Richard Houghton - Cropredy Convention - Another People’s History of Fairport Convention

by Zena Grieg

published: 19 / 12 / 2024

Richard Houghton - Cropredy Convention - Another People’s History of Fairport Convention

Zena Greig finds Richard Houghton’s new book ‘Cropredy Caper - Another People’s History of Fairport Convention’ to be a heartwarming chronicle of the iconic band and its annual Cropredy Convention.

Article

A band spanning decades, evolving through different iterations, Fairport Convention have long been an integral part of the musical tapestry of the UK, the influence of their music felt throughout the globe. ‘Cropredy Capers’ focuses on the impact Fairport Convention has had on a wide range of people, particularly during the annual Cropredy Festivals, established at the end of what the band had initially envisaged as their farewell tour, but which grew and expanded, becoming “the world’s friendliest festival”, a regular feature in the UK and global music calendar. The book details the ways in which fans first encountered the band at the many venues in Europe, the USA , Canada and Australia they played in and the camaraderie seeing the band has engendered amongst their fans. The home in the seventies of two members of Fairport Convention, Dave Pegg and Dave Swarbrick, Cropredy, whose not readily accessible location lent to idyllic country living became an iconic venue, featuring some of the biggest names in folk, rock, country and virtually every musical genre, attracting a loyal, lasting following from all over the world. Festival music menus were eclectic, ranging from Led Zeppelin, Toyah Wilcox, Jethro Tull, Alice Cooper through to the Incredible String Band, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Petula Clark, Jools Holland and The Proclaimers. In chronological order, from 1966 to 2024, the book provides entertaining novel insights into the genesis of Fairport Convention and the Cropredy Festival from an international array of fans, connected and unconnected to the band, highlighting how the music and interaction with band members has impacted their lives. The episodic recollections are interspersed with a colourful sequence of photos of fans and treasured memorabilia from personal archives, capturing the enjoyment involvement with the band has heralded, bringing the myriad of colourful stories to life. Episodes recounted for the book include how the band got its name. As a friend of the band recalled, the name was suggested when the group was playing at a party: “…you rehearse in the house called Fairport. You all convene here. So why don’t we call it ‘Fairport Convention’ “. Other exploits involved daring followers to swim across lakes to have as a reward a band member taking off some clothing, resulting in some memorable nights! The book also captures many acts of spontaneous generosity by the band towards loyal new and existing fans. One of the distinctive attributes of Fairport Convention was and is its ability to reinvent itself when band members leave or are no longer there. As founder member Richard Thompson famously said: “FC is like Hotel California” and the words of one fan ring true for many: “Despite checking out now and then in my family and career building years, it is a hotel that I find that I can never leave”. How much the group has framed fans’ experiences is also highlighted by one fan, who could list all the twenty different cars he had been travelling to Cropredy in since 1983 and another, who coined his own Cropredy Festival-infused language: “Cropriscoveries” (new acts discovered by the band) and the sense of “Cropmunnity” the festival engendered. In the poignant words of Georgia Lucas, daughter of the late Sandy Denny and Trevor Lucas, both previous key members of Fairport Convention: “Cropredy is like a lifeline for the folks who make their way there. It’s where they recharge and find inspiration… It’s a part of who they are” The at times humorous, at times emotive recollections from the UK, USA, Canada, Turkey, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands convey a keen sense of nostalgia and ongoing musical kinship, bringing the band to life in a multifaceted and enjoyable way. The book gives a real flavour of the magic of the Cropredy Festival and the enduring, heartwarming appeal of this long-established and ever-reincarnating band.