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Simon Nicol in conversation at Cecil Sharp House

April 27, 2026 · 55 min

Show notes

Fairport Convention founder member Simon Nicol joins Matthew Bannister on stage at the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House to review a musical career lasting over 60 years. Simon talks about teaming up with Ashley Hutchings and Richard Thompson to start Fairport, tells how the band got its name from his family home and gives an emotional account of the motorway crash that killed drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklin. Then he recounts the making of the legendary album Liege and Lief and explains how the band still survives and thrives despite countless line up changes. It’s an intimate and revealing conversation with a key player in the creation of English folk rock.


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Find out more about Simon and Fairport Convention at https://www.fairportconvention.com


Cover photo by Alan Blundell

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