Chris Leslie of Fairport Convention delves into his highlights with the group against the backdrop of their Winter 2024 tour. Join us as Chris tells Jason Barnard about the interplay between Fairport’s timeless catalogue and the dynamics of their live shows.
Fairport Convention is touring the UK in February and March 2024. How does it compare to playing with a drummer, in this case Dave Mattacks, than the acoustic Autumn 2023 tour?
Well, it is always an exciting prospect to be playing with the wonderful Dave Mattacks again. Of course he is so well versed in the band’s history, being a big part of it himself! The acoustic tour repertoire tends to include numbers that will lend themselves to a more intimate approach, alongside other numbers that sit well with both the acoustic and electric five piece. For the Winter 2004 Tour Dave brings a drive from his kit which affects the whole feel of how we play, and of course he also plays great keyboards… so the five piece set list will include some numbers from albums like Fairport Nine, and maybe Angel Delight, Gladys’s Leap – these are so good to play live… I am really looking forward to us all being together again on the road making music.
You have been playing live with Fairport for over two decades. How do you keep the music fresh and exciting?
Yes, this will be my 28th year… I think the music stays really fresh because the performances are down to how everyone is feeling on the night, and different personal inspirations move around the stage each night to which we all react to. So whilst the song formats won’t change, what goes on in them is of that moment…
How did you join Fairport, and how do you strike a balance between honouring the legacy and putting your own stamp on the material?
I already knew the band as a friend and occasional guest on Fairport related projects for quite a while. It was December 1996, it was my 40th birthday, the phone rang and it was Peggy to say that Maart Allcock was leaving the band and would I like to join? It took me a millisecond to say yes, and so began my Fairport adventure building my own instrumental and vocal nest on stage… My vocal range sits alongside Dave Swarbrick’s, and so many songs became available again to play, and I was so pleased to be able to be able to help bring these back to the Fairport’s live repertoire. I had also been writing some songs, and had even co-written Lalla Rookh with Maart Allcock…
The band are and always have been very supportive of my song writing efforts. It is so good to have that, and I appreciate that opportunity… We also look for material from other writers, as well as bringing in numbers from Fairport’s huge back catalogue from the wonderful Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, and Dave Swarbrick.. and Trad. Ric writes great instrumentals, as does Peggy. All these sources I think makes for a really interesting mix, and gives us endless set list possibilities.
The band has one of the richest catalogues out of any band around. Are there any particular albums or songs that hold special significance for you?
So many… Leige and Leaf, Full House, Angel Delight, Fairport Nine, Rising For The Moon, Jewel in the Crown, to name a few… I love how despite past line up changes, there has always been something quintessentially Fairport in the sound… Full House was my carry under my arm at school album amongst all those Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Yes fans there…
What are some of your favourite memories and moments from the Cropredy Festival?
Getting the opportunity to play with the likes of Roger Hodgson, Beth Neilson Chapman, Robert Plant, Tom Robinson, Fish, Dan Ar Bras, and Nik Kershaw to name a few… I’ve loved that! The Cropredy crowd are just wonderful, and after the three days of fabulous music, food, and best vibes… during our encore, the whole Cropredy field sing a chorus of “Meet on the Ledge” back to us… such an emotionally charged moment, and life affirming…
How do you balance your solo work and your role in Fairport Convention? Do you have a different approach to writing and performing for each project?
As I write this, I am now 20 concerts into a 22 date December tour with St. Agnes Fountain which comprises of dear friends Chris While, Julie Matthews, and myself… it is our 22nd year taking out our Winter/Christmas show around the UK, and I just love it! I do get to play a lot more fiddle, as I also do in my solo gigs, which feature music and songs from my solo albums. I am taking time out from the Feast of Fiddles annual tours at the moment to put time into making violins which I trained for in the early 1980’s at the Newark School of Violin Making in Nottinghamshire.
You have written many songs for Fairport Convention, including my favourites from the last few albums, ‘Moondust and Solitude’ and ‘Eleanor’s Dream’. What sources of creativity do you tap into?
Anything and everything! I’m the kind of songwriter that can’t just sit down and write… that doesn’t seem to work for me. Inspiration seems to come unplanned… and when it arrives, I just have to drop everything and get ideas recorded and written down there and then… if I don’t, it all goes unremembered! After that spark I can shape and manoeuvre everything later on. Having said that, the song Moondust and Solitude came pretty much straight down fully formed… and I thought to myself, where did that come from?
You have provided music for several radio and TV shows. How did you get involved in these projects and what are the challenges and rewards of composing for different media?
I have been involved at one time or another in quite a few radio plays, which I think are still doing the rounds out there on the World Service. These came from meeting director/producer Peter Leslie Wild. It was great, and so varied, from playing violin sound track for Laurie Lee’s As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning, to Richard Adam’s Watership Down. My brief appearances in Heartbeat and Midsommer Murders TV shows came through friends Geoff Huges, and Mike Sanderson respectively. My very brief but very welcomed Harry Potter soundtrack moment came through my good friend composer Nicholas Hooper – my only time in Abbey Road! None of these were my own music, but mostly traditional tunes I sourced, and of course for Harry Potter, the wonderful score by Nicholas Hooper. But all so lovely to have played a part in.
What are your plans after the tour?
Family and friends. Time for writing perhaps, lots of walking, violin making, and a bit of magic… but that’s another story…
Further information
Fairport Convention Wintour 2024 – starts 6 February
See also Strange Brew podcasts with Simon Nicol (2023), Simon Nicol (2017), Dave Pegg, Iain Matthews and interview with Dave Mattacks
