Podcasts about Ballad

Musician, songwriter and producer Chris Stamey (The dB's, Big Star Quintet) FINALLY ushers Todd Rundgren into the TRGMH universe with the 1971 release: Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren. This beautifully written, performed and produced collection of songs totally fit teenage Stamey's 'lonely guy in a room by yourself' vibe at the time, and remains to this day one of his favorites. Songs discussed in this episode: Be Nice To Me (Live, 1971) - Todd Rundgren; I'm In Love, From A Window, Before We Were Born - The DB's; Anything Is Possible - Chris Stamey; We Gotta Get You A Woman - Todd Rundgren; A Beautiful Song - Nazz; Stoned Soul Picnic - Laura Nyro; Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Carole King; Long Flowing Robe, The Ballad (Denny & Jean) - Todd Rundgren; Escalator Over The Hill - Carla Bley; King Battle Of The Bands - Rittenhouse Square; February's Quiet - Big Star; Bleeding, Wailing Wall, The Range War - Todd Rundgren; All La Glory - The Band; I'd Be Lost Without You - Chris Stamey; Chain Letter - Todd Rundgren; Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf; Don't Lie To Me - Big Star; A Long Time, A Long Way To Go, Boat On The Charles, Be Nice To Me - Todd Rundgren; Wouldn't It Be Nice - Brian Wilson; Hope I'm Around - Todd Rundgren; I'd Be Lost Without You - Chris Stamey; Parole, Remember Me - Todd Rundgren; Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) - Chris Stamey

Looking out for student accomodation rental scams, a huge shortage of teachers across the county, and cancer survivors on the battle for the right to be forgotten. Paul Byrne looks ahead to the All Ireland Senior Camogie Final, and movie reviewer Mark talks to us about Naked Gun and The Ballad of Wallis Island. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a long summer break for your resident editor (Cam) The Forever DMs return with a brand new episode! In this episode, follow our crew as they run from terrifying threats and into deep trouble. Thankfully, they meet some friends along the way. Meet them and jump back into Saprophite Sonata in the most recent episode of, The Forever DMs! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julian, Madeline, and Emilio wrap up their cycle of Musicians on Film by diving into the filmography of Tom Waits, once dubbed a "performer, singer, actor, magician, spirit guide, changeling" by the great Neil Young. Joined by Madeline's dad Richard, the trio kick off the conversation by discussing Waits' starring role in Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law", and ponder the similarities between his character Zack and his well-known boozy troubadour persona. The group then pivots to Francis Ford Coppola's campy classic "Bram Stoker's Dracula", and agree that Waits' interpretation of R. M. Renfield is the necessary constant in such a sprawling film. And although our subject only appears in one of the six vignettes that make up Joel and Ethan Coen's "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", the conversation would not be complete without taking the time to appreciate Waits' magnetism as the prospector in "All Gold Canyon".Subscribe to Richard's Substack for pieces on politics, satire, anger, and more at substack.com/@mcmongrelIf you enjoy our podcast, please rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice. This really helps us find new listeners and continue to grow!Follow us on IG and TikTok @sleeplesscinematicpodSend us an email at sleeplesscinematicpod@gmail.comOn Letterboxd? Follow Julian at julian_barthold and Madeline at patronessofcats

We're remembering the late great director (and Trailers From Hell Guru) Jonathan Kaplan (1947–2025) and re-running our chat with the director of Over The Edge, The Accused, and many more. Jonathan took us on a journey through some of his favorite movies. Movies Referenced In This Episode The Student Teachers (1973)Night Call Nurses (1972)White Line Fever (1975)Truck Turner (1974)Heart Like A Wheel (1983)The Accused (1988)Over The Edge (1979)Modern Times (1936)City Lights (1931)Manhattan (1979) Some Like It Hot (1959)The Apartment (1960)North By Northwest (1959) Moon Pilot (1962) Mr. Billion (1977)White Heat (1949)The Wizard of Oz (1939)The Three Musketeers (1973)The Four Musketeers (1974)Superman (1978)Superman II (1980)The Three Musketeers (1948)Shane (1953) The 400 Blows (1959)8 ½ (1963)Fellini Satyricon (1969)Richard (1972)Millhouse (1971)The Projectionist (1970)El Dorado (1966)The Shootist (1976)Woodstock (1970) Payback (1999)A Hard Day's Night (1964) The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)Billy Liar (1963)Ford Vs Ferrari (2019)The Wild Bunch (1969)The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)Bad Girls (1994)Masters of the Universe (1987)Giant (1956)The More The Merrier (1943) The Graduate (1967) The Victors (1963)…And Justice For All (1979)Citizen Kane (1941)An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)The Day of the Dolphin (1973)The Call of the Wild (2020) The Lion King (1994)The Lion King (2019) The Revenant (2015)Lawrence of Arabia (1962)Dr. Strangelove (1964)Hollywood Boulevard (1976) Day For Night (1973)Being There (1979)Bound For Glory (1976)Second-Hand Hearts (1981)Requiem For A Heavyweight (1962)The Night of the Hunter (1955) The Godfather (1972)The Godfather Part II (1974)The Student Nurses (1970) Valley of the Dolls (1967) Charlie's Angels (2019)2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Psycho (1960) The Oscar (1966) Barry Lyndon (1976) Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) Bird (1988)The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)American Sniper (2014) The Beguiled (1971)The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Fort Apache (1948)The Searchers (1956) Straight Time (1978)Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)True Confessions (1981)Monster (2003)Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) This list is also available on Letterboxd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a message! This week on The Waffle Zone:1. New Podcast Reviews!2. More Ozzy Osbourne Love... 3. The benefits of Patreon4. You, from Me5. Easy Pieces6. 667. Bloodied Hopes8. Ballad & OutbackSupport the show

Originally aired on the 18th of JULY 2025 on EHFM, here's our pod version of the summer episode of the Cinetopia Radio Show and Podcast - On our summer edition of the Cinetopia radio show and podcast, host and producer Amanda Rogers (co-founder of Cinetopia) is joined by show regulars Garry Arnot (Cinema Perspective) and Clara Strachan as they dive into an eclectic mix of new releases.The team first presents a preview of the EIFF 2025 film festival programme, highlighting the must-see screenings and events at Edinburgh's premier cinema celebration.The team delivers their signature in-depth reviews of four new release films: 28 YEARS LATER, Danny Boyle's return to the zombie-infested world he created, reuniting with writer Alex Garland and starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes; F1, Joseph Kosinski's high-octane Formula One drama featuring Brad Pitt as a veteran driver mentoring newcomer Damson Idris, with Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon; PAVEMENTS, Alex Ross Perry's innovative documentary about the legendary indie band Pavement, featuring Stephen Malkmus and an unconventional approach starring Joe Keery and Jason Schwartzman, and THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND, James Griffiths' quirky British comedy-drama about an eccentric lottery winner (Tim Key) living on a remote island, co-starring Tom Basden and featuring Carey Mulligan.Run of Show -5:05 - EIFF 2025 Preview12:13 - 28 YEARS LATER review (Danny Boyle) - The undead franchise gets its third chapter37:00 - PAVEMENTS review (Alex Ross Perry) - An experimental love letter to '90s indie rock misfits1:03:08 - F1 review (Joseph Kosinski) - Adrenaline-fueled motorsport drama from the Top Gun: Maverick director1:17:28 - THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND review (James Griffiths) - British comedy meets musical folk whimsyStay tuned for our EIFF festival coverage coming next in August 2025. You can find previous episodes here on the podcast channel or on our website at www.cinetopia.co.uk. Please subscribe and support us!

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of racism against Natives, bullying, animal cruelty. Grab your six shooters and your saddles, we're kicking off our first-ever Westerns series! There's a lot in the genre for us to catch up on, and we start this week with a seminal film, one whose importance is unfortunately the only thing it's really got going for it. John Ford practically created the Western as we know making this movie but the dialogue and the characters are so rigid that it's somehow boring for a 90-minute movie. Still, if you've ever rolled your eyes at John Wayne and wondered "how the hell did he get to be a movie star", look no further than his performance here, smoldering and intense while staying relatable. The cast is pretty great, and the stunts are on par with anything that can be done with wires today. Still, this one is more "important" than a fun hang, so proceed with caution. Load up the wagon as we watch 1939's Stagecoach on Have a Good Movie! You can email us with feedback at macintoshandmaud@gmail.com, or you can connect with us on BlueSky! If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends. Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive. Excerpt taken from the theme to the film The Magnificent Seven, written and composed by Elmer Bernstein. Copyright 1960 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved. Excerpts taken from the main theme to the film Stagecoach, written and composed by Richard Hageman. Copyright MCMXXXIX by Walter Wagner Productions, Incorporated. Excerpt taken from "The Ballad of High Noon" from the film High Noon, written by Ned Washington, composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, and performed by Tex Ritter. Trademark and Copyright 2007 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

As I approach the 24th anniversary of my late wife's death, I decided to perform this Child Ballad about the closeness and separation of lovers.  The Parlando Project generally combines other people's literary poetry with original music, but this time the piece's music as well as the words are by that prolific and mysterious author and composer Anonymous. We've done over 800 combinations over the years of the Project, and you can hear any of them by visiting our blog and archives located at frankhudson.org

     This week- films about people escaping prisons of both the emotional and physical varieties.     Herb McGwyer arrives at a remote island off the coast of Wales for a lucrative gig for a small group of fans. When he arrives he finds a stage that is just a pallet on the beach and the group consists solely of widowed superfan Charles Heath. Soon Herb will learn that isn't the only surprise Charles has planned... he's forcing a surprise reunion show with Herb's former partner, Nell Mortimer. Will the concert proceed as planned? What is Charles motivation for this scheme? Who will hear The Ballad of Wallis Island?     Nami Matsushima is set up for a brutal assault by her police detective boyfriend, Sugimi, to get a Yakuza payout. After failing to get revenge, Nami is sent to a prison run by sadistic and lecherous guards. After a failed escape attempt, Sugimi and his yakuza connections plot to use the inmates to eliminate Nami. Will Matsu get her revenge? Can the tenuous hold of the guards keep the simmering tensions from boiling into a full riot? An expressionist exploitation that ranks among the best women-in-prison films, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion.      All that and Tyler makes Dave feel old, Kevin embraces cottagecore, and Craig gets the warm fuzzies. Join us, won't you?   Episode 424- Ballad of Vengeance

Hi friends, and welcome to the final episode of our Terminator series! In this episode we talk about Terminator: Dark Fate, specifically how much we love Carl and how amazing Mackenzie Davis's arms are. And, you know, other stuff. We're taking a break in August because we are tired and cranky, but also because we love summer. But, we'll be back with something new and exciting after that, so don't go too far!If you have any suggestions and/or accolades for us, write to us at thejuiciestbitspodcast@gmail.com! Please also consider rating and reviewing us on iTunes or commenting on Spotify. We'd appreciate it!

Episode Notes Did you know you can support my podcast for as little as $1 a month? You can do that by heading over to my Patreon HERE!!  My guest this week is Fred Kosak from the band The Stillhouse Junkies. Acoustic adventurers Stillhouse Junkies explore the worlds between roots, bluegrass, Texas swing, blues, and rock. Their free-flowing musical interplay and improvisation make every show unique as the trio weave through high-energy, intricately composed original songs, never taking the same path twice. Formed in 2017, the band consists of Fred Kosak (guitar, mandolin), Alissa Wolf (fiddle), and Jeanette Adams (bass). They have a brand new album, available now, called “The Ballad of Charlie Avalon” and it is fantastic! Great playing and great songs and Sam Bush narrating…..The perfect combination. You can head to their website HERE to find out more about the band, find their tour dates, links to social media and most importantly, to purchase their new album! Songs featured in this episode: All songs featured during the episode are from the new album ‘The Ballad of Charlie Avalon” available HERE! As Always a HUGE thank you to all of my sponsor's that make this podcast possible each week! Mandolin Cafe Peghead Nation promo code mandolinbeer Northfiled Mandolins Ear Trumpet Labs Ellis Mandolins Pava Mandolins Tone Slabs Elderly Instruments String Joy Strings promo code mandolinbeer Tone Traveller

Welcome to the Ballad of the Seven Dice. The party at last ventures on to Floor 2! Hope you packed yer long johns because it's about to get cold! Check out our YouTube Want to join in on the conversation? Join Our Discord Show Notes Sin and Sinners, Experiment 4, Astral Projection, Creepy Doll, Dark Secret - Dark Fantasy Studio Filip Melvan - Fable Under The Table - 05 Tavern At The End Of Road Cellar - Monument Studios Cursed Forest, Quiet Tavern, Medieval City Indoors, Urban Park at Night, Daytime Forest, Fantasy Medieval City, - Michaël Ghelfi 

It's the mid 1990s. On the Raploch estate in Stirling, a local community is living in fear. This is a place with many young families, and word is spreading that a convicted paedophile is living among them, placed there anonymously by the local council.Residents worry the streets are no longer safe for their kids, and outraged they weren't told or consulted.It's an outrage felt beyond the Raploch estate, and it doesn't take long for a name and address to find its way into the public domain. Armed with this information, the Raploch rises – as a mob, led by Margaret Haney, known locally as Big Mags. An imposing matriarch, charismatic with a voice like gravel, she's more than happy to take on the authorities and speak to the media. She becomes a figurehead and spokesperson for a movement devoted to driving the ex-offender out of the area.She succeeds, but for the Big Mags, that that's just the start, and as her campaign continues, the media become obsessed with this diamond in the rough.She's on TV. In the papers. Becomes something of a celebrity.Big Mags is always good for a soundbite, and she in turn, seems to enjoy the attention. She doesn't know it now, but she's made a huge mistake.As Big Mags has secrets of her own. It's not that long ago that one of the most serious problems faced by the Raploch Estate were the Haney family themselves.And as Big Mags enjoys the glare of media attention, she will all too soon regret grabbing the limelight. Her 15 minutes of fame will soon become little more than a chapter within in a legacy of infamy. This is the Ballad of Big Mags.Presenter: Myles Bonnar Written by: Chris Cruickshank, Marisha Currie, Myles Bonnar and Graham Russell Additional Scripting: Jack Kibble-White Producer: Chris Cruickshank Assistant Producer: Marisha Currie Executive Producers: Graham Russell, Susie Crumless Sound Design and Mixing: Fraser Jackson Commissioning Editor: Heather Kane-DarlingA BBC Scotland production for BBC Sounds

David, Richard, and Rebecca share their thoughts on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and if the movie is a success as a Marvel reset. Plus, they imagine a world where Marvel never existed and what that would have meant for some of the franchise stars' careers. Then, they wrap up with a festival-related listener question.Our next Little Gold Men book club read is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. We'll be discussing the novel and its upcoming film adaptation on our August 7 episode. We've also added one more book for this summer, the third most-popular in our listener survey: The Ballad of a Small Player by Rowan Joffé. We'll be discussing that one on our August 28 episode. Read along with us and send your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We channel some high-level positivity with Spanish mantras from X-though Paul's pronunciation might say otherwise. Then it's a trip into musical madness with an Irish tune from Paul's past that you won't believe is real. Stick around for a garage time segment that's as unhinged as it is unforgettable. 

This fortnight, we dig into Fantastic Four: First Steps (17:10), one of the big comics adaptations of the summer, and The Old Guard 2 (33:22), another one. We also look at political UFO comic Saucer County and Tim Key's new movie The Ballad of Wallis Island.

Join Irene for an insightful and fabulous conversation with the amazing Dawn Petten, live from Casa Karas in Vancouver! Dawn is a mother, certified sex educator, drama teacher, and award-winning actor. She has performed in theatres across the country, including the Belfry Theatre, Electric Company Theatre, Bard  on the Beach, Touchstone Theatre, Arts Club Theatre, and Caravan Farm Theatre. She appeared in the world premiere of The Cull at the Arts Club Theatre and has graced multiple seasons of the beloved East Van Panto with Theatre Replacement. On screen, Dawn is known for her work in Eadweard, The Ballad of Niall McNeil, and Oh Sweet and Mighty Dream of Freakish Joy. Offstage, Dawn is a passionate and dynamic educator. She brings her love of storytelling into the classroom as a drama teacher, helping young people discover their voice, creativity, and confidence through theatre. Dawn is also a SEX EDUCATOR!! Her journey into sexual health education began when she volunteered with the Facts of Life Line, now known as the Sex Sense Line, a free, confidential resource provided by Options for Sexual Health. This formative experience led her to pursue formal training through Options, home to Canada's first sexual health education certification program, developed under the leadership of Director of Education Kristin Gilbert.  As a certified sexual health educator, Dawn champions inclusive, shame-free, and empowering approaches to sexual health through Options and their outreach programs. Join Irene and Dawn as the gab away and Dawn shares her insight and experience in her career as a sex educator. Dawn's recommended books mentioned during the episode include: Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, Better Sex Through Mindfulness by Vancouver's own Dr. Lori Brotto, The Menopause Manifesto, The Vagenda, and Blood by Canadian OB/GYN Dr. Jen Gunter. If you would like to contact Dawn Petten please reach out to Irene! #ilo_wellnessseries

Like a seashell to your ear, we are here. In this extra special episode of To the White Sea we are thrilled and honored to welcome Academy Award-winning sound editor Skip Lievsay, who has worked on more Coen brothers movies than the Coen brothers themselves! This paradox wrapped in an enigma will be unraveled along with so much more. Together we listen closely to scenes of “perfect quiet” when the volume of the soundtrack drops down to almost zero, yet it's in this zone where a whole galaxy of perception may be unlocked. We explore how these quiet scenes build tension, intimacy, tactility, and subjectivity. We also discuss Skip's fascinating working relationship with the Coens, as well as Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, and Darren Aronofsky. Immense thanks to Skip Lievsay, Kyle Miller, Mitchell Wareham, and Nina Leitenberg for their time and effort. Mega special thanks to Kate Sanford making this connection. Coens Covered: Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski, The Man Who Wasn't There, No Country for Old Men, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Plus: The New World Want to join the study group? Follow TTWS on social media, tell your friends about the show, and leave a rating/review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. ***You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea*** For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me – and join the Discord too!

Oi Oi! It's a brand new episode of EIC.This week, we weighed in on the fiery-hot online response to the tech CEO and colleague caught canoodling at Coldplay. We also took an unflinching look into the discourse of Gen Z are their allegedly blank-expressions. Annnnd, Charli didn't throw this wedding party 4 u – she clearly did it for herself. We get into the real Royal Wedding and the trends being set in its wake.Please give us a follow on IG/TikTok @everythingiscontentpod and we'd love a review wherever you're listening to this pleeease

The B-List ballad royale heats up on the Headbangers Vault as champion Big Sexy takes on Brother T and B1Bomb in a three way 1980's hard rock battle with special guest judge Christian Shields.

A punk rocker is shot in 1982, then his body disappears. A journalist explores whether their mother's claims of a cover-up are true. We'll go back to our April 15, 2019 review of the classic podcast series “The Ballad of Billy Balls.”OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BALLAD OF BILLY BALLS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL SIX MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This week, David, Rebecca, and Richard dive into the newly announced TIFF and Venice Film Festival lineups for clues on front-runners and sleepers in the Oscar season to come—as well as a few surprising omissions. The hosts also dig into the shocking cancellation of Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, and revisit Ari Aster's Eddington after its muted opening weekend.Our next Little Gold Men book club read is Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell. We'll be discussing the novel and its upcoming film adaptation on our August 14 episode. We've also added one more book for this summer, the third most-popular in our listener survey: The Ballad of a Small Player by Rowan Joffé. We'll be discussing that one on our August 28 episode. Read along with us and send your questions to littlegoldmen@vf.com.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Traci Thomas is back for our deep-dive of both The Hunger Games, starting with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Next week we're doing Sunrise on the Reaping so don't say we didn't tell you.You can learn more about World Central Kitchen here: https://wck.org/relief/chefs-for-gazaResources to write to your MP here: https://www.redlineforgaza.org.uk/takeaction/searchTraci Thomas's podcast is The Stacks: https://www.instagram.com/thestackspod/?hl=en Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Sterritt is a film critic, author, teacher and scholar. He is most notable for his work on Alfred Hitchcock and Jean-Luc Godard, and his many years as the Film Critic for The Christian Science Monitor, where, from 1968 until... Read More ›

It's a double-decker this week as the gang attempts to cover both the new Moonlit Ballad of the Night teaser video and the v5.7 Livestream Program! From moon fragments in Nod Krai to paint balls in Natlan, it's all here! Thanks for listening!BlueSky: @TheResonanceDiscord: discord.gg/theresonanceWebsite: https://shows.acast.com/theresonanceSupport Us on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/theresonancePodcast Store on RedBubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/TheResonance/shop?asc=uMusic Used:Voyage Suite by HOYO-MiXMualani Theme Music EXTENDED - The Ultimate Sightseeing Experience (tnbee mix) by tnbeeOriginal Music by HOYO-MiX Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Should fire survivors join lawsuits? We have a guide to help. Why some are pushing for a historic district in Altadena. A local professor unearthed a ballad her great great grandfather wrote 100 years ago that resonates deeply today. Plus, more.Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comVisit www.preppi.com/LAist to receive a FREE Preppi Emergency Kit (with any purchase over $100) and be prepared for the next wildfire, earthquake or emergency! Support the show: https://laist.com

It's All Been Done Radio Hour Commercial #292  The Ballad of Boxland "Part 3"     Justin, now flat, professes his love for Wendy. Does she reciprocate?    Visit our website http://iabdpresents.com Script books, clothing, and more at https://amzn.to/3km2TLm Please support us at http://patreon.com/IABD   New episodes streaming live on the 2nd Saturday of every month at 5PM Eastern on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Boxland TV!   Find more from It's All Been Done Radio Hour here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsallbeendoneradiohour Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iabdpresents/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iabdpresents   A comedy radio show originally performed on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at Boxland in Columbus, Ohio.     STARRING Wendy Parks as Wendy  Ashley Clements as Young Wendy  Ben Neidenthal as Justin  Beth Debelake as Amiri  GUEST STARRING  Keith Jackson as the Narrator      Foley Artist Megan Overholt  Podcast edited by Trulie Awesome Productions     It's All Been Done Radio Hour created and produced by Jerome Wetzel  Written by Jerome Wetzel  Directed by Samantha Stark  Music Director Kristin Green  Theme Songs composed by Nathan Haley, with lyrics by Jerome Wetzel  Technical Director Shane Stefanchik    When you post about us, hashtag #IABD   

INTERVIEW: Jennifer Reid on new album 'The Ballad Of The Gatekeeper' by Zac Hoffman on Radio One 91FM Dunedin

Mike 1 has returned for this Oscar Race Checkpoint, covering his Hollywood vacation stories, the TIFF Galas & Special Presentations announcements and a fun catch-up on a bunch of incredible trailers from After The Hunt & Bugonia to Project Hail Mary & Downton Abbey to Predator Badlands & Keeper. Top of the Show - Mike 1 Returns! He recaps his vacation, pneumonia & comeback. THE TIFF LINEUP (+++ More Los Angeles Anecdotes from Mike1) Hamnet (& Mike talks about Room Service in LA Hotels) - 9:07 Our Lost Bus & Wake-Up Dead Man Oscar Bets - 11:00 The Roofman will debut in Toronto & we review the trailer - 13:39 Why Rental Family with Brendan Fraser could be a sleeper contender - 16:03 Ralph Fiennes in The Choral & Agnieska Holland's Franz - 19:26 Sundance & Cannes Carryovers (+ M1 & Swell do The Grove) - 22:32 Good Fortune, Ballad of a Small Player, Frankenstein, Hedda & Smashing Machine - 29:20 Sydney Sweeny is Christie + the next from Angelina Jolie & Al Pacino - 33:28 Unlikely genre choices for Miles Teller's Eternity & Amanda Seyfried's Anne Lee - 37:09 Actors turn Directors w/ Alex Winter, James McAvoy, Brian Cox & Maude Apatow - 38:42 Saoirse Ronan's next, a Fuze lit in Hot Fuzz & Nuremberg will not be funny - 41:04 Chris Evans in Sacrifice, Scarlet for Animated Feature & Swiped on Bumble - 44:21 TRAILER BREAKDOWNS: Julia Roberts in Luca Guadagnino's After The Hunt - 47:25 Bugonia stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons & Fish Eye Lens for Yorgos - 51:49 Dakota Johnson appears perfect & awesome again in Splitsville - 54:42 Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale launches its Best Picture campaign on MMO - 56:00 Ryan Gosling's Project Hail Mary sets trailer viewing records - 58:34 Weapons is the one script that got away from Jordan Peele - 1:01:32 Glen Powell's The Running Man feels very Purge-esque - 1:02:52 Mortal Kombat 2 is the ultimate middle aged white guy fantasy - 1:06:07 Predator: Badlands is a must see for Mike, Mike and Alien listeners - 1:07:50 Keeper puts Osgood Perkins in M. Night Shyamalan territory as a horror filmmaker - 1:10:20 OUTRO: M2 refuses to jinx future episodes. But of course, we do hope to be back soon with both Mikes on more episodes very very soon. There are a bunch of film studies, Oscar Race Checkpoints, and Boogie Mikes episodes that we want to record ASAFP, and God willing, we will do so. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar

In this lively segment of Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata's "Call of the Day," a caller named Gio from New Brunswick delivers a hilariously unpolished, yet incredibly passionate, song about Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe's struggles. With lyrics like "We don't believe in Volpe, we don't believe in Bo because he's not that good," Gio's spontaneous musical critique captures the frustration of many fans, leading to a memorable and amusing moment on the air.

On the 463rd episode of Piecing It Together, Jason Harris joins me to talk about The Ballad Of Wallis Island. This sweet indie features a folk singer and his biggest fan, stuck on an island. It's a delight. Puzzle pieces include Once, A Mighty Wind, Local Hero and Inside Llewyn Davis.As always, SPOILER ALERT for The Ballad Of Wallis Island and the movies we discuss!Written by Tom Basden and Tim KeyDirected by James GriffithsStarring Tom Basden, Tim Key, Carrey Mulligan, Akemnji NdjifornyenFocus FeaturesJason Harris is a writer and stand-up comedian (not just here in Las Vegas). He also co-hosts the Awesome Movie Year Podcast which you can find at https://www.awesomemovieyear.comCheck out Jason Harris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jasonharriscomedy/My latest David Rosen album MISSING PIECES: 2018-2024 is a compilation album that fills in the gaps in unreleased music made during the sessions for 2018's A Different Kind Of Dream, 2020's David Rosen, 2022's MORE CONTENT and 2025's upcoming And Other Unexplained Phenomena. Find it on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify and everywhere else you can find music.You can also find more about all of my music on my website https://www.bydavidrosen.comMy latest music video is “Shaking" which you can watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzm8s4nuqlASONG INFOMake sure to “Like” Piecing It Together on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PiecingPodAnd “Follow” us on Twitter @PiecingPodAnd Join the Conversation in our Facebook Group, Piecing It Together – A Movie Discussion Group.And check out https://www.piecingpod.com for more about our show!And if you want to SUPPORT THE SHOW, you can now sign up for our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosenYou can also support the show by checking out our Dashery store to buy shirts and more featuring Piecing It Together logos, movie designs, and artwork for my various music projects at https://bydavidrosen.dashery.com/Share the episode, comment and give us feedback! And of course, SUBSCRIBE!And of course, don't forget to leave us a 5 star review on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a 2025 British comedy-drama film directed by James Griffiths, produced by Rupert Majendie, and written by Tim Key and Tom Basden. It is based on their 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. Basden and Carey Mulligan star as a folk duo who reunite to perform for a wealthy fan (Tim Key) on a remote Welsh island.The Ballad of Wallis Island premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2025, followed by a limited theatrical release by Focus Features in the United States on March 28, and in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2025.

This week, we review Andrew DeYoung's cringe comedy fest FRIENDSHIP (08:47), Athina Rachel Tsangari's stark period drama HARVEST (26:14), and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich's lyrical documentary-biopic hybrid THE BALLAD OF  SUZANNE CÉSAIRE (43:05). Plus, in our HOT TAKE (57:46), we talk about the current state of horror criticism and why so few studio horrors, from Until Dawn to I Know What You Did Last Summer, are being screened for critics. If you would like to donate directly towards humanitarian aid in Gaza please visithttps://www.map.org.uk/https://www.safebowgazanaid.com/take-action-nowJoin the conversation or suggest a Hot Take for the gang to discuss tweet us at @FadeToBlackPodFollow us: @amonwarmann, @clarisselou, @hannainesflintMusic by ⁠The Last Skeptik⁠If you like the show do subscribe, leave a review and rate us too!

The 2025 Mid-Year Random Awards! Mark and Megan hand out awards to their favorite 2025 movies, performances, moments and scenes. In this episode, you'll hear them talk about Companion, Presence, Black Bag, The Ballad of Wallis Island, One of Them Days, Sinners, Eephus, Warfare, The Surfer, Dangerous Animals, 28 Years Later, Ghost Killer, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life and many more cool movies. Enjoy!

Rudy Warnock's Downfall: Guilty Verdict to Suicide Attempt – Shocking Turn in Corruption Saga! In a gripping segment, Clay Edwards dives into the Rudy Warnock corruption case, admitting initial disinterest as it predates his deep political dive. On July 16, 2025, Warnock's guilty verdict hits – "If he's corrupt, lock him up!" – a white-collar crime stealing taxpayer money, potentially netting 20-50 years in federal prison. But tragedy strikes: Post-trial, Warnock wrecks on I-20 near Pelahatchie, then attempts suicide by slitting his throat/wrists. A good Samaritan intervenes, saving his life (or prolonging suffering?). Rushed to UMMC in critical condition, recovery looms painful – nerve damage, bleeding out. Clay's take: "Nobody deserves that; hope he survives, but jail sucks worse handicapped. Nonviolent felon could've stayed out pre-sentencing; now straight to holding." Sympathy for family amid bad choices: "Life comes at you fast – suicide isn't the way out." Raw empathy meets accountability in this chaotic ballot of betrayal. 

*Contains books and show spoilers*The only thing better about one episode is two episodes!!! This episode is now lovingly called the Ballad of Med Student No. 1. We are so excited to discuss our scene, this very dramatic episode & of course, Bonrad Christmas in Cousins Pt. 2.  This is a rough watch especially because we care for all of these characters so much but we're here to break down every tear, every apology, every flashback and the big proposal.

This week on SIDETRACKS, we tackle a lot of current events before discussing how the AJLT writers forgot the entire plotlines of their own show, some recently released indie films in early Oscars contention, and some fun Kpop anime demon hunting. Next time we'll be watching SINNERS (2025).Thanks for listening and stay spoopy ya'll!Timestamps:00:00:26 Start00:03:06 Addendums and Current Events Rant00:27:01 Movie News00:37:24 AJLT (HBO MAX-Spoilers)00:54:32 The Bear Season 4 (Hulu)01:00:23 The Valley/The Gilded Age (Peacock and HBO Max)01:00:48 The Gentlemen (Netflix)01:03:08 Bullet Train (Hulu-Spoilers)01:06:10 On Becoming A Guinea Fowl (HBO Max- Light Spoilers)01:11:36 Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Reunion (Hulu)01:13:24 The Hunger Games (HBO Max)01:15:25 The Ballad of Wallis Island (Peacock)01:19:58 Upcoming Releases01:23:33 My Mom Jayne (HBO Max-Light Spoilers)01:31:35 KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)01:32:55 Next Week: Sinners (HBO Max)01:34:39 GoodbyesThe Grindhouse Girls Podcast is created by Katie Dale and Brit Ray. This week's episode is edited by Katie Dale.Part of the Redacted Entertainment Network.Royalty free music used: Ready Set Go and Outro White SmokeCopyright 2020 Grindhouse Girls PodcastThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In this jam-packed episode of Wrestling Mayhem Show 964, Sorg, Mad Mike, Matt Carlins, Rizz, and special guest Emily Fear from the Grit and Glitter Podcast dive deep into an explosive weekend of professional wrestling. From AEW's All In spectacle to WWE's Evolution 2, no match or moment is left unturned. They debate show lengths, production quality, powerful women's matches, chaotic faction storytelling, and the state of pay-per-view economics. There's humor, intensity, and plenty of wrestling hot takes—including Mason's youthful perspective on the AEW vs. WWE battle. Whether you're into elite storytelling or tart-themed wrestling personas, this episode delivers it all. ⸻

In this jam-packed episode of Wrestling Mayhem Show 964, Sorg, Mad Mike, Matt Carlins, Rizz, and special guest Emily Fear from the Grit and Glitter Podcast dive deep into an explosive weekend of professional wrestling. From AEW's All In spectacle to WWE's Evolution 2, no match or moment is left unturned. They debate show lengths, production quality, powerful women's matches, chaotic faction storytelling, and the state of pay-per-view economics. There's humor, intensity, and plenty of wrestling hot takes—including Mason's youthful perspective on the AEW vs. WWE battle. Whether you're into elite storytelling or tart-themed wrestling personas, this episode delivers it all. ⸻

He was broke, strung out, and cleaning up other people's puke. Then he got stiffed by a gangster with ties to the infamous Wonderland Murders. A few years later, he was dead on the floor – for the second time. This is the high-speed tale of Nikki Sixx, a rock 'n roll original who came back to life more than once to take his place as the poster boy for hair metal's wildest and wettest dreams. This isn't a comeback story – It's a resurrection. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠⁠. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X⁠⁠ (formerly Twitter)  ⁠⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tyler James hosts an engaging discussion with a panel of comic creators featuring both new and returning guests. Joseph Kamer and Jared Burris introduce their action-packed comic series 'Collision Force,' a tribute to '80s and '90s cinema, while James Burton talks about his heartfelt project, 'The Ballad of Nod,' inspired by personal experiences with grief and loss.

What makes a summer read unforgettable for kids and teens? In this episode of Book Lounge by Libby, Joe is joined by authors Jamie Sumner, Kelsey Impicciche, and Julie Soto for a sunny conversation all about Summer Reading Magic.   They explore what defines a great summer book across different age groups, how they tailor their writing to young readers, and the power of stories to inspire, comfort, and reflect today's youth.   The group also shares nostalgic memories of library reading programs, talks about trends and representation in current kidlit and YA, and offers insight into helping young readers fall in love with books—this summer and beyond.  Want to watch the video version of our show? Watch now on the Libby App YouTube channel!  Guest Host Recommendations:    Part 1:  Carmen  Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa  A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya  Ballad & Dagger-An Outlaw Saints Novel by Daniel José Older  Cece  To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer  This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow   Fireborne by Rosaria Munda   Joe  Witchlings – Claribel A. Ortega  Scepter of Memories – Claribel A. Ortega  The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers – Adam Sass  Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts – Adam Sass  Surrender Your Sons – Adam Sass  Your Lonely Nights Are Over – Adam Sass  Part 2:  Bre  The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen  Hide and Seeker by Daka Harmon  Root Magic by Eden Royce  Meara  The Girl Who Kept the Castle by Ryan Graudin  The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron   We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride   Follow the Guests & Guest Hosts:  Segment 1:  Jamie Sumner - Website  Julie Soto - Website  Kelsey Impicciche - Website  Segment 2:  Bre - Links  Carmen - Links  Cece - Links  Meara - Links  Time Stamps:   00:00:00 Title  00:00:16 Intro  00:05:09 Segment 1 – Jamie Sumner & Kelsey Impicciche   00:55:47 Segment 1 – Julie Soto  01:25:30 BREAK – Libby Tip: Read Alongs, Filters and more!  01:31:01 Segment 2 – Book Recommendations with Carmen & Cece  02:00:36 Segment 2 – Book Recommendations with Bre & Meara!  02:43:21 Outro  Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today's episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today's episode!  Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!  We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!   Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Ballad of the Seven Dice. The offline crew are trying to have some breakfast and enjoying some lovely savoury tea as they plan their next moves in the great city of Seattle.  Check out our YouTube Want to join in on the conversation? Join Our Discord Show Notes Conspiracy Unravel, Closing In, A Bad Outcome - Monument Studio Neon God, Experiment 4, Snowfield, Time, In This Time,  - Dark Fantasy Studio Italian City Streets, Urban Night   - Michaël Ghelfi

Back from our summer break, Danielle finally graces everyone with the finale to the 2020 book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. When we last left Coriolanus, he was being called in to rescue Sejanus from the big bad Hunger Games where he was determined to kill himself to make a statement; Coriolanus won't let him, which in retrospect was perhaps a stupid decision. Anyway, things go awry and pretty soon everyone in the Hunger Games has died except, shockingly, Lucy Gray, thanks to some minor, very valid, totally explainable cheating on Coriolanus's part. Unfortunately, Dr Gaul, Sam's favorite punching bag, doesn't see it that way. Given that Dr Gaul is crowd-sourcing ideas on why they even have the Hunger Games, it shocks Sam that she sends her brightest student off to live in obscurity as a Peace Keeper in retribution. But alas, plot. This is about where Danielle gave up writing Coriolanus in her notes and started calling him Corio. So, Corio cruises over to District 12 where he meets up with the true hero of the novel, Lucy Gray, where they promptly pick up where they left off but with kissing. Unfortunately, finally being able to compare Corio to regular humans, you realize he's incredibly stupid and not getting any smarter. Then Lucy sings too many songs, Corio kills too many people, and pretty soon they're running away to escape being framed for murder. Murder Corio committed, to be clear, but it was really minor, very valid, and totally explainable so it hardly counts. Then the bad guys win because Hunger Games. The end.

The bois celebrate Alex's birthday by discussing Star Wars: Phantom Menace, Bring Her Back, The Pitt, True Detective Season 1, and more!Join our Patreon for bonus episodes, supplements, Discord access, and more: https://www.patreon.com/therearetoomanymoviesMerch: https://www.toomanymovies.com/shopInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/therearetoomanymovies/TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@therearetoomanymoviesListen on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/7lwOlPvIGdlmr6XjnLIAkG?si=4e3d882515824466Subscribe on iTunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/there-are-too-many-movies/id1455789421Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/therearetoomanymoviesTwitter:http://www.twitter.com/tatmmpod00:00:00 Cold Open00:00:34 Intro00:06:30 Alex Opens Presents00:15:41 Bring Her Back00:19:00 Trainwreck: Poop Cruise00:20:53 Spiderman 300:25:14 The Pitt00:28:35 Reuben Solo: Feedback Loop00:30:42 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze00:36:15 The Ballad of Wallis Island00:37:57 Frankehooker00:42:24 True Detective Season 100:55:22 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace01:24:09 Is It Cinema?01:26:48 DMT (Dumb Movie Title)01:29:33 Guess The Budget01:31:20 Movies In Space01:36:55 Outro

GC13 and David discuss the The Ballad of Hopediah Plantar and Anne Hunter from Amphibia. Well, Hop Pop got another lesson. Usually Anne has the lessons on lock, but she's willing to share every not and again—especially since she comes back to learn the second lesson of the pair! And while we didn't mention the … Continue reading

Mason LaDue raises cattle on family land in Central Texas. But before he was a rancher, he was mostly on the road, managing tours for artists like Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa.His journey from the Dallas hip-hop circuit to the homestead is the focus of today's special program, Rap to the Ranch: The Ballad of Mason […] The post Rap to the Ranch: The Ballad of Mason ‘Bric' LaDue –  A Texas Standard Special Rebroadcast appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

There's often an unspoken (and deeply misogynistic) rule on country music radio: never play two female artists back to back. In this episode of Switched On Pop's country week, we aim to do just that. Looking at two artists on opposite ends of the country music spectrum – traditionalist Lainey Wilson, and genre-bending Jessie Murph – Nate and Charlie try to understand the state of female country through their respective songs "4x4xU" and "Blue Strips." Songs discussed: Lainey Wilson – 4x4xU Jessie Murph – Blue Strips Lainey Wilson – Country's Cool Again Lainey Wilson – Heart Like A Truck HARDY, Lainey Wilson – wait in the truck Jessie Murph – Gotta Hold Jessie Murph – Gucci Mane Jessie Murph, Sexyy Red – Blue Strips (Remix) Zach Top – I Never Lie Carrie Underwood – Before He Cheats Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha