Steeleye Span
British/Celtic Folk Rock
by
Joe Wallace
One of the most cherished and longest-lived electric folk acts around is England's Steeleye Span, who began a tumultuous career back in 1970. Tim Hart and Maddy Prior had been working in traditional folk music when they joined forces with Gay and Terry Woods to explore new directions. With the addition of Ashley Hutchings on bass, the album Hark! The Village Wait was recorded as the first Steeleye Span release.
The album wasn't so much an update of folk music for the 1970s as an electrified version of it, MTV Unplugged in reverse. It was an experimental time in the folk scene, with bands working to electrify traditional sounds.
Much is made of the group's name. Those unfamiliar to the electric folk scene sometimes assume it is a send up of the rockjazz group Steely Dan, but the name actually comes from a character named in the ballad Horkstow Grange.
The Woods couple left shortly after the first album, the start of a series of personnel changes. Singer Maddy Prior was the most stable member of the band, sitting out for roughly six years between 1997 and 2002 to concentrate on her solo career. Singer and guitarist Tim Hart left the group in 1984.
Thirty-five years after the first version of the band, Steeleye Span is one of the most respected names in electric folk music. The latest new music release, Winter, came out in 2004, an album full seasonal and sacred songs.
Website: Steeleye Span
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Steeleye Span Discography
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