FOLK rock legends Fairport Convention play Birmingham Town Hall on Sunday, March 6, to bring the curtain down on their Winter tour.
“We always look forward to visiting Birmingham,” says lead vocalist and guitarist Simon Nicol. “In fact, it’s just about our favourite gig of the year. Live shows are what keep us going – the band has been on the road for nearly 50 years and we still love every minute of it.”
Mr Nicol is the only founding member still in the group – he played his first gig with Fairport in May 1967. However, Fairport’s bass player Dave Pegg has been in the line-up for nearly as long.
Brought up in Acocks Green, Mr Pegg joined Fairport Convention in 1970. “Obviously, Fairport – like music itself – has seen a lot of changes over the last four decades but I can honestly say it’s always been a joy to be out on tour with the band,” he said.
Compared to Simon Nicol and Dave Pegg, the other band members are comparative newcomers. Violinist Ric Sanders joined in 1985, singer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Leslie in 1996 and drummer Gerry Conway in 1998.
Each year Fairport invites a special guest to open their Winter Tour shows. The Birmingham concert will feature a short performance by Brighouse-based singer-songwriter Roger Davies. Accompanying himself on guitar, Roger’s entertaining and quirky songs reflect his love of Yorkshire, its towns and its people.
Credited with originating the British folk-rock genre, Fairport’s groundbreaking album Liege & Lief was voted ‘The Most Influential Folk Album of All Time’ by Radio 2 listeners.
Fairport Convention’s concert at Town Hall Birmingham starts at 7.30 on 6 March. Tickets and booking information from the box office 0121 345 0600 or www.thsh.co.uk .
