I suppose for many British folk musicians like myself, the late 1970s early 1980s were possibly the most fruitful for the combination of theatre and 'folk' music. Lark Rise and Candleford were being staged at the National Theatre and I can still remember being jostled by Brian Glover in one of the numerous performances I attended like an unpaid extra in a TV production. The excitement for me of course carried over to the sound that was The Albion Band. Helmed by Ashley Hutchings the group included amongst others John Tams, Graeme Taylor, John Kirkpatrick, Martin Carthy and (the sadly missed) Howard Evans. It was indeed a glorious racket that ushered in the opening track with the brass band taking on the full majesty of the electric slide guitar with 'The Girl I Left Behind Me' followed by Carthy's harmonically accompanied 'Lemady'. In fact, I can remember every single track (for there wasn't a bad one) of the twenty-one included on the album and of course the recording remains as… more »

I suppose for many British folk musicians like myself, the late 1970s early 1980s were possibly the most fruitful for the combination of theatre and 'folk' music. Lark Rise and Candleford were being staged at the National Theatre and I can still remember being jostled by Brian Glover in one of the numerous performances I attended like an unpaid extra in a TV production. The excitement for me of course carried over to the sound that was The Albion Band. Helmed by Ashley Hutchings the group included amongst others John Tams, Graeme Taylor, John Kirkpatrick, Martin Carthy and (the sadly missed) Howard Evans. It was indeed a glorious racket that ushered in the opening track with the brass band taking on the full majesty of the electric slide guitar with 'The Girl I Left Behind Me' followed by Carthy's harmonically accompanied 'Lemady'. In fact, I can remember every single track (for there wasn't a bad one) of the twenty-one included on the album and of course the recording remains as fresh today as it ever did then. If you missed out at the time or are indeed looking for something to get into after your latest fix of Bellowhead then this is where it all began. It's great to see a recent upsurge in re-releases of some classic folk albums and Talking Elephant are leading the way.

Pete Fyfe