the road etc etc etc etc etc and I know that there are , often superficial,answers to these in interviews and Fairport Unconventional, which, having read yrs ago, I still browse on a reg basis.
What I don't need to know is that a track on 'The Other Other Boot 'has 13.5 seconds of a track on the Other Boot which has never been heard south of East Penge.' (I do know that there are completists amongst us who will want to know this stuff.)
So I'm playing it safe til people on this site, whose opinions I respect, and value give me a crit. If that's copping out, soz.

The problem potentially is that Nigel Schofield is not that kind of writer. Personally I think he is far too respectful or perhaps in awe of his subject so I don't anticipate great insight. Still looking forward to the book though as it will represent the only full history of the band's career currently available and will no doubt have many great pictures. I expect it to be Fairport's equivalent of The Beatles Anthology book, which was lavish and lovely but also glossed over some of the more difficult stuff by sticking to the band's own first person testimonies.

Al, you are one of the people whose opinion I will want to glean. ;D

According to Rocket 88's facebook page, These will start shipping sometime next week.

That's good news - before Xmas, then.

They have put up an 'outtake' from the book - the story of why Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman didn't get onto Full House - here:
http://rocket88books.com/2012/10/30/fairport-convention-outtake-1/

That's funny, I always thought they did it just to annoy people like me, who rate the song so much.  ;D

Wow!
I´m a happy owner of one of the first 1000!  :D

"SIMON  Is the track list on your copy of Full House in a heavy black square with gold writing? You are the proud owner of one of the first thousand!"

Glad that a copy found its way across the North Sea.....

If I go from this little outtake, my Christmas reading this year will be a real treat!

That's great!  The book's looking better by the minute.

Jules

Very Cool! I have a copy with Poor Will listed on the cover and the record label. It can be viewed on Rocket 88's website if you scroll down a bit. I see Record Collector Magazine gave the book a 5 star rating. That's promising.

Just had an email - shipping next week.  Huzzah!!

Got mine also, If you click on the link in the email, you can read the reviews in there entirety.

i can confirm the veracity of Paul's statement as i got the same email today 8)

I was getting to the stage where my current read, Hermann Hesse - Hymn to Old Age was to become fitting before the Fairport book arrived. The email came just in time.

Ditto. :)

Ditto, although I confess to being a little concerned that the email said that they've not finished printing yet...

And then they've all got to be signed by all the band members  :(

The relevant pages were signed in August before Cropredy Ian and then sent to Italy to be included in the book. Or so I'm told. They definitely signed 2000 somethings!

Oooh - clever.
And The Fairport Facebook and Twitter feeds have said the book is now being dispatched  ;D

Yup, Just got an email saying my book has now been dispatched. Can't wait!

Mine turned up 10 minutes ago. Not sent "signed for" or anything like that, so slightly fortuitous I was in or it would have been left outside the front door.

A quick turn of the pages reveals it is indeed a book and I'll look at the DVD with Wendy tonight.

Still waiting for mine...

Well, we watched the DVD. 45 minutes of perfectly nice interviews and some nice, if brief, musical interludes.

Felt a bit anodyne, but nice enough.

Will read the book this weekend.

Mine is getting closer and closer.... ;)
Has arrived in Stockholm,
Gothenburgh on Monday?
Can't wait!   :D

Hmmm. No sign of mine and no email to indicate it is on its way either which, given that I must have been one of the first to order, concerns me a bit.

I'm it the same boat GubGub, I am sure they haven't forgotten us.

Me neither Al...and I also ordered very early on...

Seems so long ago, I'd actually forgotten about it at one point !... ;D

Ah well !...hopefully something to look forward to for Christmas !... ;)

not like you to get worried

Ah the soothing words and wisdom of young Jim ;)

Almost completely calm Jim. Almost.

Let's hope not. Radio silence here, too.

And here

Me too, there's comfort in numbers!

I don't want what I've written here to be seen as wholly negative. There's a lot in this book and I found it a curate's egg, really. I'm not sure it adds much to the sum of public knowledge about the band and the goings-on of the last 45 years much but it did add some knowledge to this reader.

Anyhow....


Not a huge amount. I've just finished the book and can only remember 1 quote from you. Allowing for poor memory there are probably a couple more, but I only remember that one and it's not more than a few words.


I've not seen the Free Reed boxset materials but I wouldn't be surprised. The book has many, many (!) overlapping (and sometimes repetitive) parts (not really chapters - perhaps sections is a better term) that wildly move about the chronology. One section will deal with events from 1996 up to 2012, the next will be back to 1978. This timey-wimey approach doesn't happen once, it happens frequently and this was confusing to me. And yes, track listings of various albums are detailed throughout the book and are probably the only chronological sections in it.

Many of the quotes from various sources (who include Sandy Denny, John Peel and other deceased luminaries) are obviously historical and culled from earlier works. How can they not be? Others quoted such as Swarb, Simon, Peggy et al have contributed a lot, but again these seem, in context, to have been culled from previous interviews. Some may be new, I have no way of telling.

There's a lot of events glossed over. Virtually no negativity, although some comments, such as Simon's when talking about Maart's departure, are less enigmatic than most. Drugs were apparently only used by Swarb and he got away with possession of cannabis resin by claiming it was rosin. Ho! Ho! Ho! Events of the last US tour which eventually reduced Fairport by the enforced absence of Peggy are ignored. Truths about various events that I know (albeit third hand, from reliable sources) are ignored in favour of very much a fan's point of view being used by the author. Again, fair enough, but I was hoping for a less selective approach, sad git that I am. Mind you I have no idea why I thought any more warts would be made visible.

Incidentally "Fairport by Fairport" is actually "Fairport by Nigel Schofield with lots of quotes" but I suppose that's what I expected, really.

I may or may not do a proper review later. For the moment I'll restrict myself here to the comments above and let others judge when the read the book.

I should add that the DVD is 45 minutes long and nicely structured although still anodyne.

And in anticipation of those not liking what I've written above, I paid £40 to read this book and think that probably entitles me to state my opinions.

As a person who has not yet recieved the book, and expecting some kind of coffee table object, I only have one question, are there any new or nice pictures? I must admit at this late date I wasn't expecting any revelations, and as far as recent history not particularly interested. What you described is what I expected, as you say £40, hopefully it will have more value than an object sold in the sunday supplements, collector plate etc which can often go for similar prices.

I think this has decided me not to waste my money! I will spend it on lots of new CDs.

Get other people's opinions before you decide, mine is but one voice.

It's no coffee table book, just bog standard book size and no, no new pics that I recall, other than a rather bland view of "the field".

Sorry, there is a pic of the author with Swarb, onstage for Meet on the Ledge, 2012. That's obviously new.

The band's signatures are on an insert rather than on a book page itself, by the way.

...and I really will shut up now.

Andy thanks for your comments.
I have the 'Fairport Unconventional' book , which I bought seperately from the Box Set several years ago. It was, sold as,'a new a definitive history of the first 35 years of Fairport Convention and their music in words and pictures.' I therefore only saw the new book as adding new inf over the last 10 yrs. I was hoping for insight in to some of the murkier aspects of the bands career and not an airbrushed approach.
I accept this is  solely your opinion and I will wait for the view of others but at present you are confirming my fears that this book would add little and was not really Fairport by Fairport . Lovely thing to have signed by all the band, I think, which is how it has been marketed but not worth a £40 investment for me.
Incidentally, if you haven't seen it,the Fairport Unconventional book could not be more chronoligical(!) chronicling each year seperately from '67 to 2002, covering all releases, all Cropredys and an addendum giving a detailed history of a great deal of the reportoire. (and a great number of pictures)
 

Thanks for your thoughts, Andy.  I'll wait until I see a cheap/second hand copy I think.

Jules

That's what I was alluding to in my earlier post when I said I did not think that Nigel Schofield was that kind of a writer (or actually, imho, judging from the Free Reed books, much of a writer at all). It is, as you say, strictly a fan's eye approach and he is far too close to his subject but then, I suspect that is why he has been chosen for the job. He is safe and was never likely to dig too deep or expose old wounds. It might certainly have been more interesting if, for example, Patrick Humphries had been given the gig.

I don't have the book yet and am still looking forward to it but it sounds as though my suspicions are confirmed and that the lack of emotional insight identified by the Mojo review is indeed the case.

If he was 'chosen for the job' remember it was by the publishers and not by the band.

Indeed but given that the project is "Fairport by Fairport", has been authorised by the band with their full co-operation in its creation and is being promoted through their own website and newsletters I think we can assume that they will have had some say in what sort of book it was going to be.

Doubt it...

Just remember if he had "dugged too deep" his portrait of the band may have been as popular as Clinton Heylins portrait of Sandy, which probably sold well but certainly did not seem popular with some of her fans.

The unpublished and really rather good "No Thought Of Leaving - A Life Of Sandy Denny" by Pamela Murray Winters, covers many warts-and-all stories but is factual rather than nasty, which is what many readers thought of Clinton Heylin's effort.

Yup, it's possible to tell the whole truth without being a jerk about it.

Jules

Never seen a copy or read Pamela Murray Winters book, but it sounds like something worth tracking down, a shame she had so much trouble getting what she wanted published, I wonder how she is getting on now. Still haven't got my email or the fairport book, I think it may end up as a Christmas present for my dad yet.

Philip Ward (well known writer on Denny and regular of TAW as well) is not nearly as positive about Pamela Murray Winters manuscript as you are. He thought it not worth the trouble of salvaging it from the crevices of the internet, as he once wrote me. Maybe he will speak for himself when he reads  this.
You remain rather neutral about Heylin's book. I'm a Denny fan and I don't think it's as bad as everybody thinks it is. Sandy's later life was not what we would have wished for and Heylin is quite frank about it. Too frank for most fans, it seems.

All of which shows that it's best to read everything yourself and then make up your very personal opinion. Which I will do when I receive 'Fairport by Fairport'.

--
greetings from Holland,
Hans Valk

 :o Gosh. Did I say that? Sounds a bit harsh. I think there’s much of value in Pam’s manuscript and have urged her to do something with it, but she says she has moved on – and fair play to her. She found new witnesses and tells stories that don’t appear elsewhere. The main problems I had with it are that she invents dialogue and, when it gets to the sad bit, resorts to a professor of psychology.  

I succumbed and ordered the F by F book on the strength of Kingsley Abbott’s review in Record Collector. Really hope it contains something new.

Which is exactly what I recommended, Hans, so there you go. By the way, the "warts and all" approach does appeal to me, which is why I, personally, find FbF anodyne.

Greetings from Wales, by the way.

Am I really the only person here to have received their copy so far?

Looks like it Andy.

I think Staffan has his...in Sweden!

And...er...that's it. All seems a bit strange.

No sign of mine.

Nor mine.  No e-mail, no nothing... :(

Sorry Al, I don´t seem to get it:
 
"A delivery was attempted for your item with reference LY639310441GB in SWEDEN before 15:39 on 10/12/12.

If redelivery or collection is unsuccessful, the item will be returned to the UK"

Since I work all day and I´m not at home 8-17 it´ll probably return to UK  >:(
I was convinced I was gong to pick it up at my Post Office and sign for it there.
Now my fear is that they will make another attempt and then it´ll be sent back.....
I hope I am wrong. £20 was a rather heavy postage in the first place.

It is an impressive performance from the publishers isn't it?  >:(

Has anybody emailed them to ask what is going on?

Not a peep here either...Thankfully it's not a Christmas pressie, otherwise I'd be getting a bit concerned... :-\

Fingers crossed it will arrive before the weekend ?...But I'm not holding my breath !... ::)

Well, I received an email on 27th November to say it would ship 1st week in December 'slightly later than expected...We'll dispatch your book as soon as we possibly can, and you will receive an automated email from us when your order is on its way'. But still no book nor second email.

Nope - no follow-up email, nothing.  I shall try to make contact later today.

I have now taken the afternoon off in order to be at home and available if they - who they might be - try to make a new effort.When tracking the book, at least there isn't a second try earlier today.
But I cannot stay at home trying to catch the firm's delivery any more this week.
So it's today or bust...? Or....?  ???

Ditto  :(

*phew!!*  
My postman this afternoon brought me a slip to tell me I had an item to pick up at my local Post (Office)  - we don´t have any PO:s anymore, we do all things Post @ our local CooP!
It was "Fairport by Fairport" so I am pleased for the time being that I have laid my hands on it.
My first thougt though: if this is my "Coffee Table"-sized Fairport book, I´ll have to buy myself a much smaller Coffee Table. The size of this plastic-wrapped book is more for my small bedside table..... ;D
But enough of that.
I will save breaking the plastic wrapper until this weekend when I hopefully can enjoy the book together with Fairport albums and a glass or two of my favourite red wine.
I sincerely hope that yours arrive in the near future so that you can hava a "Fairport by Fairport" weekend, too!  ;)

Glad you got yours Staffan, I was beginning to get paranoid!

I think it is the rest of us who should be paranoid. They have managed to deliver one copy to Wales and one to Sweden and nobody else has heard a thing.

Don't go blaming Royal Mail anyone. All offices are cleared of mail and parcels every day.  They do a top rate job imho.  To be frank, it's really bad timing to be sending out large numbers of a fairly chunky parcel two weeks before Xmas isn't it?  Good luck everyone for a successful pre Xmas delivery!

Sorry Al, I posted that in your section - it wasn't aimed at your comment.  ;)      

Glad you clarified that.  :)

I certainly don't think the problem lies with the Royal Mail. I think it is entirely down to the publishers.

Thanks, Andy!

I sincerely hope - and I am assured - that all the rest of you will get your book in the very near future.
As someone pointed out , this is a hectic period for all in Postal businesses, with all Christmas  gifts being sent all over the place. Or maybe that is Santa's job..... :)

I've been back and looked. 7 brief comments. Rather more than I recalled.

Well I don't particularly want to buy a copy, so I'll wait till I see one somewhere and have a look.. :)

Perhaps Fairport got one copy between them for all the members past and present that contributed?  I'm sure you'll get to see it sometime in 2026, Jude.  Be patient now...

Crikey! I'll be nearly 80 by then. I hope it's got big writing in that case.. :)

I had a mail today saying my copy had been sent out to me by Airsure on Dec 7. However it has been returned to them because Airsure does not have a business partner in Norway. A copy has apparently been sent to me by UPS (whatever that is) and is likely to arrive here next week. They have apologized for this. Now fingers crossed it'll be here next week.

T-R

I emailed the publisher this afternoon - had a reply a short while ago - seems there'd been a delay in shipping the books to Blighty from the continent (bad weather) - but they expect to be despatching orders "don't worry, you'll get it in time for Christmas".

T-R UPS (United Parcel Service) is the primary shipper here in the US but a big global shipper as well. They are by and large very reliable so I wouldn't worry about them as the carrier, for what its worth.

Interesting place to find a bit of a rave review (is that 'our' Karl btw?)

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/127186

Speaking of Clinton, as my copy of FbF hasn't arrived yet, have the later prints of the Sandy Denny book still Fairport on a drummerless tour in jan/feb 1975?

David, little actual review I think.' Monumental effort/labour of love' and the reviewers own history of the band but v little about what's in the book. (or if its any good)

Enquiries elsewhere have yielded exactly one person other than me in the UK who has even had the email saying their copy has been dispatched.

I think it's probably time Rocket 88 got a rocket themselves.

Still no trace of mine. I sent a message yesterday and got an immediate stock reply about the weather holding up delivery from Italy and an assurance that mine was in the warehouse awaiting despatch.
Getting a little concerned now.

So they ship from Italy to a UK location and ship from there? A Christmas delivery'll be impressive.

I've a feeling my copy may achieve a rarity value at this rate.

All offers welcome.

Advisory e-mail received here this morning.  :)

I've now got my email too.

Yes me too, though I didn't recognise the sender and the subject line was generic so i almost deleted it as spam. My spam filter thought it was anyway.

yep , mine went straight to the spam folder, but the good news is that its due for delivery today between 3 and 4 pm
i'll not hold my breath

good as gold, it arrived on the stroke of 3

Is it worth the £40 though??

Give 'im a chance, he's had it 40 mins.

Still no e-mail here...  But at least some more of you are getting it, so that's a bit more hopeful.

its not coming out of the cellophane and its going on ebay once they start going for big money

Silly boy...the big money's for the unsigned ones...  ;) :)

the books arent signed, there's a signed slip inserted

'each book signed by each member of the band'

The boy John speaks correctly. There's a bound-in slip with the siggies on.

[Photo over 400 days old. Removed by Admin.]

therefore the press release should have read.......
'a piece of paper with the bands signatures stuck in the front of the book'.

I'm sure all comments would be welcomed on https://www.facebook.com/rocket88books if you're on Facebook.

I'm sure they will and old as I am I have delved into the mystic vale of facebook that you speak of. ;D

Got mine today. Going to check out the DVD and start reading it later today.....

Rocket 88 - our pledge:

'Wales, Sweden, Colorado... and Jim.'

Watch out, Amazon...

 :)

Still no email here, but what some people have said makes me wonder if I deleted it from 'junk'. I get so much.

It was only by chance I fished it from the Junk folder. Look out for:

"Your order from Essential Works‏" from shop@essentialworks.co.uk

Thanks, Ian.

Email received, and book hopefully heading in this direction...

A difficult few days with sad family news...so I guess it will stay in it's wrapping for a while...but something nice to look forward to!

I hope everyones orders are now on the way!... :)

Glen

email received...  it's on its way  :)

Odd. My email came from Rocket 88 (info@rocket88books.com)

That's why I nearly missed it. I only went through the junk folder as a result of this thread. Here's the first line of the message;

"We are writing to let you know that your order number 10874 from Essential Works of 1 x Fairport by Fairport: Special Edition has been sent to: "

My order number was 12209 - maybe that's why they haven't got to mine and I haven't had THE e-mail yet (he says hopefully...)

I am beginning to wonder if this book actually exists............*sigh*  :(

As of thirty seconds ago, I can confirm that it does. Fortunately,I have a very, very small coffee table. The last time I spent forty quid on something this sized it came with four CDs as well...

Mine arrived in Oslo today. A 400 page book on my favourite band - what's not to like? First impression (based on random inspection) very positive. Will watch the DVD later today...

T-R

Mine arrived about 30 mins ago.  :)

No book or email yet  >:(

Email received yesterday so expecting it any minute!!  :o

Still nothing for me :(

Arrived today but no time to read it yet cos we're off to see the AGGIES at Nettlebed!!

It has arrived I must have somehow avoided my email. From my initial scan I am quite happy with what I see, at the same time I am not going to sit down and read it, I expect to dip, so perhaps the hallowed place on the scales in the bathroom. Still happier than I thought I would be, after all it has arrived. ;D

Got the email on saturday. The tracking link (DPD) states it probably will arrive here tomorrow. That's Dordrecht in the Netherlands. Hurray!

--
greetings from Holland,
Hans Valk

Yep. Mine arrived today too but it has been a long day with no chance to look at it. I'm tired and cold now so I'm going to take it to bed and browse from under the duvet.

It has arrived in Derbyshire and has been passed to the wrapping department.  :D

They tried to deliver mine today but I wasn't there :( will try & rearrange for Sat

Same here. Arrived today and being wrapped by my better half.

Well, i've waited a while for it so a extra week shouldn't be that hard should it  ::)

I've not had an email but I did receive a 'sorry we missed you' note from DPD yesterday so, if they're the couriers...?

Got my email @ last. It's coming this afternoon, and I have to cancel a Doctors appointment to be in. Still, it's coming. You worry when someone has your money, like that.  ;)

Yes they are, I received my email from Essential Works this morning and according to tracking should be here twixt 3 and 4pm. As Jim's arrived on time I shall try to be in! Think they should try twice for delivery, but as you've no email you won't have a tracking code.

Email arrived this morning, and it should be delivered (it says) between 11:57 and 12:57 - how's that for accuracy?  I think I'd have just said 12 and 1!

I'm sure I posted earlier that I have received an e-mail. Where on earth did I post it ???  Anyway parcel is due to arrive in the next couple of hours.  :D

Wheehee! Email received!

Arrived! ;D  Just about at 11:57 too.  With great self-control I have passed it on to be wrapped up for Christmas without doing more than giving a quick glance at the cover and not removing the shrink-wrapping...

Got the e mail
Delivery within the next 35 minutes  ;D

Thanks for the tip.  My email just in and diverted to Spam folder too!   Delivery due tomorrow apparently!  :)

Just found mine by the back door. Like Will S, I will pass it on to Mrs. Gouty for Xmas wrapping. Haven't even opened the packaging - why can't I exercise this level of self-control when walking past the pub??

It's here !
4 minutes before their latest time - very efficient  ;D

It's here! Tee hee! Ridiculously pleased - it must be Christmas or summat...... ::) ;D

Just had another follow up email to say I should have it in the next couple of hours. It may be a bit later than anticipated, but they seem to be taking care to follow up each individual whinge with a personal email. I had a whine on their Bookface page and received a  reassuring email referring to it.

Shite. It's arrived with corner damaged. I feared as much when I felt it rattling around inside the carton. Sloppy packaging. Have emailed asking for a replacement. Ship. Ha'pworth. Tar.  >:( >:( >:( Very annoyed.

Pssssst ... IS evrybody reading??????? :o

Nope. No time.

My first impressions however are that it is a lovely tactile thing to hold and it smells wonderful.

It is also embarassingly pleasing to see one's own name printed in the Role of Honour even though this really has no significance at all.

Finally, the author's acknowledgements at the front of the book imply that he was indeed nominated for the job by the band, thus vindicating my previously mentioned suspicions about the nature of the book. Not that I am one to say I told you so.  ;)

Mine's arrived, about 2 minutes earlier than the tracker said! I made the driver wait...I will not tolerate bad time keeping! ;) It was slightly loose in the packaging, but in perfectly good nick! Could all be blank pages though as it has now been handed to the wrapping dept. in the plastic wrap or it would never have made it! :P

Yesss mine has finally arrived ;D  woohoo  :D I handed it to the chief packer who informed that there is no damage to it .. (The chief packer declined the opportunity to donate towards it though :'()
p.s. Do not expect any posts after 10.00am on Christmas day until I have read it cover to cover  ^-^

Hurrah! It's arrived.
It now has to be passed to Santa.

I think mine's arrived - himself has spirited it away for Christmas.

(Maybe he'll give me the money now!)

I think it's funny and rather sweet that so many of us are handing it over to our other halves to wrap up and 'surprise' us with on Christmas Day!

 :)

If he doesn't cough up the cash I'm having it now!

... a bit like last year's Kindle!

Aaah! The true spirit of the festive season shines like a beacon in West Sussex...  ;)

That is exactly what has happened in the Palmer household!  My email arrived this morning and 6 hours later the package arrived!

Grace

Mine is here and has been passed to 'im indoors. He doesn't wrap tho, we use the same gift bags every year!

I shall of course act surprised on Christmas morning!  ;D

The gift wrapping on mine will probably be the cardboard packaging it came in, if previous years are anything to go by!  ::)

Ditto

It has arrived today, as DPD said it would.
Looks good. Hard cover. A sturdy book!
But preciously little photographs, although I have not seen most of them before.
First pages have been read and it reads nicely. It seems Schofield can tell a story. A detail which hit my eye: Heylin's Denny-biography is recommended in the publication list in the back..

--
greetings from Holland,
Hans Valk

my copy arrived yesterday in perfect conditon.
Looking forward to relaxed reading hours during Christmas.

 . . .Waiting for repalcement copy.  :-\

Mine arrived yesterday too - also in perfect condition.

I had a bit of a moan by email to the publishers at the beginning of the week about the apparent delays in shipping copies of the book - I have to say they responded very quickly & in a very polite & conciliatory manner, unlike some customer service departments who almost try to make you feel like any problems are your own fault!

Anyway the book is here - it looks gorgeous & I'm looking forward to getting my feet up to read it over the Xmas hols.

From what's been put on their (Rocket88's) FB page, all of the books should have been sent and delivered by now!

With 50 pages to go, I must say this is pleasant enough reading, rather more detail of what I already knew, but really, a Talkawhiler won't find much news here. I have enjoyed reading the book, but as Andy stated earlier, I still have several questions unanswered. But don't let me spoil your reading  :D...it'll be pleasant enough!  ;D

Received replacement copy, which is fine. Something to read on Xmas day, anyway. :)

A blog about the cover design...

http://rocket88books.com/2012/12/21/a-look-behind-the-fairport-by-fairport-illustrations/

I completed reading FbF yesterday and really enjoyed it...the last one I actually read on the group was the, 'meet on the Ledge' book by Patrick Humphrey's in the early 1980's...needless to say I have long forgotten the details contained within that; many of the stories in FbF were either new to me or richly embellished (with more detail)...I like the fact that this FbF was explored through the first hand accounts (interviews) with past and present members of FC. It is a lovey affectionate account of a much loved band...and I agree with one of the previous comments...to see ones name in print within this is delightfully rewarding...I feel part of the Fairport Family. Happy Christmas all.  

Well, whaddya know?  My son bought me FbF for Christmas, it took me completely by surprise.  I intend to lose myself in it for a while :D

It's a corking read, has allowed me to immerse myself completely for a couple of days, and would probably be the best twenty five quid I'd spent on myself for many a month if it hadn't been for the extra twenty on top of that that it actually cost. Nevertheless, it is a thing of beauty and wonder, and something I shall look fondly upon for many a year hence, I'm sure.

Completely agree with all of the above!

I've actually been dipping in and out at random so far, although I guess I need to sit down and read it properly for maximum enjoyment... ;)

The DVD is a pleasant view...Little I'd not heard before, but an enjoyable 45 mins nontheless!... :)

 

Just started reading it, 'What We Did...' so I popped the CD on. Maybe it should include a suggested playlist whilst reading, like Alan Partridge's autobiography.  :D

Started to read while rest of family watchd Downton Abbey and I love it. It's like having family call round for Christmas but the ones you are really pleased to see!  Roll on August

I've been reading hte good book :D (Here in after called .... the Bible) I've just got to the new testament ( thats the bit after the pics) ^-^ Its a jolly good read I have to say. Its prompted me to play some vynil :o
Well done on the whole project to all contributors and compilers   Now back to the second coming !!!!! [;-) {:-)

It is indeed a very good read but there are a few nagging errors - eg the book says Farewell Farewell was not available to buy at the farewell concert at Cropredy but it was - I bought it there!  Overall, though, the book reads very well with its principal strength being all the direct quotes from band members & contemporaries so that they are telling the story.

If that's as bad as it gets it's really not too bad is it?  :)

Incidentally, the release date on wiki, at least is September 1979....?

I'm glad so many people thought better of it than me. But for £40 I wanted something more.

I haven't read any Fairport related books prior to this, so it was a very enjoyable and enlightening read for me.  The book Jumped around a bit but over all, I liked it.

I wasn't expecting to have this book as I thought I was pretty across Fairports History from other books, mags, interviews etc.
However, yersterday, at a late Christmas get together due to ilness,my brother gave it me as my crimbo present and I am , genuinely , delighted to have it.
Being a limited edition, it is interesting to think who the book is aimed at. My immediate conclusion is that it must be the fan base. However, I also presume, that the majority of ther fan base will know the majority of the inf in this book. Posts already on this thread are , however, proving me wrong.
On opening it my brother was keen to insure it was a signed copy. As a collector of signed limited art editions he was genuinely'miffed' to find the signatures 'just stuck in on a piece of paper'. As he said, if he had bought a Hockney signed print and found the sig was just a piece of paper stuck on the front he would not be happy. The point of a signed limited edition is just that and goes some way to justifying the price.
The book refers to the number of albums released as Fairport 'product', many of which are just re compilation of previous albums. It was good to read that this wasn't Fairport /Peggy trying to make a few bob but the fact that albums no longer selling, had been leased to other companies. ( ok to make a few bob but the point is they had no control as to what these companies did, eg re lease them etc,) I know some people had felt ripped off/let down by these compilations and there is a similar feeling about a signed book, which isn't. I know there will be perfectly understandable logistical reasons but.......
Any way, I haven't read it cover to cover yet but a serious part of last night and all of this morn have been spent dipping, mainly on the later years.
Personally I don't mind the non chronoligacal order as i know the chronology of the band  v well, in fact I liked it a lot, so, for example, an out of context ref to L and L doesn't bother me. I understand the significance of the album. The strength of the book is of course the bands quotes. and the raison d'etre for the book in the first place.
I find myself agreeing with Andy L (I don't often say that..... soz Andy :-*) that I do want more warts and all, eg more touring tales, why Maart really left, the changes to Cropredy after Chris P etc) There is little crit of recent albums.
I do find the pictures disappointing , (that has to be one of the worst Cropredy crowd shots I've ever seen)
I also received as a pressie Mick Walls bio of AC/DC and that does do the warts and all stuff!! I don't suppose Peggy has ever said to Simon. 'stop f,,,,,,,g talking and just sing before I ,,,,,,,,your ........... head in'. Mind you he did hit Swarb with his bass,
However I am finding F by F an enjoyable, gentle read, which, as I said, I am delighted is on my bookshelf and I will return to over the yrs. I am just looking forward to my brother's letter to the publishers and something about the trade descriptions act , cost etc (he's that sort of a bloke)
Incidentally, those people who always see me as criticising Fairports. I am simply trying to give a reasoned review and my feelings. More when I have read it cover to cover in the next few days.

There are a couple of omissions of behind the scenes shenanigans that even I've heard rumours about, but I'm guessing the real stories behind a couple of politely alluded-to situations aren't ever going to be confirmed or denied in print. I don't think that anyone in or around the Fairport camp seem like the types to air their dirty linen* in public, for anyone's money.


* do you see what I did there?  ::)

Ok Shane. I suppose some people would now be thankful about that but you can't stop the red tide of public interest and I was hoping for the kind fortune to find some diamonds and gold in the rumours area and I am sure your rumours would be the jewel in the crown.
 
See what i did there? ;)

Arf!  ;D

Over all I'm rather impressed with the book.
I agree with Dave about the signatures and I can't believe that was the best Cropredy photo they could find!
The non chronological aspects don't bother me too much, but I feel a comprehensive index would help with this.

So, a few minor moans, but I'm still glad I ordered a copy.
In retrospect I'm happy with the fact that this turned out to be a "normal" book rather than a "coffee table" tome, as it means I'm reading it cover to cover rather than just dipping in.

I'm looking forward to reading mine - it still remains sealed, and I read On the Road (again) on Xmas day instead. Loving Fairport notwithstanding, I've never followed their history closely, as I got off the bus, so to speak, in the late '70s, when I perceived them to be past their best. I'm relying on this book to be factually accurate, so that I'm no longer embarrassed on this forum, for example, when I realise i don't have the chronology of their albums right, or i just forget who was in the band at a particular point.  :-[

Read it over two days in some quiet time on my own after xmas rather than dipping into with other distractions going on. Did I learn much new? Probably not a huge amount but I think where it was strong was capturing some of the emotions around key events - farewell gig, first reunion etc which I think it did brilliantly.

My 13 year old nieces insisted on teaching me the full names of all of the members of One Direction, but in a reciprocal arrangement they are now able to identify by sight all the members of the Full House line-up!

I agree.
It's a nice sturdy book, as I wrote earlier. But for that amount of money they surely could have added some more pictures.
As far as the written text goes, the book offers not much more then I already knew from various other sources. There is some repetition: certain facts are mentioned more than once. There was one strange addition to my knowledge. The truckdriver that drove into The Angel at Little Hadham was Dutch.
The good thing about the book is the fact that it consists mainly out of quotes by Fairport members. The title of the book is fully justified.
The signatures of the present members of the group are placed on a piece of paper that has a smaller size than the pages of the book, but that piece of paper is bound with the rest of the book, so it's not a loose insert.

Conclusion: a nice history of Fairport, but somewhat overpriced.  Will not sell it for the original price, though..

--
greetings from Holland,
Hans Valk

Well, I had considered ordering the book at Cropredy, but everytime I was at the tent on the Saturday (my only day in attendance this year), the people were off wandering and giving out info... so i decided to resist the urge, but did mention it to my brother in early December...

Imagine my delight when he turned up at Christmas with the book as a present for me! (the present was a surprise, not his arrival).

Haven't read it yet, but was pleased to have also got the signed insert, although I guess that that means that less than 2000 had been ordered at that time. Can see why people have commented negatively about the flyer, but as already mentioned, it is part of the binding, so I'm happy with that.

It's a great read and there are some wonderful insights. Being a pedant, though, I noticed one glaring error about Sandy opting to bring A Sailors Life back in to the set in the mid-80s... Sorry!!! Anyway, a corker and beautifully presented.

I spotted that one too, also a reference to 'David Hill' rejoining the band for some live dates. Otherwise its a good read - there were some details in there that I wasn't previously aware of but no real revelations. Coffee table style book might have been nice, or at least a few more photos, but it does look nice on my shelf alongside the Sandy and Fairport BBC CD sets. And its got my name listed at the back  :)

Yes that was a nice touch, Darren :)

Would have been fun.  I've always wanted to see Fairport play Cum on Feel the Noize.

I agree as well - was expecting a far bigger production for the steep price.  

It's a little-known fact that Roger Hill was compelled to change his name to "David" to avoid confusion.

Well I don't have the book yet but that is a bit of a doozy I think! Then again Nigel Schofield did make several in the Free Reed Box sets collectively that made me shake my head, but to be fair it is a lot of information and I couldn't guarantee I would not make factual errors as well.

That will just be a typo, and if edited by someone with no direct knowledge (or not properly edited at all), how the hell is it likely to get caught?  We carry this sh1t around with us...lots of normal people don't, of course  :)

[/quote]

It's a little-known fact that Roger Hill was compelled to change his name to "David" to avoid confusion.
[/quote]

Who he? ???

Part of the post-Simon, pre-Rosie line-ups. I think he replaced Simon, then was replaced by David Rae, and returned to fulfil some live dates. Recorded with Fairport but not on an official album. He was in The Uglys with Peggy in the 60s and later played with Chris Barber for many years. Sadly passed away in 2011.

Didn't he appear at Cropredy in 2002?

He did indeed, along with Tom Farnell from the same era.

I was expecting more reviews on this thread.
Having now read it cover to cover........
I know limited editions are expensive but my final impression was that the book was expensive for what it was.
However , prompted by Maurice on the 'I'm reading' thread, I went looking fora copy of 'The Guvnor, The Rise of Folk Rock'
Amazon offer me a new copy from £45 or 2 s/hand copies at £111 and £156 each!!
Serious e bay watching i think!  

It's weird how these things become collectable almost overnight.  I bought a copy of that book about 6 years ago for about £11 or £12.  Very frustrating situation I imagine.   :(

Jules

Finished reading the book now.  I'm not the font of all knowledge on Fairport so I found it extremely informative. Small grouse - I wonder why the inset with the signatures on couldn't have been made the same size as the book's pages, as it would have seemed more part of the book.   On the whole I'm happy with it (doubly so as it was a prezzie and I didn't have to fork out 45 quid).

I finally got around to watching the DVD yesterday. I thought it was nice how they didn't attempt to cover same old ground as the BBC documentary but instead focused on how the present line-up came together.

It's weird, but I don't feel a great compulsion to pick the thing up and actually read it!  :o  I have dipped into it a little, but I am in no rush to read it from cover to cover.  :(  The lack of photos is a disappointment.  :(

Is it possible to call this an outtake?  ;D

http://rocket88books.com/2013/01/21/fairports-round-dozen/

I would say no, as that is the precise part of the book that I am up to and I read that exact passage just last night. How strange.  ???

I am stunned!
How can they imply that what they put on the blog didn't make the book?

"As vast as the book is, there was some material that couldn’t be fitted in, but we are very happy to be able to publish some of it on our blog. The selection below has band members discussing their first album for the Vertigo label, Bonny Bunch of Roses:"
Quotation copied directly from the site.
I read the piece finding it vaguely familiar but wasn't sure. Tonight I have checked the book and it's all the
I read it through and it sounded familiar but have checked the book tonight and with the exception for a word or to it's all there.
Am I disappointed?  :(
Yes!

Well, I'm glad that so many people like this book, but I'm really not of that opinion. I found it an at times confusing rehash of previous writings by the author, who is indeed Nigel Schofield, not Fairport, so the title is somewhat misleading. I know several dozen interviews with Fairport members are in the book, some going back over 30 years or more, but the narrative is not theirs.

It's also a bit of a whitewash, no mention of several well-known bumps in the road or explanations when members mysteriously departed.

The "signed copies" are nothing of the sort (an inserted half-sheet does not a signed copy make) and most of the pictures are far from unique, although a couple may have not been seen elsewhere, perhaps deservedly.

The DVD is anodyne, but ok. At least it's the chaps speaking for themselves.

Looking back I already said this here (http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=39793.msg616560#msg616560).

Additionally I was of the belief that it'd be a coffee table book (price, mostly - see this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rolling-Stones-Mick-Jagger/dp/0500516243/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358808526&sr=8-1) about the Stones for comparison, which is just a damned lovely book - at half the money) and when it arrived I thought it had shrunk in the incessant 2012 rain.

I regret my foolishness in buying it.

i must read it some time

I am now a little more than three quarters of the way through (& will take advantage of being off work sick to finish it today). For the most part I am quite enjoying it and I think Andy is being a ittle harsh, though not totally innacurate. It is a bit of a book of two halves though. The first half which is pretty much the story up to 1979 is pretty decent but the second half is a bit muddled & frustrating. There are certainly flaws:

Coyness in dealing with certain events i.e. DM's departure during the Rising For The Moon sessions and the cancellation of the Vertogo contract are glossed over in a couple of sentences with no testimony from the band.

Sins of omission. Swarb's objection to Gladys' Leap are discussed in depth but Swarb's own view is never sought.

Jarring jump cuts in the narrative. We go straight from Sandy's death in April 1978 to the Farewell Tour a year later. Then suddenly it is Cropredy 1982 and then Cropredy 1985. Some of the gaps are filled in later but you want them there and then.

Repetition both of fact and opinion. The author seems to forget what he has written about in the second half. The circumstances and assertion of the planting of "the seeds of Fairport's future" are recounted at least three times.

Poor proof reading. Peggy's statement that the band made four albums for Vertigo is left unchecked.

Florid and self indulgent editorialising by the author, presenting his subjective view of events as "history".

But as I say, there is much to enjoy. I have learned a few things and the first hand testimony is a treasure trove. It probably is the best book on Fairport that we are likely to get but it could have been so much better.

Ok, so what's the bottom line ? Over the years, I've bought and enjoyed Meet On The Ledge, The Woodworm Years, Kingsley Abbott's Fairportfolio, Fairport Unconventional, the relevant sections of AH : The Guvnor, RT : Strange Affair, and Heylin's No More Sad Refrains. Add to this some wonderful net-based resources such as this very forum and my own first-hand experiences and observations of the current FC over the last 12 years. With all the above, how essential is Fairport By Fairport ?

My wife bought me a copy for my birthday.  So it has her name in it rather than mine...   :(

Haven't read it yet though.

Interesting points Al, and though I haven't gotten a copy yet (and despite the critiques I still will be buying it), I am inclined to agree with your points about the author, including the proof reading. Listen, I'd love to have had the access he has had with all the box sets and now this book...it would be a dream, but I felt in the box set books he lost the narrative at some point-either make it a fans view of Fairport, or make it a neutral view, and stick to the facts. Slight thread drift here, but for the Hutchings box set I felt he really missed the mark-from Ashley's own scrupulous notes and diaries, Schofield really had an oppurtunity to present a thorough (almost) day by day account of Ashley's career and all the musicians he has played with. Instead, he did things 'thematically' and IMHO that was really unfortuante. Seems like the skipping around in the book is akin to that in some respects.

Dan you would learn very little new. In fact there is stuff in the publications you have listed not in F by F. The strength of F by F is the quotes but probaably not worth the investment for a few new quotes. As Andy L said it isn't Fairport by Fairport. As a present I am glad I have it,.Would I buy it at full price? No.

Not seen the book, may pick it up at some time if I can get it cheap enough, but I if it isn't a full on glossy coffee table book - and I suggest using phrases like deliuxe and lavish in Humpries' review suggest it may be - just what is it? A standard size hard back, an oversize hardback - is it of good enough quality to merit the £40 price tag for an aalveit interesting bioggaphy of the band?

DW

I found this book quite useful but grossly overpriced. I'm pretty certain there are publishers who could have turned out the same product for half the retail price. My two penn'orth:

I suspect the reviewers were reviewing from proofs, so they weren't in a position to judge the finished product.

The photos are disappointing; for that price I expected far more of them, and sprinkled generously through the text.

Errors. I spotted a couple. Byfield is in Northamptonshire, not Oxfordshire. And he repeats the old canard about the Spice Girls singing about Sandy. Wasn't it established aeons ago that that was a transcription error by their record company?  A reference to "Sandy and Danny" (Grease) spectacularly garbled.

On the plus side there were lots of quotes from Sandy I didn't recognise. He must have interviewed her. Wonder if he still has the tapes?

David W: the format is 24 x 16 x 3.5 cm.

One point about the cost of the book in relation to the print run... (which I don't think I've mentioned before, although I know I considered mentioning it, so apologies if I am repeating myself).

I recently had occasion to look to buy an academic book of about 80 odd pages, so very slimline - cost £65, due to the small print run. I got it via the library instead. The FbyF book has a very nice, solid cover and I think is bigger than standard and is 400+ pages but again would have a very small print run - mine was only ordered a couple of weeks before Christmas and I got a signed flyleaf which is only in the first xxx? (2000?) copies. So, for me, having been bought it as a present, £40 seems reasonable... although I was disappointed by the lack of more photos.

As for the content, I haven't had time to start reading it yet, but I am disappointed it isn't chronological (order wise) and 'hides' from the more interesting stories (content wise), but as a currently working band and as an authorised book, I probably shouldn't have expected anything else in the latter case... Maybe Nigel S has the appropriate content lined up for an appendix to be sold in the future...:-)

I've nearly finished the book and I totally agree with GubGub's comments. All goes well in the first half (more or less up to where the disappointing pictures are placed) and then it just seems to lose it somewhat.

Overall, I'm still happy I bought a copy.

I'd buy it for £20.  I have no intention of paying £40 for it.

Jules

That's kind of where I am.

DW

...which is fine, except I suspect that if it wasn't for the folks named in the Roll Of Honour stumping up the full price months in advance, sight unseen, the book would not exist at all.

I have just finished it and have to admit that the penultimate chapter tried my patience, being stodgy, pointlessly academic and infuriatingly opinionated and tonally out of kilter with the rest of the book. The author's preference for the trad over the original and the folk over the rock in Fairport's music reveals itself slowly throughout. However, the final brief chapter on Meet On The Ledge redeems things considerably, being both revealing and moving.  

And would we really be any the poorer? It is a well used business model, part of the £40 is to be named in book, get first dibs on the info etc. Once achieved the value lessens, typically a subscription lead publication will soon be available for a least 30% less a couple of months later as demand drops.

DW

I'm not sure that I understand the question. If the book didn't exist, you couldn't buy it for £20 or £40 or any amount of money.

I didn't know what they were talking about with that honor roll so I stayed clear of it.  

While I am not unsympathetic to the argument of a limited run justifying a premium cost, the publisher was pretty darn niggardly with the ink distribution - very, very light density.  

Knowing my way around presses, that was kinda irritable.

   

Fair point, well made.

Jules

I agree with Dave that you learn very little new. It is nice to have a thorough history of Fairport but, as I´ve mentioned earlier, I wanted "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but..." so from that point of view the book did not satisfy me. My - and others - questions (see above) are still unanswered. Also, as mentioned, the photo section was ....hrrmmm...uninspired? I think many like myself thought that the text would be interfoliated with lots of photos, like the blog examples, which would have been nice.
I like to support "my band", so I take lightly on the £65 I paid to get it, but on the other hand I got a place in the roll of honour. :-)
So, Dan.O, my conclusion is that you have knowledge about most facts in FbF from your mentioned sources. It is more about how much the author and sources talk about them.

The only caveat I would put on that is that the book does at least cover the last 20 years in some detail which none of those other sources do, as does the accompanying DVD rather nicely. For all of the skirting around certain issues (Maart's & DM's departures, Peggy's issues in the US and temporary departure from the band etc), there is a fair amount of insight in the interviews. Just avoid the turgid penultimate chapter!

The band will only have got whatever the deal on the 2000 signatures was which I'm pretty damned sure wasn't very much.

Just noticed this on the Rocket 88 FB feed...posted by Tim Moon

You can hear an interview with Fairport book author Nigel Schofield on my programme 'Folk Us!' by going to www.bcbradio.co.uk and looking at the Listen Again (Look at specialist programmes, 9pm Monday 21st January). Be up for 30 days.

Interesting, because Schofield tells us that there will be another book with stories/anecdotes from Dave Pegg in the future. He promised DP not to material from that book for FbF..

--
greeting from Holland,
Hans Valk

I've also just conducted an interview with Nigel Schofield on the book.  it's due up on the Sleeping Hedgehog site, except their host is experiencing a denial of service attack, and I'm not sure how long it'll take to go back up.  So - assuming there's no particular word limit on posts, perhaps I can cut & paste it here for now.  :)   It might put a few aspects of the book into perspective.

-----

When venerable and influential English folk-rock band Fairport Convention reached the milestone of their 45th anniversary in 2012, there was naturally a great deal of activity to celebrate the occasion.  There were 2 new CDs – 'By Popular Request' and 'Babbacombe Lee Live Again' – along with TV and radio specials, and a brand new 424 page book / DVD package.  "Fairport By Fairport" was written by Nigel Schofield of Free Reed Records fame, and purports to tell “the full, unexpurgated story of Fairport Convention in the words of the people who were there”.

The book tells the story in mainly chronological order, using recent and somewhat older interviews, mainly by Schofield himself, to illustrate points from a personal perspective, as well as serving as a useful narrative tool.

Various questions came to mind when taking the time to read this lengthy work, so who better to ask than the author himself?  One of the first things that struck me was the potential to feel daunted by such a large project – how did he feel when approached, and indeed who did the approaching?

NS: “The publishers ROCKET88 suggested the idea of an up-to-date in-depth biography to Fairport. They felt Fairport fit in perfectly with the kind of act they like to publish works about and with the profile of their target audience. Fairport agreed on condition that I was approached and would accept the commission. There was then a series of messages and explanations ahead of the formal approach from Rocket88 who asked me to come up with a concept.

“I don't know whether I would use the word daunting. It is certainly a big responsibility and, of course, a massive task, especially as part of the concept was to use, where possible, unpublished archive interview material so that throughout contemporary commentary would balance modern retrospection. It was interesting to see how things were thought of and/or explained at the time, compared with how they are viewed today.  It was also, incidentally, quite fascinating to reflect on my own relationship with the band over the years.”

MH: Was anything deemed "off limits" by either you or the band?  In other words, did you have pretty much free rein?

NS: “I stipulated before I began that I was not interested in writing any kind of kiss-and-tell or muck-raking tome. That kind of gossip has its place and clearly also has its devotees, but in a serious overview of the band's first 45 years it tends to be of little import. I know there is another book planned which will draw together those kind of stories. Additionally, I have over the years had many "off the record" conversations with members and ex-members of the band and I naturally respected that, though, of course, that kind of knowledge can prevent unfortunate blunders or misguided assumptions.  There was certainly nothing declared off limits in terms of what I could or couldn't write about.”

MH: Most of the interviews are from your own archives - how many were newly done?  It seems to be an effective technique to quote from them when the narrative requires, without necessarily worrying about the provenance of the quote - this would be intentional, I assume?

NS: “That's a very shrewd observation, if I may say so. Actually, I spoke to all current members of the band specifically with the project in mind. I had interviewed several members and ex-members fairly recently so I knew I had a good store of up-to-date material. I began with citing the source of each quote, but realised this was not only cumbersome but also of little value as it merely referenced an unavailable source. Where provenance was significant, relevant or, indeed, not from interviews I had conducted personally, I made sure it was clearly identified within the text.”

MH: There were quite a few things I didn't realise - apart from the larger story which is the main thing - but extra details like the infamous 1970 LA Troubadour bar bill being erased due to the management seeing Simon Nicol play trouserless [buy the book for that one!] - or just things like Judy Dyble having left before the first LP came out, or Arthur Brown singing Meet On The Ledge at a benefit after the band’s 1969 van crash - among several others.  Did you find out a lot of new stuff yourself when putting the book together?

NS: “That's an interesting question. Rediscovered things I had forgotten would be more accurate than calling it finding out new stuff. Ashley [Hutchings] called me after reading the book and said it brought back a lot of memories he had forgotten. That sums it up really. There were things which emerged, often through collating dates and seeing connections.There were other things which were corrected - received wisdoms, things we had taken for granted, oft-repeated but somewhat garbled memories of band members. One example: the brief period between Judy's departure and Sandy's joining is often forgotten: people regularly have written about Sandy replacing Judy - it's even been suggested that she was ousted to make way for her. Very wrong. The band tried to continue - and even recorded - without a female singer, but in the end bowed to outside pressure and started looking for a new female vocalist.

“Drawing the whole thing together made me aware of some surprising things: for example, both Sandy [Denny] and Chris [Leslie] joined the band as established figures on the folkscene having worked with an already respected band; both were respected vocalists; both made their first contribution to the band a song that they had had for some time; in each case it was based on an incident in the life of an almost legendary figure from Scottish history; in each case it became the opening track on their first album as a member of Fairport. In terms of the book, this doesn't mean anything so far as Fairport's history is concerned - but it is a remarkable set of coincidences - and there were many others.

“Another story that was new to me was Simon's account of the Moon Landing during the Farley Chamberlayne rehearsal sessions. I loved the way he recalled it and his expression verged on the poetic, making the mundane immensely moving.”

MH: Then of course there's the matter of the book probably being bought by hardcore fans, who would pretty much know the story already. How could / did one work around that, to make it readable to those long term fans and newcomers without alienating either?

NS: “I thought long and hard about this. How much can one assume a Fairport fan knows. Indeed, one has to ask what a Fairport fan is. I have a friend who I always assumed had been a fan from the start only to discover, when talking about the book, that he actually got into them around the time of Rosie. There are long-term fans who know the entire history. There are fans of the early days who have paid little attention to what happened since, certainly in any detailed way: the kind of people who think "they should never have reformed", "it's not Fairport without Swarb" (which incidentally rules out the first three albums) or even "they haven't made a decent record since 1969". These quotes are not made up, but were said to me when I told people I was working on a Fairport book. One fan has assured me he will buy it but only read the first few chapters because the rest doesn't interest him.

“There are the Cropredy era fans - people who got to know the band through the Festival or related events. They often don't know anything about Fairport's early history. If one listens to conversations at Cropredy when an old song is revived or an ex-member joins them on stage, this is immediately very obvious.

“There are kids far too young to have any real awareness of Fairport's "glory days" and who happily sing along to Chris Leslie's songs, but look stumped by something from Angel Delight. The Summer of Punk is ancient history to them, never mind the Summer of Love.  There are those who've discovered Fairport via Winter Tours and know them essentially as a current band.

“It would be impossible to hone what one didn't deal with in depth so that it satisfied all those different groups. Actually, I kept one thing in mind as I worked: a serious Fairport fan who approached them in the States around 2005 and asked why Sandy wasn't with them.  So, I decided to tell the full story, but wherever possible to provide new insights, comments from the band, corrections to received wisdom and therefore make sure I told the whole story.”

MH: One thing I think the book achieves is to personalise the story, helped in no small part by the interview snippets.  In other words, giving an insight into the various members' thoughts, for example Jerry Donahue’s negative frame of mind in his final months with the band. Perhaps that's one way to straddle the old /new camps of readers – providing information that's pertinent to both.

NS: “It's good that Fairport has benefited so well from reissues (certainly of the Island era material - the Woodworm Era is another matter and one which they address in the book), There have also been the box sets and BBC collections. So even that old stuff has its own currency. Fairport's deliberate policy of re-recording songs from its back catalogye has helped here too. It's very different from playing a song live or even including it on a live album: it takes a song from the band's repertoire and essentially says "How would THIS Fairport tackle this song?" - just as they would with songs from other sources. By Popular Request was a bold, and very successful, attempt to take this to the actual extreme.

“So I think that there is a general awareness of the history that may not be "your" bit of the Fairport story. Everyone has an aspect of their career - or maybe a period of their career - that they don't really know about - so I tried to cover that. I also tried to provide new insights when you are reading about a part of their career you may know well. The fact that the information is 'from the horses' mouths' gives it validity and I know some remarks have surprised other band members because they had realised that their fellow band members had seen things in a certain way.

“The other aspect of personalisation, which is something Fairport very much wanted, was that it included my view of the band's history, particularly because of my changing relationship with them. So I tend to wander in and out at certain key moments, using memories, diary entries, quotes from contemporary articles or reviews etc. to try to act as eyes and ears for the reader.”

MH: Were you conscious of the balance of writing a book called "Fairport by Fairport" but still having to inject your own personality / history / experiences into it?    Do you think you struck the right balance?

NS: “I began to answer this in the last question. It wasn't an easy balance to strike, especially with all the Fairport voices ringing down the years as well. I tried various formats, including one which began each section with an eye-witness account and then leapt Doctor Who-like to connected bits of their career. For example, seeing the Nine line up at Cropredy prompts recollections of that particular "Phoenix Phairport" moment and then led on to Sandy's return and their experiment with AOR. In the end the approach became too complex and anything but a straight narrative, with occasional cross-referencing tended to disturb the balance.

“I wanted to make my own appearances (as opposed to simply providing the neutral narrative timeline) happen where I felt experience or memory provided a useful insight. Luckily, I was working with skilled editors who helped keep everything on track: it was a very fruitful collaboration in every respect.”

MH: When you look back on it - assuming you do – is there anything you'd change? Apart from the odd typo, perhaps!

NS: "With any book, one wishes one had more time (and yes that includes a final run at the proofing!). As it turned out, the time I set aside for the initial in depth writing didn't quite work out and so I ended up fitting in a lot of the writing with other commitments, which I would have preferred not to do. It would also have been good to have had the book ready for Cropredy.

“Most of all, though, the real regret is those people I could not longer interview: Geoff Hughes who died as the book was being completed; Jonah Jones who I only interviewed once, briefly, at Cropredy; and of course Sandy, Trevor and Martin.”

MH: What's so good about Fairport anyway?  :)

NS:  “45 years for a start. The fact the band can have support change and still be Fairport. Three classic albums in one year. Inventing a hugely significant music genre. The great musicians that have been and are still in the band. The band's reputation, despite its lack of commercial success in the accepted sense. Its cottage industry approach. Cropredy at the same time a hugely respected and influential festival and the world's biggest village fete. And, something I return to several times in the book, Fairport's strange ability to anticipate important trends. That moment during Meet On The Ledge when the lights come up on the audience and every one of that 20,000 strong crowd is briefly a member of Fairport Convention. The ascending fiddle line that improves perfection at the end of Farewell, Farewell.”

MH: Anything else you'd like to mention about the book that no-one has asked you yet?  I assume it's still available – or are reprints likely?

NS: “There was an initial run of autographed copies, followed by the immediate second reprint which has not sold out. It is intended to keep the book in print. Whether it will be available in other forms is something yet to be decided.

“I have been asked how long it took me to write the book. I'll give you the real answer - six months and 44 years.

“I was pleased to be able to include a chapter which dealt specifically with folk-rock i.e. all the Fairport versions of traditional songs. There are fewer than one might imagine for a band regularly described as a folk group - and usually found in the folk sections of record shops (remember them?)

“It's a good point to say thanks to everyone who has been part of Fairport for all the music which kept on coming round again when I really needed it, for the great times I've spent with you, for the hours of interviews over the years and for your incredibly warm and positive response to the book - particularly Ashley who called out of the blue having borrowed a copy from Simon.

“Finally, an abiding Fairport memory. There was a tape of an interview with Sandy, recorded shortly before her death. It was recorded for radio and never broadcast. Events overtook its relevance, particularly as she was looking ahead to what she hoped would happen. It had sat unplayed for years and was so badly deteriorated that it was beyond rescue. Oxide was being visibly shed as it played. It was a strange feeling to know the tape was being heard for the first and only time, and to hear our two voices and Sandy's boisterous infectious giggle. I made notes as well as transcribing and ended up with the cliche "larger than life" - then realised how little of Fairport's 45 years she (or Richard or Ashley or Swarb) spent in the band, but what towering influences they have remained. At the time the nation was full of Olympic fervour and I added to my notes "Liege, Lief and Legacy". Some things, of course, are destined from the outset not to make the final cut, but they help things along the way.”

More details on the 'Fairport By Fairport' webpage: http://fairportconventionbook.com/

Interesting interview.  Thanks for that...

The interview "proper" is now up at http://sleepinghedgehog.com/books/nigel-schofield-fairport-by-fairport/

Good work, splendid read. It certainly does answer a few points raised both here and in my head.

It's been reviewed in The Telegraph!:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/artsandentertainmentbooksreview/9840365/Fairport-by-Fairport-by-Nigel-Schofield-review.html

It's now down to £29.99 and will be on sale at Croppers.

If anyone wants a copy, you can have mine there for £10. Let me know and I'll bring it along.

Where?

Jules

Here.

http://fairportconventionbook.com/

Hefty shipping cost though.

Drat.  But thanks.

Jules

My copy is now sold.

The debate continues.  Swarb certainly continues to fight his good fight with regards to this book.  On Rocket 88's announcement on Facebook of the price reduction he's posted this (and much else besides):

"forget the guff thats in the book for a sec,answer me this please mr Rocket, who gets the money? i can give you a list of who doesnt if it helps. Judy Dyble,the Martin Lamble estate, .the Sandy Denny estate, Richard Thompson, dave Swarbrick,the Trevor Lucas estate, Jerry Donahue,Tommy Farnell. dan ar bras,Bruce Rowland, Dave Mattacks. roger Hill, and some i forgot. none of these fine people get a cent for the OFficial book on Fairport. who does well, you mr rocket, Nigel Schofield, Dave Pegg, and Simon Nicol. nuff said Mr Rocket."

...and added Maart to the list of those not benefiting later.

Not much of a debate when Swarb says it's cr*p. An opinion I happen to share, to clarify my opinions here (http://www.talkawhile.co.uk/yabbse/index.php?topic=39793.msg616560#msg616560).

His latest posting:  "any one buying Fairport by Fairport at Cropredy can send it to me I will correct it and return it signed for 20 pounds post free."

Lol  ;D

I am not aware that biographies generally provide royalties to their subjects. As far as inaccuracies, I wasn't there and don't know any of the people involved---but I do know if 5 people tell a story, there will be 5 versions.

You're forgetting that the author is using interviews with all these people, who may feel that entitles them to something.

If 5 people tell a story you generally get a rounded picture. In the case of this book, as I've said before, there are no warts and that's a little disappointing and some stories are completely absent, which is more disappointing. Others are plain inaccurate according to Swarb and, unlike us, he was there, so he's entitled to say what he likes.

But that's just my opinion.

Swarb has been quite vocal about FBF on Facebook, to the point of claiming he burned it (rescuing a trapped honey bee in the process).

He is perhaps the funniest person on the planet, BTW, especially when he's out of sorts.

Of course he has the right to express his opinion. Did I suggest otherwise? Didn't mean to---I merely meant that most of us don't have enough data to takes sides. Or at least I sure don't.

As far as compensation for being interviewed, surely the time to bring that up was before the interview(s), not after publication?

I personally like Swarb's newest offer (which I don't believe is entirely a joke):

"any one buying Fairport by Fairport at Cropredy can send it to me I will correct it and return it signed for 20 pounds post free."

Now THAT could be amusing.

Don't be in a hurry, he's off to Canada.

I think you're correct - he'd do it!

Jules

Sorry but Swarb is coming across pretty badly as far as I can see - ok he feels he and others are misrepresented, and indeed "he was there"' as were Peggy and Simon as well of course who may remember things differently or wish to present things differently. The cash situation is just plain daft, the Fairport brand is clearly owned by Peggy and Simon and in their stewardship has achieved one thing it never did in earlier incarnations - financial stability for its members. To expect anything other than maybe a small interview fee for this sort of book is pointless (and even this would be unusual) my guess is it may have broken even but not much more than that, the author may have been paid a fee or may be on a commission basis - not enough to get rich on certainly.

As for playing at Cropredy again let us hope there is no connection with the book - if that is the case it seems very churlish, but as we know Fairport is a history of rifts and splits and his looks like another one,lets hope it can be resolved and friendships, if not professional partnerships, may remain strong.

DW

Is Swarb saying 'no more Cropredy'?

Jules

Yep.

Bummer.  Anyone have the full quote to hand?

Jules

Somebody else asks "So no guest spot this year then, DS? I was hoping for an a capella duet with Alice Cooper..."

Swarb replies: "haha. no Paul. Cropredy boots are hung up now for all time"

Later as people respond with 'what a crying shame' type comments, Swarb adds

"its been a lot of fun and i thank each and every one of you."

How terribly sad.

Jules

There's plenty of time for healing before the 50th anniversary.

probably, but they will wave a few £50 notes under his nose to help him reconsider baby

I keep going on facebook and the book keeps coming up as a suggested post or sponsored ad or something, and all I see is Swarb arguing with himself and looking a bit daft. OK, he doesn't agree with the whole thing, but couldn't he have a bit of dignity and take a step back from it. he looks like a moody teenager.

If he sees a number of factual errors I think he's entitled to point that out.

I agree but possibly not at such infernal length and with such bad grace. He has made his point and it was a point worth making but it might be more dignified to let it go now.

Incidentally, I am not sure whether there was any intention to stir the pot (probably not) but I was amused to hear that whilst Swarb was repeatedly invoked from the stage at Cropredy, Nigel Schofield was actually invited on and announced as a fine writer or some such. I bet that has helped matters no end!

Oh, but that's exactly what I LOVE about Mr Swarbrick!  ;D

There was a LOT of copies of the book for sale at the merch tent...

Because they haven't sold as many as they thought they would?

No, I think it is a new print run as a regular hardback without the cloth cover from what I can make out from their website.

This wouldn't be the same Swarb for whom the current members of Fairport raised money via the 'Swarbaid' gigs, CDs, etc, would it? Because I would venture that the money raised for him would dwarf any royalties that may or may not be accruing to them from the sale of this book. It's sad that he seems to have forgotten the kindness shown to him when he was at his lowest ebb.

My thoughts on this topic perfectly encapsulated

Cheers Nigel

Haven't there been intimations of some kind of rift having developed between Swarb and FC within the last few years? I'm sure I've seen cryptic comments from Swarb in relation to Cropredy a while back that led to that conclusion.

For my part, put me down as very disappointed with the book. I wish I hadn't paid so much for it. I want warts-and-all, but at least the interview with Schofield suggests that such a book is in the works. The DVD is entirely inconsequential, and if that was really the best way of filling 45 minutes that they could come up with, I'm amazed they even bothered.

BTW has anyone got a link to Swarb's comments about the book on Facebook?

They are on Facebook,you would need to be a user and get befriended by the worlds greatest fiddler and grumpy old sod

Haha, he's got the grumpy old sod down to a fine art on bookface! Think he's offering to do (historically corrected) column notes on copies now!  :D

Seconded, many thanks.

I'm absolutely going to take Swarb up on his offer, albeit at the risk of losing my autographed, cloth-bound book in the international post.

I just (last night) finished the book and would just like to make a couple of points that I don't think have been made elsewhere...

The major problem with an "authorised" biography, unless it is being deliberately marketed as a confessional, is that a lot more of the stuff we the reader might think is "interesting" is left out - to avoid embarrassment, avoid hurting people, avoid lawsuits, whatever.  And the more people that "authorise" the story, the more those situations are going to arise.

In a way, it's a lose-lose situation.  The people who best know the stories are the least likely to tell them.  I think everyone who has read the book can think of a dozen places where - to be blunt - we could have been told something "juicy."  The rumours and legends surrounding Sandy's death, for example.  Various departures.  Sundry on- and offstage incidents.  But look back at my list of avoidances and ask yourself, could any of those stories have been truthfully told without crossing one of those lines?

No book on any band or performer is ever going to please every fan, and even those biogs that are routinely described as classics (the Doors "Out Of Here Alive," Zep's "Hammer of the Gods") have as many detractors as admirers.  But "Fairport" tells its story well... it prompted me to haul out a few of the albums I've not listened to in ages... and while I'll agree that certain elements of the Free Reed booklets could have been incorporated a little better, I think NS did as good a job as circumstances allowed him to.

 

I like it that Fairport don't wash their dirty linen in public.

Did you see what she did there...  ;D

Oops! A Freudian slip ...    ;D

Yes, but a really good one!

I think I read somewhere that Swarb was planning his own memoirs - that would give him ample opportunity to set straight those records that he feels need so doing.

I read that right here!

Jules

Swarb's at it again on fb!!  You've got to love him.. ;D

'i have heard rumours that. the film rights of ' Fairport by Fairport have been purchased by Walt Disney!'

 ;D

I know they're on FB and I'm a member, but although I've searched various permutations of Swarb's name I can't find his personal page. There are a several Dave Swarbricks on FB (including one right here in Dubai). Which one is it? There aren't any clues. I've found a Swarb fan group, but it doesn't seem to contain any posts from the man himself.

Here you go: https://www.facebook.com/david.swarbrick.182

Well, someone's got to say it - phwooaaarrr!!!

Cheers Andy!

He's really getting fiery today-- mentioned bringing litigation if possible (and, with the argument he makes that the book will likely become a legitimate 'academic resource' for anyone seriously studying the folk revival of the 60s/70s, I can understand, to a point, where he's coming from).

Imho, whilst leaning far more towards his side of the argument, I think he's in danger of making a bit of a fool of himself.  Imho, he'd be far better placed to concentrate his efforts on making his own autobiography as tip top and 'accurate' as he can....and quit the increasingly childish and tiresome outbursts.

Quite agree.  If he's concerned that the stories in FbyF are incorrect, then get his versions out there...

This is what I wrote earlier today on Dave's wall:

"Dave, rather than litigation, I would suggest getting your own book out there as soon as possible. There are plenty of us who'd be happy to lend any assistance we can. I understand your point about university courses, but no respectable piece of academic research would base itself on a single source. If your book appears next to this one on shelves and in bibliographies - preferably with a more substantial publisher - then your voice would be heard, as it so deserves to be."

His reply: "thanks Philip work is in progress with my book. being written by a doctor of history and you may well be right."

I was tempted to come back, in the smart-Alec style endemic to Bookface, and observe that "doctoring history" is exactly what he's charging his old bandmates with. Then I thought of the title of one of his own songs - 'Let It Go'. Wise advice.  

I saw your response on their, Philip. I think you're spot on  ;)

Litigation..alleging what exactly??  Assuming a court action was not thrown out at an early stage, the spectre of a folk rock Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce looms, with the participants spending all their money and time on a futile exercise..

It's a pity that work has already started Philip.......you would have been my nominee for a crack at re-telling the Swarbrick tales of yore.  

Well, thank you kindly, sir! I'm curious to know the identity of this "doctor of history" who is helping, ghosting, or whatever.

I wonder if h would have the same attitude if he had been offered 10% of the take?

Especially since, as your scare quotes suggest, there's no such thing as a doctor of history! (One can, of course, be a Doctor of Philosophy in History.)

Yours sincerely,

A Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy

Or maybe it is really a Doctor Of Physick  ;)

well it seems odd to me that a book which purports to be the definitive tome about a band  doesn't at least interview the surviving former members, never mind the man who was the guiding force for most of the 70's.
had he been interviewed and given a cut of the profits he might not be as peplexed as to where the writer got his info from

Who tf gets a cut of the profits for an interview in a biography?  The current band wil have (presumably) got paid for the signatures and their 'authorisation' of the product, but beyond that...?  I doubt anybody's got even remotely rich out of it.  The only thing wrong with the whole project is that the book is inaccurate and sloppy about lots of stuff.  He's right to point that out of course...I wish he'd just stop going on about it and concentrate on what he can control.  Good comments, Philip, btw...I've given up reading most of his threads so thanks for posting that here.

I'd go and check on your relic now if I were you Sandra.  ;D

Paul

In one of his FB posts on this subject, Swarb identified the author of his authorized biography as Professor Jason Wilson:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Wilson_(musician)

Dr. Wilson is also a reggae musician with whom I had the pleasure of seeing Swarb and David Francey perform in Toronto several years back.

He appears (with hi9s band) on the first track of the Raison d'etre album doesn't he?  And according to the Wikipedia album is recording an album with Swarb which is due out this year.

Hear hear. The book's out there, haven't read it and I probably won't - not for that steep price (for the postage to Holland alone, I'd have to sell a child and a few belongings to cough that up!) and not after comments from various ex members, and readers. It was once on my wishlist and now it's not.

I wouldn't know about inside stuff that is or isn't in there, and is or isn't accurate, for I wasn't there, but ... the very simple fact that it makes Maart come out of Leeds instead of Manchester is so sloppy for such a basic simple little fact, it's beyond belief. Having spotted a fair few inaccuracies myself in the Free Reed boxset books when they came out (no example off the top of my head, I just remember having read things which were wrong, as in Cropredy details of years I was there myself), I have to believe what Swarb says about it being riddled with mistakes is true.

But who to blame - wasn't it more a collective mistake, misremembered things, oversights, so long ago, old interview bits used actually being inaccurate, etc etc etc?
Nigel Schofield I suppose was commissioned to do this because the publisher and the current band trusted him with the matter. And he probably did the best he felt he could with the means he had. Who was sloppy? The writer, the proofreader, the interviewees' memory, the publisher, the deadline, the passing of 45+ years, a combination of all? It's a little easy to put Nigel Schofield in the corner and brand him a bad boy. Or current Fairporters.

On Facebook Swarb goes on and on and on and on and on and on (on and on and on and on and on and on) about it. The book is out there, warts 'n all however well presented as a luxury book by the outside looks of it, and there's very little to do about that now. Other than for Swarb to write his own book (and that would be his view: who says THAT is 200% accurate? Swarb will, sure - but however big a role he had, he ain't all Fairport).
This book is called "Fairport by Fairport". Guess it ain't the best of titles then, unless with Fairport they mean: the five who are Fairport now: the way THEY remember it, or even the way they choose to present it. Would "Fairport by Swarb" end up a faultless gospel no-one objects to? We shall see, if this happens at all - by all means, let him write it, instead of endlessly bemoaning what's already out there. Maart was fairly vocal about inaccuracies as well, but he made his point and moved on. Life's too short. Music's too precious.  

After all those comments, I have been convinced not to bother with the book, anyway. Maybe at best I will if it ever becomes an eBay cheapo, but I doubt it will.
But, Facebookswarb, move on, ye made yer point already. Is it in anyone's advantage at all to get nastier than abolutely needed? In one of his later writings, he asks if he could have copies of all the Free Reed box set books. I trust this means he never bothered much about their content before?

Well said, koho. I myself will not be buying the book any time soon anyway, simply because I don't have the cash available after throwing meat to the creditors nipping at my heels. I just hate to see such a long association end with such acrimony. Oh, well.

I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it with this one:

"today I start work on my book 'FAirport by ex Fairport' the unexpurgated history of Fairport convention from 1985 till the present day. sub titled ' when i left'. I shall be interviewing nobody. please do not tell any member of the group, I want it to be a secret."

 ;D

That's hilarious.

Jules

But pitiful. I really can't believe he wants to drive this big a wedge between himself and his ex bandmates who clearly love him.

This is a cracked record now and psychologically it seems like a worrying level of obsession.

I'm not going to disagree with you (although I still think the joke itself above *is* funny)...but the comments in the thread (many of them by people who don't seem to get the point of the joke that Swarb has just made) below and Swarb's responses to them are (very) disappointing...

I love Swarb, and all of his strange ways.  He can do, or say no wrong as far as I'm concerned.  :-X ;)

I especially liked spotting comments from (among others) Sylvia Nicol and Dave Mattacks.

Cut and paste, anyone?

Jules

If nobody else grabs them first, I'll pick 'em after work  ;)

Here's an edited version with a few honourable contributors' comments.

Incidentally I think describing Swarb as pitiful is at best patronising and at worst, downright insulting to him. If he feels annoyed that details were missed or gotten entirely wrong, who are we to say he can't comment?



[Photo over 400 days old. Removed by Admin.]

And here is what he's actually going to do.

[Photo over 400 days old. Removed by Admin.]

Now this idea I really like!

Jules

If he's on page 4, it will be some time before it comes out, if it is as full of mistakes as he claims! Interesting that he forgot Simon's wife was one of his FB friends (as a current FC member, as opposed to DM, JD and Maart).

I can guarantee right here and now, that those that have been on this forum berating the Swarbster, will be the first to send off/read the pamphlet.  ::)  :)

Nobody said Swarb was pitiful - merely some of his comments on a particular issue.

DW

God bless him!  I will send him the SASE and also make a contribution to his favourite (Eng. spelling) charity!

Exactly. Thank you. I was referring to the perpetuation of the squabble, not the man. The point was well made long ago.

Seems to me the whole thing will end up polarizing current and former band members as well as fans...and, in fact, already has started to. That makes me sad.  :(

Here's still hoping that the music and the meaningfulness of long-term friendships will overcome current hurt feelings and anger, as I'm sure they have in the past.  :)

Well with promising that pamphlet, at least he seems more constructive.

However it seems to get written in a time of some apparent bad blood so here's to hoping he can avoid unnecessary 'dirty linen' for the thing about publishing stuff is - you can't correct something once it's set in stone ( ... as we see with the Schofield book ... it's out there and a pamphlet with Swarb's corrections doesn't change that), so here's to hoping it's a pamphlet with dignity and without the sometimes quite snide remarks, posted "shot from the hip" at FB ... at the author, the publisher and ex colleagues, however much I can understand his irritation if his own claims are true (and I bet they are) but it's all very public indeed.

So mistakes were made, so things were misremembered, so the writer may have been misinformed or was lousy in fact checking - but would it all have been on purpose? We're only human (and we all may remember things differently to boot). It's kinda shoddy on the factchecking, to say the least, even more so for a book this expensive. I'd be quite pissed off had I spent - what, 40 quid inc P&P to Europe?

And who knows maybe they can kiss 'n make up and the publisher incorporates these corrections in a possible next edition which I'd then happily buy (not now, not that much dosh for a book with multiple flaws).

In he end they share a very important past; current FC would have been where they are now without Swarb but, lest we forget, vice versa too, they owe a lot to each other.
And some spent half lives in each other's pocket, too, of course there's (been) occasionally bad blood, they're not in airy fairy land where all is well, it's real life stuff, it's a job and they're forever linked with each other long after they kicked the bucket.
Heck, there's occasional bad blood in my marriage, too  ^-^ but that doesn't mean I don't love her!

May be all the members of Fairport (both past and present) could write their own biographies...they could come out as a box set...
or perhaps (more appropriately) marketed and sold (Through the usual retail outlets) as a part work issued over 52 weeks...although the chances are it would continue into issue no. 53...54...67...101

I reckon the solution is this...
Do some deal with a t.v production company,build a house somewhere,a field in Oxfordshire maybe,with various rooms,a diary room (or dairy room if there are still cows in the field) and so on,and put loads of hidden cameras in it.Call the programme Fairport Convention:Air Your Contention or Full House.
Lock each line up of the band in it as they occured originally,so start with Jude,Simon,Richard,Ashley and Ian,and each day,someone has to go into the diary room and is given a subject about the bands history to discuss in order to win a days food.
The members then reminisce,discuss,argue about that subject,until a consensus is achieved and the task is completed.The next line up is then assembled and the process is repeated until the truth is presented for publication.
I can see it now:

Geordie bloke (played by Bob Fox):Day twelve - Simon,Richard,D.M,and Swarb are in the garden,when Peggy has something to say:

Peggy:Well I remember it perfectly, I poured me cider,and I opened the fridge to get me kippers,and they were gone.I didn't eat 'em so who did,eh?
Richard:Well don't look at me,I was in the garden practicing my archery,trying to get that bloody peacock out of the tree.
DM:I was practicing on my new triangle.What a bargain that was,did I tell you about the kid? He was...
Peggy:Yes,Dave,about a million times....that's not relevant anyway....I want to know who ate me kippers!
Simon:And what about my shampoo? I was running a bath and I couldn't find it anywhere,so I had to go into Little Hadham to buy some more,and when I got back,the water was cold.Again.
Swarb:It couldn't have been me....I was moving me bed.
Peggy:Peacocks!Triangles!Shampoo!Beds!WHATABOUTMEBLOODYKIPPERS??????????
Richard (mutters):And you wonder why I went solo.......
Simon:Hang on....If it wasn't Me,Richard,Dave,Dave or Dave.....it must have been....
Simon,Richard,Peggy,Swarb,D.M:THE MIGHTY GLYDD!!!!!!!!!!!

A ratings winner,I reckon!  

Excellent fooling, Mike!   ;D

Jules

Here's the link to Swarb's corrections - http://www.folkicons.co.uk/fbfcorrections.pdf

Fascinating.  Now I think I understand why he's so upset.

Thanks for that, Ollie.

Jules

It was things like, temper issues' and the effects of bachus drink, on the band that I hoped to know more about.
Interesting if Nigel really did have no proof reading control over the finished product.
I have said before,the illustrations are awful.
I had always assumed Swarb been in Scotland was the reason he didn't rejoin in 85. He would now seem to reject this.
 

This settles it once and for all for me - I'm not buying this book.

Jules

I read the "corrections." For the record, Dylan went electric in 1965.  :)

Very, very sad.

But to be fair, so far as I know, he didn't use electric guitar in his 1965 UK tour which is being alluded to - that happened two months later in July 1965 at Newport FF.

Yes but didn't tour the UK with a band until '66.

I was sort of going through the list and thinking actually the vast majority of this is fairly minor stuff, until I got to the last page.  I hadn't realised the issue with Nigel himself and how the book whilst carrying his name isn't really his book either.  The last little paragraph is heartbreaking.  Oh dear oh dear...

Nope, me neither.

That's interesting.  As I remember at the time it was fairly out in the open that he was concentrating on Whippersnapper, and that his hearing issues meant it was completely unviable for him to be in a loud electric band....I mean he was struggling enough on stage as it was in the early 80's in that area.

I certainly haven't heard Swarbs take on what happened in '85 before - I always assumed it was hearing and Scotland (might be faulty memory, but I thought that's what he said on the it all comes round again video)...I'm currently in the interval at Fairports gig in Wimborne, and have noticed a couple of asides from Simon re:Swarb ("don't mention his name"). Hope it does all blow over...great gig, though, with a cracking Doctor of Physik the highlight so far..

I think Swarb meant that Dylan's first electric appearances in the UK were in 1966.

Jules

I can't remember the source, either, but I too recall reading or hearing years ago with reference to Gladys' Leap that Swarb declined an offer to overdub violin parts on music that the others had already selected and/or written, arranged and recorded without his involvement.  I'm glad that he has stated this for the record again, with a fuller explanation of the additional considerations.

I bought the posh edition as an early Christmas present to myself last year.  Still haven't read it.  Will do so with Swarb's errata in hand and the knowledge that Jerry, RT, Maart, Bruce, DM and others might not fully concur with it either.

I'm thinking that the source was Schofield's book that came with Free Reed's Fairport UnConventional set.

Jules

There's also the relevant section of "The Woodworm Era" by Fred Redwood and Martin Woodward.
Simon is quoted as saying "The main reason why Swarb disliked the album [Gladys' Leap] was that he wasn't involved in it..." and "Swarb is very much a one-trick pony. He'd make a lousy juggler. It just so happened that around '85 he was focusing all his energies on Whippersnapper."

Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge says that Ric was asked to play on Gladys' because Swarb was in Scotland,then says Swarb hated the l.p, 'Only because he wasn't on it - says Simon' and refused to play any of it at Cropredy.It was after this that he mentioned Swarb's hearing problems.
Fred Redwood and Martin Woodward's The Woodworm Era expands on this slightly,suggesting (interesting in view of another current thread) that being concerned about becoming a nostalgia act with no more new material coming out since the '79 split,Simon,and Peggy decided a new album was needed.DM was available,but 'Swarb was in Scotland (mentioned once more in the intervening text).....
Regardless of this,in his abscence,the remaining band members made Gladys's Leap.A fiddler was needed,so the obvious choice was Chris Leslie.But he was very much involved with Swarb and his new outfit,Whippersnapper.Simon and DM had worked with Ric Sanders in the Albion Band...he duly filled in and did an excellent job......
The trouble started when Swarb heard Gladys's Leap.He thought it was dreadful...
"The main reason why Swarb disliked the album was that he wasn't involved in it." was Simon's summary of events.
This book then describes Swarb refusing to play the new stuff at Cropredy,and the rest of the band being concerned that the album was well received by critics and fans so it would be ludicrus not to play it live.They reasoned that as Swarb had his other band,and had tinnitus,if they were to reform the band as a going concern,they had to do it without him.
Schofield's Fairport UnConventional book tells us that at the start of 1985 'Swarb headed home to Scotland while the rest of the band took time out in Oxfordshire....' plans were made for a new album ' but Swarb was up in Scotland and busy with Whippersnapper.'
and then continues the story pretty much as above.
The Swarb book however,says that 'Swarb's residency in Aberdeenshire obviously severely restricted his activities...this was partly under doctor's orders....When Fairport .....decided to start recording again,Swarb already had other commitments and it was not practicable for Swarb to be included-the subject of some bitterness at the time.In 1983,Swarb had moved down to Preston Capes in Northamptonshire.....

The official FC website has a potted history by DP, which includes a reference to Swarb's non involvement with Gladys' Leap..

http://www.fairportconvention.com/dave_pegg_history.php

Have just read Swarb's corrections. Hmmm. Some good points, some trivial though the argument in the final paragraphs is well made.

However, I can't see what the author/editors would have stood to gain by deliberately misrepresenting some of this stuff. It seems to me therefore that somebody must have said these things at some point and it may therefore be a case of differing memories from different people. Perhaps the problem stems from just using a single source for the anecdotes.

The whiff of the book being some sort of power play by Peggy & Simon to profit the current band just feels unlikely to me but that is what Swarb implies. Whether or not there is any truth in that, it is hard to envisage a reconciliation any time soon and indeed there is a suggestion that relations within the band have always been much more fractious than we have previously been led to believe.

I still don't believe it is a willfully dishonest book or a cynically opportunist one. It is just not very well written and is both too subjective and too in awe of its subject.

I see Nigel Scholfield is coming to Adderbury in November to talk about Fairport and folk..perhaps a good occasion to clear the air?

I'd suggest that the cock-up theory always wins over the conspiracy theory.

You know that, and I know that; but that's not how it read. The issue is accuracy, right?

(In case no one figured it out, I am just trying to lighten the mood.)

...an observation…in relation to the Fairport by Fairport book. It has been an interesting journey reading the comments before and after this book came out...there was perhaps a certain expectation (with some Fairport fans…I have to be careful as this is an assumption here) that the book would be a 'warts and all’ tome. I like others (assumption on my part once more) may have purchased the book to get something of a thorough and definitive account of the band from their beginnings, through to the present...a hansom coffee table book with a superabundance of previously unseen images contained within. A faithful document that bridges the gaps which the book 'meet on the Ledge’ by Patrick Humphries did not cover/pursue…(looking back it was quite a brief affair)…and the ‘Unscrapbooking’ …an A4 ring bound project that was sometimes difficult to penetrate because of photocopy technology.

I read the FbF book efficiently and I must say I enjoyed reading it…much of the material/stories had some familiarity (however these stories were layered with more detail than I was personally aware of)…(wishing to be credulous…I have only so much interest in squabbling amongst persons that I do not know personally…I was not really knowledgeable about the ‘Dirty Linen’ in the Fairport (airing) cupboard…the stuff I was aware of (anecdotal) I wanted to believe that those personal rifts had healed (evidence was that many former Fairport members could continue to be seen at Cropredy…or at the Royal Festival Hall (minus Swarb…a Joe Boyed issue?).

How these incredible musicians continued to perform together would be purely based upon my own want… for me the renewal of these artists performing together was always a joy…least not confrontation get in the way. If (I reasoned) undercurrents of conflict persisted, then hopefully a certain level professionalism and mutual respect (age can be a healer) would mean that for an almost indefinite period of time the members of Fairport could still continue to perform together on the same stage…but this is idealism on my part…Fairport history…the idea of family is all well and good…but this family is not related (what is bred in the bone) so perhaps the issuing of contracts and business agreements (for the former members of the Fairport family) could help preserved some integrity and the spirit of the idea of the Cropredy reunion (although the festival dropped the annual reunion approach years ago). Basically I hoped a way could always be found…and I (like others) could/would continue to see ex-Fairport members and the current membership preform together on the same stage.

After reading the book I was a little underwhelmed with it…although the latter part was interesting as my knowledge of the band within the past decade is limited. (I was personally flattered that my name was surprisingly included within the main body of the text…a brief quotation no less). As I read it I was not aware that there would be factual errors contained within (I do not know what I do not Know...see the Donald Rumsfeld philosophy) and I had no concept of just how estranged the story of Fairport could be...if it had indeed been revealed in this book.

It was clear (reading reviews of the book in this forum) that some (who had read the book) felt that it was a little soft...basically there was little dirt dished out…in all it’s gory detail… your knowledge as to what was out there is greater than mine...however in one way through the writing of this book (and all its failings) your wishes have now come true…is Pandora’s box been opened? For my part I have/have had very little knowledge of the bad blood that clearly exists within the Fairport (Family)…what is now clear is that the ‘warts and all ‘material is becoming public knowledge…good for the outside observer…for history? Having read Dave Swarbrick’s notes I empathise with his personal predicament (in relation to the book and his part in the Fairport saga…and I look forward to reading his personal account/book…I hope all past and present members of Fairport survive all this…and that the future writers of this history get it more right than wrong.

Curmudgeon alert - having a bad day today.

Pandora's box was kept firmly closed when FbF was produced. No warts were exposed. In fact several warts were hidden away - several really quite well known episodes were not dealt with at all, perhaps because of potential embarrassment for those concerned, perhaps because the book was never meant as anything other than a compilation of previously written pieces, produced to milk more profit from the fans.

One clue to the compilation aspect is the overlap that much of the book suffers from. Another was the sheer age of some of the interviews. Certain past band members are almost excluded from the book simply because they weren't interviewed by the author in, say, 1985.

The only way that such a superficial approach could be forgiven, in my opinion, would have been to actually make it a coffee table book and included many, many more photos. To see how this can be done properly, see The Rolling Stones At 50 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolling-Stones-Jagger-Richards-Charlie/dp/B00CF6GQMS/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379067934&sr=1-15&keywords=rolling+stones+50), a book I really like.

I sold my copy and I don't miss it at all.

Weirdly, that was perhaps one of your all-time least curmudgeonly posts, Andy.   ;D

Jules

I haven't read the book and have no intention of doing so.

I just think that it is very sad that, after a number of people have worked together most of their adult lives and have previously agreed to various anecdotes etc appearing on sleevenotes, FC website etc, that anyone should expect or want a 'warts and all' publication. It would be surprising if a group of Musos hadn't had the odd tiff during their careers but the camaraderie has always seemed to have shone through.

Regrettably we live in an era of gossip and celebs, with the most intrusive personal reports about them appearing on a daily basis in all newspapers and TV. FC have never been celebs and I am sad that such a book appears to have cast them in that mould (at least for the purpose of salacious or inaccurate gossip). If there has been bad blood between Swarb and current members it has never been apparent on stage at Cropredy, Birthday Bashes etc but this book appears to have either created bad blood or, certainly, aggravated it.

I had been looking forward to the eventual publication of Swarb's memoirs. Indeed I helped his wife in a very small way to obtain an interview re the Angel. I hope that when it does hit the shelves that it it doesn't create the sort of aggro this book has done.

I'm with Mr L I don't normally read this sort of stuff and I found the book really difficult to get into and discarded it after 4 chapters......glad I borrowed it!!

I didn't want 'warts and all', but, you know, maybe a couple of blisters and a paper cut, to keep things interesting.

What I did expect was accuracy and fairness.  That's what this project appears to be in short supply of.

Jules

May I remind you that the advance publicity for this book said "Members of the band past and present have spoken frankly and fully over the past forty years to author Nigel Schofield about the music, the tours, and the life they led as Fairporters." Expecting at least a mini-wart was encouraged by the use of the words "frankly and fully".

I'm with Andy on this.
'Warts and all sounds' a little tabloid. Honesty is a completely different thing.
The book was aimed at 'fans' to make a few bob. Nothing wrong with that, it's their livelihood. It just didn't live up to the pre publicity.

Well said! As a professional musician myself, I am sometimes appalled at how some people get mad at musicians (and artists in general) for trying to put food on thew table. Do bricklayers get slammed for charging for their services?

No, but bricklayers' autobiographies are entitled to get just as much stick as anyone else's.   ;D

Jules

I bought the book and am disappointed with the quality of it. I paid my £40 up front and expected a coffee table book with lots of glossy photos, I assumed the content would be free of errors and as for the signatures ... well, they might as well have photocopied them, as far as I am concerned, and saved everyone some time.

Maybe Fairport are a bit disappointed as well (I don't know) but they can't really say so in public, can they?

Swarb is getting some great publicity for his forthcoming autobiography - I mean, who wouldn't want to read it after all this?  ;D

I have been following this with some interest, I have not bought or read the book although I may borrow it soon. I long ago gave up even trying to figure out what happened in the Fairport history, right after I read the Patrick Humphries book, and as time goes by it seems less and less important. As with our own lives they probably have their own best version of events that puts themselves in the best light. Which maybe none of the other members past or present would agree with. It does seem relevant to me though that it appears only Swarb is voicing a problem with the book, of course he is notoriously outspoken.

I would be more interested in learning the creative process of the recording of albums but who hurt who's feelings and who didn't get paid for what seems to be their business not mine. So for me I guess warts and all or even bumps and scrapes would be irrelevant.

I have to admit though I am in love with the band and the music and not the personalities that make it up. I have never felt the need for many years to have a greater connection with Fairport Convention than the music and Cropredy.

Of course they all need to make a living and none of them have ever been slow to sell merchandise and why not it is their livelihood.

Neil

Not just me then.

[slight OT, but hopefully within the bounds of this thread!] It's interesting going back to these interviews and seeing what a rough ride Maart gets when compared with both Simon N and Dave P's writing about the rest of the history. Both are quite 'frank' in what they write about Maart's departure from the band:

No Gill, I got it as a present, so didn't actually fork out for it. But I did expect a little more, certainly in the photographic department.

That is one of the issues that I hoped the book might provide a bit more clarity on. After a decade in the band, what caused the rifts? I realised that some will see this as dirty laundry but Maart's departure initiated a shift in musical direction for the band to a basically acoustic unit so I think this might be illuminating as to why they decided against recruiting another electric guitarist. Also how does all this relate to DM's departure shortly afterwards which I always got the impression was shrouded in bad feeling.

Perhaps I shouldn't want to know about these things but I grew up on books about the Beatles where those sorts of stories are legion and are now part of the legend.

I try very hard not to know too much, but I was 'hanging around' a lot on DM's final Wintour and his departure seemed very amicable to me.

Despite starting this topic, I still haven't read the book.  ???

For me, though, the thread's been interesting because of the way the publication of Fairport by Fairport has laid bare our expectations, as fans.

Last word from me re 'warts and all'
The pre publicity on FC's site said the book, 'tells the full unexpergated story.'
It doesn't.
So much missing.
End of.  :(

Thanks Ollie. I will put the corrections, unread, with my unread second hand copy of the book.
The comments made about the book have put it way down my reading list.

Well, I've just finished reading 'Fairport by Fairport' and I have to say that I enjoyed it.  I found it readable, engaging and entertaining.  I also learnt a lot (I speak as someone who discovered Fairport in the early nineties and who has since acquired a general, but by no means detailed, knowledge of the band's early history.)  I can see why those who are already well-versed in Fairport's life story, or were expecting 'warts and all', might be disappointed but, for me, it was fun.  

I particularly enjoyed listening to the early albums (and the BBC recordings) alongside the sections relating their genesis in the book - a very evocative experience.  I also liked the digressions from the chronology that occur at various points - these felt very natural to me and lent the narrative the feel of a conversation.  For example, mention of the performance of 'The Battle of Evermore' at Cropredy prompts a discussion of the various ways in which Sandy Denny has been represented at the festival, almost as it would if you were chatting about the topic in the pub.

It's by no means perfect - there are bits of repetition and the penultimate chapter is redundant and smacks of something knocked together to bump up the page count.  Certainly there are errors in the book - some of which are so glaring that even I can spot them.  However, these seem to me to be borne from a lack of revision (signs of haste, perhaps) or poor proof-reading, as opposed to any fundamental lack of knowledge on the part of the author (I'm certain that he doesn't think that Sandy rejoined the band in the 80s, for example.)  Anyone can make mistakes - as evidenced by Swarb who makes one in his list of corrections (he states that 4-Play is omitted from the discography.  It isn't - it's there at the top of p411 and is credited to him.)  

Talking of Swarb - I don't know whether I was influenced by my knowledge of his unhappiness at the book, but I did begin to feel that he was being presented in a less than glowing light at times - culminating in the author virtually accusing him of being responsible for Sandy's departure from the band (on both occasions.)  This contrasts with the respectful (some might say too respectful) tone adopted towards the other band members.  But then he embarks on a lengthy panegyric of Swarb (in the section headed 'Violins'), lauding him more than he does any other member of the band, including Sandy.  Certainly Simon and Peggy don't get remotely the same treatment.  A crumb of comfort, maybe?

Anyway, I think it would be a pity if people did turn their back on this book, because it is a good read for a Fairport fan.  Not revelatory or scandalous, perhaps, but worthwhile nontheless.  It also provides a lot of fascinating background information about the operation of the music scene of the late 60s and early 70s.  I know it is expensive for a book, but the cost roughly equates to that of seeing Fairport on the Wintour, once ticket price, transport, programme and a couple of drinks at the bar are all taken into account.  Looked at that way, I think it gives fair value for money (although my copy, like that of many others, was a gift.)

And no, I am not Nigel Schofield and you cannot claim £5.

If Swarb is to be believed, then you certainly wouldn't be!

Jules

Sue & Chris, for whatever it's worth, your review seemed to me objective and very well written. Good on ya!

Well, all reviews are subjective, but there you go. You pays yer money and you makes yer choice. Fair enough.

Well, I haven't read it yet - not because I've been put off but I simply haven't had the time and I have about 7 other books to read first, all in various states of readness (not readiness!) ie I've started them but not finished them!

I am hoping for more than "and then we did this and then we played there and then we recorded this" type of history. I can accept the odd error on a date or place - very few people have a completely accurate recall (it took me an hour recently to work out which field we camped in at Cropredy since 2004 when we started going!) but I do expect easily verifiable info like places of birth etc to be correct.

I'd like to read it before Christmas though as I will have had it a year by then....  maybe

This encourages me. I take for ever to get around to books, too. I must hav ehad mine a few months before I started it. And don't ask me about CDs. ;D

I'm even worse with CDs. I must have 30-odd CDs that I've not listened to yet.  ::) I've started buying everything on iTunes (where I can't buy direct from the Artist) as I know I'll listen to it then.

Send them to me Bridget, I'll listen to them and tell you whether you'd like them or not.

I'm getting to be the same as Bridge with CDs and books.  I have a pile of each, as yet unexperienced.  Back when I was younger and poorer these things just never happened - you bought it, and you devoured it straight away.  Oh the perils of a disposable income....   ::)

Jules

Nigel Schofield is promoting the book at a literary festival in November:
http://www.adderburyliteraryfestival.co.uk/product/folk-and-fairport/#sthash.RoNkeFBU.IvghRMQ0.dpbs

Swarb has challenged him to a "debate".  :o

Ha!  Nigel would have to be a brave man.

Jules

Interesting.
I have some disposable income but I still have to listen to a CD/new music as soon as I get it . If a CD, straight through one sitting. It goes back to those childhood days, of the 60's,  I suppose of buying a single/album , talking it home and putting it straight on to the 'Dansette', so you could tell your mates about it at school next day. I probably haven't changed!
A new book is read immediately. But I'm retired and can build my days round these things, music is on all the time and there will always be time in the day for a read. e'g this morn 7.30 to 9 ,in bed. Ah the joys of retirement!!! ;)
A 2 CD Family compilation , bought for a quid in a charity shop playing as I write.

I do have quite a pile of new (to me, at least) books to be read, which never seems to get any smaller, but CDs do better.  Usually they have to wait until I have had time to put them on the iPod though, so I can listen to them on the way to/from, or even at, work.

My compulsion is to play CDs as soon as possible, usually as I'm in the car on the way back from the emporia. However, on the occasions that I glut on acquisitions it is impossible to cram them all in one sitting (last week I bought 17 albums in one swoop), I find that I'm getting stressed at not having listened to them all, even if I'm familiar with the content. As for books, I'm still 75% through the Tom Waits Interviews book I started 18 months ago; have Keef's autobiog next, plus a stack of fiction to get through.....and don't start me on the Love Film backlog I'm stacking up.

Oh God, that is me in a nutshell, right down to the stress and the Keef book. I get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I have to get through and anxious that I have so much new stuff that I may never have time to listen to the old stuff again.

I am currently on holiday and intended to work my way through several books (including Keef) but have hardly picked one up so far.

I set myself the task of reading 5 novels over my summer hols.  I nailed 4 and started the 5th, but since I came home, I've let it slide and am still on that 5th book.  And, yeah, I feel guilty for not reading it.  Every time I do a sudoku or read a magazine I feel bad for not picking that book up.  

Daft, isn't it?  I mean, we should be able to do what we like with our leisure time, but we feel honour-bound to finish things we've started and not to buy books and CDs and just let them sit there until we actually feel like it.

Jules

I have stacks of unwatched DVDs, unread books and unlistened-to CDs on my shelves but I find it a great comfort knowing they are there and that - assuming I don't get knocked down by a bus tomorrow - I have them all to look forward to!  :) (Heh! I'm just about to start reading Dracula, a copy of which has lain unopened in my possession for over 25 years - now that's what I call delayed gratification!)

Just to nudge this topic back on course, I'm saving Fairport by Fairport for the depths of winter when I shall read it sat next to the fire, a glass of dark ale to hand. Although, having read some of the comments in this thread, I'm hoping I won't be tempted to use it as kindling...  :-\

Thank goodness for that - I thought I was the only one in this situation!

I have somehow managed to keep unlistened to CDs down to a minimum and some of those are reissues of vinyl albums I own..Books and DVDs are a different story, especially DVDs.

 ;D such devotion to duty!

If you've got any Bryan Ferry cds Bridget, send them to me. I'll look after them for you.   ::)  ;D

I can provide a similar service for food and drink

you keep yer 'ands off me Ferrys, Tompkins!  :o

Resist that temptation: dark ale would make terrible kindling!

 :)  :)  :)

Actually, if the house was on fire, I'd probably think twice about using good beer to extinguish the flames  ::)

Anyway, back to the topic: Fairport by Fairport - to use as kindling or to buy on Kindle? Not the latter, according to Amazon, at least not just yet...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fairport-Convention/dp/1906615470

Incidentally, from this link, check out one of the reviewers on Festival Bell:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1U9ZQKE8Y7ZA1/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview

If that's the worst they can throw at your songwriting skills, Chris Leslie, I'd say you're in pretty good company and I hope your 'Mull of Kintyre' cheque is in the post!!

I, erroneously, read the review underneath:

I enjoyed this book immensely. It is well written and researched, the action moves along at a good pace and constantly keeps the reader gripped. The switch between the two narrations is very effective. The plot would make a good movie.
Then realised it’s for an entirely different book!  ::)

 ;D

Should have gone to Specsavers!  ;)

Just booked Swarb to play at the Musician next year. During the evening he is going to do an intimate question and answer session. This could turn out to be interesting.

Not sure that I want to hear him answer intimate questions! :o

The mind boggles!

If he will be as revealing as Terry Woods was about the Steeleye Span split it could be interesting indeed but maybe by the time of the concert he has mellowed a bit and will feel that certain things will better be left unsaid.

When/where did this occur?

I did read an interview many years ago but I would't know where that was.

Shame, as I was about to ask the same question as Bob.

Jules

Is there a mention in the book about the concert they did in Amsterdam in October 1969 with the Incredible String Band when Mike Heron was almost electrocuted? I, and probably the whole audience, was shocked by what we saw and heard, it was absolutely terrible and I never hope to witness something like this again. I've always wondered what impact it had on them and if they were afraid of picking up their guitars and playing.

I can't imagine Swarb mellowing over this, judging by his fb comments!

In the book about Ashley Hutchings they interviewed Terry about that time. I don't think it was particularly ugly. It was an experiment between disparate personalities-two sets of couples and Ashley as ringleader, and they managed to get an albums worth of material before differences set in. At least in that book I don't recall it being insulting or mean spirited towards any of the other parties.

If only it were so, but in most interviews the Woods feel particularly aggrieved, and cite Tim Hart in particular as being particularly unpleasant and manipulative.

Jules

Just had a quick perusal of The Guv'nor & The Rise Of Folk Rock book and you are correct, my memory playing tricks again on me!. There is an entire chapter devoted to the making of Hark! The Village Wait, and the aftermath, and to simplify, a lot of it was down to Tim Hart, and what Woods called a hidden agenda to get Martin Carthy in the band. However, neither he or Gay Woods (at least in the material for this chapter) had much negative to say about Ashley. It really was down to the two couples falling out it seems.

There's supposed to have been some unpleasantness over an agreement that they would change the name if any of the founders left, which obviously didn't happen following the departure of the Woods.

I don't think there is.
The period September-December 1969 is described in some detail, as the band was in the finishing stages of recording 'Liege and Lief'. During this period FC did a few gigs. On September 24 they played the Royal Festival hall, with Nick Drake supporting. On October 25 and 26 they played in Manchester and Redcar. A trip to Amsterdam during this period is not mentioned.
Still the gig did happen, as the internet reveals that it did take place on October 18, 1969. The book says FC were in the studio at Sound Techniques from October 16 to November 1 and mentions the gigs at Manchester and Redcar as the only gigs they did during this period.
A strange omission, as Herons mishap caused quite a stir at the time and the hassle of a trip to Amsterdam during the recording of 'Liege and Lief' must have been an issue.

--
Hans Valk

Who knows, the trauma of the accident months before, going to the continent for just one concert and then Mike Heron almost being electrocuted made Ashley Hutchings walk up to the microphone and say something about bad omens or bad vibes.

Swarb's latest missive on Facebook:

"hello facemates seems like my corrections list for fairport by fairport has had a positive result, all members present and past have received a division of the spoils, I am blamed for the sales not being higher and for that I am very proud having saved at least some of you some money. of course no payments were originally going to be paid to us, no contract, not even telling us it was happening, so as I said a positive result. for those who are in the dark please see www.folkicons.co.uk/fbfcorrections.pdf and if you can find it , my review on Amazon which I am informed had a positive effect in reducing sales."

So he's happy that he and the others are now going to get a share (I wonder who is giving up that... hopefully not the current members or Nigel) and he's happy that he stopped people buying it.

Is he going to retract his comment on the Amazon site now, as surely he is now cutting off his nose to spite his face.

PS I thought Swarb was a member of this board?

I have just read Swarb's review on Amazon which I had not seen before.

I can understand his misgivings as detailed in the corrections and an argument can certainly be made that it is not an especially good book and is full of inaccuracies but to categorise it as

"a PR job for the current line up at the old line up's expense"

is certainly not the way that I (and probably most of its readers) perceived it and seems an unnecessarily spiteful accusation.

http://www.fairportconvention.com/dave_pegg_history.php

"One day I intend to write a book about it all. There are so many stories. Swarb has his too, he could tell you things I really wouldn't want to see in print, though often his version is completely different to mine."

Swarb's points/reasons may have been good and valid but the way he deals with them is rather pathetic and severly impairs his reputation. (IMHO)

I remain a fan of the band, current and past. Swarbick's rantings have zero influence on that, however much they may or may not be justified. I love his and Fairport's work; that's all that really matters to me.

It's a poorly written, poorly researched, poorly proof read  book, put out to make a few bob. End of story.

I'm yet to find a book that isn't, on some level at least, 'put out to make a few bob'...

To paraphrase Robert Heinlein, if you are not writing with at least one eye on the market, you are just making paper dirty on one side.

As a professional musician myself, I have a quick fuse when people object to musicians being paid for what they do. I don't know of any other profession where this happens on such a regular basis. As someone once said (I wish I knew who), try getting a plumber to work on your house by saying, "I am not going to pay you, but, hey, it will be great exposure for you."

How about this: It's a poorly written, poorly researched, poorly proof read, overpriced and overhyped book,  End of story.

How about what? I have seen quite a few comments from people whose opinions differ from yours. I cannot give mine for the simple reason I have not read the book (my disposable cash is very low right now); however, with all due respect, the story seems far from over, no matter how many times you keep saying it is.

And I stand by my statement. If the members of Fairport can make a little cash with the book, good on 'em! They deserve it.

Fair enough. Opinions will differ. I was seeking to restate Hendo's opinion in a fashion acceptable to David.

Incidentally, making money from poor product isn't always a great idea, in my opinion.

And by the way, Professional Photographers suffer from the same "do it for your reputation as opposed to money" too.

As a professional musician myself, I have a quick fuse when people object to musicians being paid for what they do. I don't know of any other profession where this happens on such a regular basis.

...There are a significant number of visual artists also who do not get paid on a regular basis.

I have no objection to anyone making a few bob, and lets face it dear old fairport is a pretty effective cash generator whether we like it or not.
Having attempted to read this book I only got about a tenth of the way in because it is (IMHO) badly written. I dunno enough about the details to say if it is badly researched but bear in mind that as an official product of the current band the chaps will have a major say in what goes in, also remember that a lot of this stuff happened a long time ago and peoples memories do get a bit misty with time and alcohol.
So in my opinion, not a good read.

Having read this thread again Swarbrick's main complaint seems to be not having been informed or consulted about the book, resulting in his corrections but also attacks, but, as someone pointed out, this in spite of Swarb aid. So there probably must already have been bad blood between them otherwise his criticism would not have been so harsh.

Actually it would be interesting to draw up a list of professions that are expected to do things for free.

I'm often asked to rescue infested computers, or fix some electrical problem and people would be affronted if I suggested they paid.
I suspect that Andy would tell you that people are also surprised when asked to pay to use a photograph.

However you try asking a decorator if he minds just painting your front door, or an accountant to help you with something. They always expect to be paid.

Back on topic, I haven't seen this book, I wonder if they used any of my photos.

At the risk of being repetitive, if this had indeed been a sumptuous coffee-table book like this one from the Stones for £20 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rolling-Stones-Mick-Jagger/dp/0500516243/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_har?ie=UTF8&qid=1383300290&sr=8-1&keywords=rolling+stones+50) instead of a normal-sized book for £40, I'm sure a lot of the negativity would have been ameliorated.

Hi Mark, let's try and take the heat out of this.
I play with 2 bands. One, as a 'regular guest' with a full time/pro folk band and two, with a semi pro local band. I do all the bookings for the 2nd band. Trust me I could write the book on people not wanting to pay bands....
My wife is an artist, she has just completed 2 commissions gleaned from a recent exhibition. If you could have heard the wrangling over price.......'well i'm sure you'll enjoy doing it etc'
So I have absolutely no probs with bands/artists making money.
My problem has been quality of 'product'
If you're going to market a book as 'definitive', 'unexpergated', then hold back stories cos they're going to be in Peggy's book , I have a problem.
So my basic issue, which iIhave expressed earlier in this thread, is that the book doesn't deliver, on so many levels, what it was advertised to do.
Also remember that Woodworm (Peggy) leased many of their 'unsold' albums to other labels so we got all sort of albums, of varying quality under the Fairport name. I am sure this made Peggy a few bob.
Also, this is the music industry. Fairport do not pay , or pay accommodation for their 'guest' on the winter tour. The deal is you sell CD's and it will be a good profile raiser. I am sure this saves them a few bob.
So, no probs with you and me and other bands being able to eat, just want what it says on the tin.
Got to go ,to e mail a lady who wants us to play a charity gig........!!!!!! apparently they are paying for the bar and the hog roast (very expensive apparently) but will we play for very little??!! :o

Agreed regarding "Poor product." Ultimately self-defeating. Although, again, I can't agree or disagree regrading this particular book, since I haven't read it yet.

I have been a professional photographer in the past, and I did sometimes get asked to do freebies. But nothing even close to the times I get asked as a musician. With photography they at least asked---and accepted it when I said no. With music they often demand freebies and get mad if I refuse. That's my experience, anyway. One agency I was with (not any longer) demanded more free gigs than they got paying ones for us.

hendo(Dave), You make good points. But, as I said, can't speak to truth in this particular book since I haven't read it. I do know that all the times I have been interviewed over the years not once---not once!--- did the published results match what I remembered saying. I don't know if Swarb is more accurate, or if the book is. Still, if I had to put money on it, I would guess that the truth (as usual) lies somewhere in the middle. But that's just an uninformed guess. Good luck with your music! If I ever get over there, I'd love to see ya play!

Easy availability in time for Christmas - I see the publisher 'Essential Works' is now offering multiple copies for sale on Ebay, £33.69 plus P&P.

i own the book but haven't had the opportunity to read it yet, so cannot comment on whether it is any good.

Having read Swarb's comments about the inacurracies within the book, some of them do seem to be a little trivial, for example, is it really that important whose idea it was to smash up Peggy's bass?

Also, I'm sure that all those involved have different memories of various events and just because the published versions don't tie up with Swarb's recollections it doesn't mean they aren't the most accurate versions.  How can we know which version is correct, we weren't there.

My overwhelming feeling about the whole thing is sadness that Swarb took this stance and the apparent bitterness towards some current members of the band.  

IMHO, Fairport have a great deal to thank Swarb for; his energy and enthusiasm kept the band going during the difficult times of the seventies.  At the same time, I'm sure it could be argued that Swarb has a lot to thank Fairport for, not least during his illness and the way the band rallied around with the Swardaid event.

Whether the differences will be resolved, who knows. I would dearly love to see Swarb at Cropredy again but doubt this will happen.

Well, I suggest you read the book. Then you can make informed comment.

Blimey - claws in Andy! Since when has informed comment been important here.

My claws aren't out at all. I was merely responded to Andrew responding to the book and Swarb's corrections without having read the book.

No offence intended.

None here either - just read a bit harsh to me

 :)

No offence taken, and I'd be happy to buy Andy a pint at the Cropredy bar.  I will read the book as soon as I have some time.

I see a nice line in free pints taking shape here Andy!!!!!   ;D