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CROMER - 13th. MAY 2001
The opinions and views expressed in the reviews are those of the contributors alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of any other person or body.
A concert review by Richard Hollis May 13th saw Steeleye's first gig since the departure of Gay Woods. They headlined the last day of the annual Cromer Folk Festival - 'Folk on the Pier'. Tamsyn Alexander bravely stepped into Gay's shoes at the eleventh hour to do this contractual date. It was a long wait before the band came on. But when they did they were soon in their stride sending the 'finger in the ear' brigade and the 'easy listening' lovers running for cover (just like old times). The rest of the audience enjoyed a great set with a couple of new songs and some new arrangements of older material, a high point of which was a very jazzy version of 'The Wee Weaver'. Also included was a welcome return of 'Alison Gross'. Some other high points in the set were, the new live favourite, 'Staring Robin', 'Eb English' - a stunning violin instrumental by Peter, and a superb rendition of 'I See His Blood Upon The Rose' sung by Tamsyn. In fact Taz did a sterling job. The band had less than a week to rehearse with her and she was still learning the words to some of the songs on the day of the concert. This woman has a stunning voice and she was a great choice by the band. Peter did a name check for two lovely people that had traveled great distances just for this concert - Diana Arseneau from Germany and Michael Higgins all the way from New Jersey, U.S.A. The band, has again, done a magnificent job under very difficult circumstances and they never give less than 100%. Well done Guys and Gal! I would like to thank Peter, Tim, Rick, Taz and Terl for their kindness and generosity before the concert and Peter and Rick for their hospitality and entertainment afterwards. Also thanks to the generous Cromer hotelier who gave us sanctuary until 3-00 a.m. Monday morning. Richard Hollis
STEELEYE
SPAN AT CROMER - a concert review by Nick Clark Music, particularly folk music, is littered with defining moments in its history. The most obvious one is one of the audience calling ‘Judas’ as Dylan played with electric accompaniment or maybe Sweeney’s Men being booed off at the ’68 Cambridge Folk Festival. Whilst not venturing such notoriety for Steeleye Span at this years ‘Folk On the Pier’ it was not without a touch of irony that the absence of Gay Woods, who was at the latter event, meant the band had an even bigger headache in approaching the gig. With Peter in the middle of recording a third solo album and no regular line-up other than himself and Tim Harries, things couldn’t have been much more difficult. However, Steeleye are nothing if not resilient and selected again Rick Kemp, who toured with them last year. The less obvious choice of lead vocalist was someone similarly well-suited and who could more than justice to their strong back catalogue. Tamsyn Alexander of the band ‘Sine e’ has a breathy voice, very comfortable with the jazz genre but more than capable in all styles as she proved. It was hard to see, other than by the song words attached to the microphone stand, that she had had only a short time to pick the tracks she wanted to do and learn them. As a long- time Steeleye fan she confessed later that this meant digging out a lot of the records she had first bought many years ago as well as listening to some CD’s of the bands more recent output. The line-up was completed by Terl Bryant on drums who has worked with the group before. It was not an easy concert to do. The venue – the theatre on the pier, was great but the audience had listened to folk all day and Steeleye didn’t get on until after 10pm, following The Cromer Smugglers, a very popular and more traditional group. These factors may have contributed significantly to the overall difficulty of doing the gig. Having said that, the Steeleye faithful loved it of course. To them (and me) the arrival of the group on stage can only be a welcome sight….. Right from the opener it was easy to see how this makeshift line-up operated. Tamsyn (or Taz as she is known) was content to sit back and not take any of the limelight away from the established band members. Since Gay left at the start of the year, many have speculated on the band’s ability to do a ‘Fairport’ and continue without a female vocalist. This performance showed how both arguments could be right. The first number was ‘Seagull’ a crowd favourite, but adapted and played at a slightly different tempo. This was the band as I imagined it could be, drawing on Peter and Tim’s writing without seeming to lose the ability to hold a show for ninety minutes. By the second number – a very jazzy style ‘Wee Weaver’ I was back thinking a female voice was an essential. Both showed how the group, even in adversity, could continue to alter and adapt old songs to make them more interesting. A little later with ‘Who Told the Butcher’ I was realising just how strong each of the writers is in this band – another of Peter’s more recent cuts. The emphasis was certainly on the two longest serving Spanners to lead the line. They did most of the introductions to the songs and Peter said ‘hi’ to Michael from New Jersey and Diana from Germany. What loyalty the band can still count on. Michael was sitting next to me. In twenty years of following 'The Grateful Dead’ none of them had ever said hello to him from the stage! There was a fine rendition of ‘The King’ with Rick singing again on vocals before Tim took over with ‘The Prickly Bush'. Traditionally one of Bob’s songs this version was even more rocky than when they used to open the show with it. Then, for some the high spot of the performance, "Alison Gross", a real golden oldie that doesn’t get too many outings nowadays. Tim’s rocking guitar has opened up possibilities in terms of some of the heavier stuff from the difficult-to-lose ‘old days,. It also provided ‘John of Ditchford’ from the ‘Bedlam Born’ record. I know that when it first came out some, (including me) thought Tim was very much like Bob. Even now listening to the track live, I know it isn’t but it’s a worthy successor. At that point I wished the endless file of people wandering around in the front of the stage would accord the band the same respect as they had when Mr Johnson first blasted folk rock out of their gramophones- nearly thirty years ago. Even given that some of them were traditional folkies, which was fine and they had been sitting a long time, which they had and it was late, which it was, they still should have heard out the set. If it wasn’t their bag, OK…but give some credence to the musicianship of the likes of Tim Harries and the group. The sheer versatility of these players was incredible. The fiddle playing of Peter Knight on ‘Eb English’ earlier had moved one of the audience to tears near me for its virtuosity. Later on the same guy was banging out ‘Bonny Birdy’ – another crowd pleaser, at a frenetic rate. One of the highlights of the set for me was when Taz sang ‘I See His Blood Upon the Rose’. Introduced by Tim, it got the biggest laugh of the evening when he described the album it came off as, ‘A conference of alienation’. In truth he went onto say how difficult the previous couple of the years had been for the group. It was a brave decision to perform the song but it was incredibly beautiful. I hope the group get a singer of Taz’s quality on a permanent basis. She was terrific – ‘very Steeleye’ as we all said beforehand… She also played the bodhran well. Finally back to the song that cocked the proverbial ‘snook’ at the bands detractors, ‘Staring Robin’. Controversially omitted from the last record, it still remains one to hear. I didn’t think it sounded too far away from what Steeleye had done with Alison Gross but one of those is very old so it must be OK….. I was disappointed they went off after this and not just because I was desperate to hear, ‘All Around My Hat’ again. It was a short set – just an hour and a quarter and even when they came on for the obligatory you- know- what the whole thing was only ninety minutes. I heard that tracks were left out. It’s a shame. It’ll be more a shame if the folk world doesn’t learn to trust this band and give them the respect they deserve, not just for making music for thirty years but for making the right decisions along the way. I heard an interview from a US radio station a while back. It played a lone voice and guitar singing ‘Cam Ye O Frae France’ with the caption, ‘This is what folk music sounded like before Steeleye Span.". After that we heard the crashing guitar and Maddy’s distinctive vocals as the presenter said, "This is what it sounds like now" Do we really have to go overseas to learn to respect their judgment? Nick Clark
A concert review by Colin Squire Whilst I was really looking forward to seeing Steeleye at Cromer I
have to confess to being a little disappointed by the performance. I had hoped
that the band's problems earlier in the year would have been overcome but it
seems this may not have been the case. I was very impressed however with the new
girl singer Taz who stepped in at the eleventh hour and did a very good
job, I would have liked to have heard more from her. It seemed to me that the
band had lost some direction but maybe this was to be expected with Gay's decision
to leave. I sincerely hope that they can settle on a new line up and direction,
my preference would be to retain the more traditional Steeleye approach,
but bands move on, and I will certainly be looking out for the next gig to see
how things have developed.
A concert review by Michel Higgins Funny thing. The last time I spoke with Richard Hollis, I told him I wasn’t interested in writing a Review of Steeleye’s performance at the Cromer "Folk on the Pier" festival for his site… and at that point I wasn’t going to. But, I follow my instincts… and here I am, just a day or so later compelled to do exactly that. At least ostensibly… Steeleye Span has been traveling alongside me for… well… decades now. But the last time I had been in England had been on the last stop on the 1990 Grateful Dead tour-- during a time period when I had often wondered if Steeleye might have been about to breathe its last… But still, there were signs of life, most notably 1989’s ‘Tempted and Tried" and 1991’s ‘An Ancient Cause’… and it was through these recordings that I first became familiar with the name Tim Harries. Around this time I spent a great number of hours lettering comic books for a living, so I found it most appealing to listen to music without lyrics—so they wouldn’t inadvertently end up on the pages when my brain crossed wires. Along with a bit of Mozart, ‘An Ancient Cause’ jumped to the top of my listening rotation! And pretty soon, A hale and hearty Steeleye Span was right there alongside me again… And there was some wonderful new music… and I saw the band more frequently than ever before, I think… And, insatiable as I am, I picked up a handful of CDs after the last two performances at the Bottom Line in NY… and among them was a new one by Peter Knight called ‘The Gemini Cadenza’ which included the link to the website he had recently launched. The same night I went home and listened to the show’s cache and while ‘The Gemini Cadenza’ played in the background I wrote Peter an E-mail thanking him for what his and Steeleye Span’s music has meant to me over the years. For me, the road with Steeleye has largely been a solitary one. While I’ve had dozens of close friends over the years who shared my interest in The Beatles, The Allman Brothers, Dylan or The Grateful Dead… only a handful had ever shown even a glimmer of an interest in Steeleye Span. It is something I’ve never really been able to fathom… but something Steeleye and I have surely become aware of over the years. It just isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. But here was a website where people talked about music and asked questions about Steeleye Span and knew even more about the whole thing than I did! And then Peter Knight himself even answered my E-mail! The whole thing just seemed too good to be true… and it got even better after Peter added a chat room. Suddenly I was chatting with Steeleye fans like Richard Hollis who ran the Unofficial Steeleye website and Nick Clark who actually did interviews with the band and Peter himself was coming in a couple of times a week for scheduled chat sessions. New friends in the US and in England and in Germany… and there was one night a certain Tim H. came into the room as well. The winter may have been cold, but the chat room was warm.
* * * * * Along the road, Steeleye Span suffered another blow… The air was filled with new questions. What would happen next? And no one actually had the answer… least of all Steeleye Span, reeling as if struck with a blackthorn stick. But there was a calendar on the Peter’s website. Plain as the monitor in front of my face, Steeleye Span was scheduled to make an appearance in Cromer on the 13th of May 2001. I was ordering a couple of things by Felicity Buirske when the thought crossed my mind for the first time. I hadn’t traveled anywhere in some time… and if I could be ordering disks from England all the time, why couldn’t I just fly over to England for a long weekend and see the Steeleye Span show in Cromer. The seed was planted. But would it grow or not? Would there even be a show? Peter seemed to think things would fall into place and the date would be kept. But nothing seemed certain. Except that Peter was confident that he and Tim would be reforming Steeleye Span… and that the special friendship we had shared for so many years would continue to live on. As everyone began to wonder what shape Steeleye Span might take on, I learned in Peter’s chat room about another show—more an event—to celebrate Martin Carthy’s 60th birthday. Among the guests would be Maddy Prior and Ashley Hutchings, both members of the very first line up of Steeleye Span. I’d seen Maddy in Steeleye, but never Martin or Ashley… and they would sweeten the whole deal with the Watersons, Brass Monkey and a bit of Fairport Convention thrown in as well… so there was no choice to be made really. I believe in following the road signs when they are laid out right in front of me like that. Don’t think twice… it’s all right… just something that is meant to be. But then it looked like the Cromer show itself wasn’t meant to be, and, in fact, Peter confided to me in a private message in the chat room that the gig would indeed be cancelled. Naturally, I was disappointed, but I respected the decision and the reason for it. He and Tim didn’t want to throw together a temporary band for a single day with no idea where Steeleye was heading next or what road would be taken from here… So, there it was. I had run into a little dead end. Apparently I couldn’t read the signs as well as I thought! Somehow, the idea of flying over to England for the Carthy show wasn’t enough for me… it was part of a bigger picture… and the picture was getting blurrier and blurrier. Or was it? The next thing I knew, Peter told me the show was going on as planned… …and I would be seeing Steeleye Span again after all! * * * * * I left New York on the 11th and got to Cromer on the 12th… I met a few of the chat room regulars for the first time that night … and more the following day, and I shared a walk along the beach with Diana from Germany, mostly looking at the rocks, but occasionally being caught by a wave that splashed a little too closely a little too quickly. Sometimes one is simply caught unaware… I guess it was about mid-afternoon when I spotted Tim Harries walk in. I had that little rush I always get when something like this happens before a show. Sort of like, the first sign of what is to come. I happened to be chatting with Ms. Deblington Houseworthy at the time, and being a friend, Tim came over to her and I introduced myself as Michael. Tim and Deb began to chat… but then he turned to me and said, "You aren’t Michel Higgins, are you?" Well, talk about you-could-knock-me-over-with-a-feather. Here was the guitarist from Steeleye Span and he knew my name--! I was enormously flattered, said I was indeed me… and realized that, of course, he knew me from something Peter had said to him about my coming over for the show. This really helped kick things into high gear for me! Tim and I spoke for some time. Stephanie, another chat room crony who was working behind the Musikfolk stand, gestured to me that I was a chatterbox… so I hope I wasn’t boring Tim… but I have to admit the conversation largely centered around my musical interests-- like the Grateful Dead and a new line-up that goes by the name Phil Lesh and Friends… give or take a little Willie Nelson or Hot Tuna… He seemed to be in a pretty good mood, and we shared a few laughs. Somewhere along the road, we compared him to the Grateful Dead’s Brent Mydland, who was always considered the new guy in the band after having been there for a decade or so! When Tim finally went to take care of business, he left me with a wonderful impression… and before I knew it, there were more arrivals, in the persons of Peter Knight and Rick Kemp. First, Deb pointed me out to Peter, who gave me a great big hug and a compliment, and then introduced me to Rick… and we all sat down to a pot of tea. Terl Bryant and Tamsyn Alexander weren’t far behind. They were the musicians that would round out this one-time only version of Steeleye Span that I had come several thousand miles to see. Tamsyn was still listening to CDs trying to make sure she got everything right…and her friend Will was writing out the lyrics to ‘All Around My Hat’ just to make sure there wouldn’t be any problem when the time came. Richard Hollis and I helped out with a couple of words that would have been transcribed erroneously, and ‘Taz’ laughed that she had been with Tim Harries, Peter Knight and Rick Kemp and even they weren’t sure of all of the lyrics. The one song I managed to see and hear during the sound check was ‘Seagull.’ My mind flashed to an image from a few years previous of Maddy singing this song with Peter, who stood beside her also playing the violin Strange. The same song—but undeniably different. This arrangement was softer, maybe slower… and, of course, there was no Maddy to be seen. And instead of standing using his bow, Peter sat center stage and plucked at the strings of his violin. But, still, it was perfectly clear that the music I loved was here… and that I was in the right place. Whatever twist and whatever turn the road had taken… here was Steeleye Span.
* * * * * The show began with ‘Seagull.’ I was able to enjoy it more and analyze it less the second time around. And after that, I could spend the time thinking about the ‘Wee Weaver,’ the song that followed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it performed live and it is always nice to hear a new version of something you have known for so long. The Wee Weaver and I go back almost 30 years now… .. but, he was still so full of life. The rendition has accurately been described as very jazzy… and it made me think that someone on Peter’s site had posted a comment fearing that this Steeleye line-up might prove a little bit too jazzy. But it didn’t seem that way to me. Just jazzy enough! After the show I asked Taz how they had chosen this song. She told me that it was one that she did with her own band. So it seemed to make sense to me—this must have been her band’s arrangement. But, no, she said. This was completely different. Which made it all the more interesting as it bore little resemblance to the version Steeleye recorded in 1971 . It was just something that happened, I guess. Something with an identity all its own… After that, Tim did a new song. Up until now, Tim has contributed only a few songs to the band’s enormous repertoire, and I found this to be a vast step into a new direction for him. To be honest, there was another new song by Tim later in this set as well—and in my mind—I seem to have mixed them down into only one entity. But this makes sense to me as it is indicative of the way I felt about the songs as I heard them for… the first time. It was so encouraging to me to hear Tim carrying on in what I consider to be a grand-old tradition! I had honestly never been so impressed by his song-writing ability or in what he seemed to be able to offer the band. It felt like Steeleye Span… it felt just right… …and just about then, seated at the keyboards, Peter Knight started to say something… and I thought he was going to welcome Tamsyn Alexander to the band. I was stunned when, instead, he welcomed me to the show! An incredibly uplifting moment… and then Peter was off into ‘Who Told the Butcher,’ probably my favorite track of Steeleye’s last album… and by that I mean the most recent! I am a big fan of another of Peter’s songs from ‘Time’ called "You Will Burn" and right wrong, I always think of this song in the same turn. Perhaps Fire and Water can be used with the same intent. Perhaps this is just a more subtle version of the same sentiment. I guess in the end… "nobody knows." (Or do they?) After that, the stage emptied quite a bit, leaving only Peter Knight and Tim Harries before the audience. Here it was, then—the foundation of what was to be the next incarnation of Steeleye Span. Just two men alone on stage with their Instruments… Peter on violin and Tim at the keyboards. Even though I suspected what was about to happen next, I was no less thrilled when the duo began to play the first, and arguably best, track from ‘An Ancient Cause’—a favorite of mine called simply ‘Eb English.’ I am not even remotely qualified to talk about classical music, but this has always seemed like the real thing to me—a transcendent piece. One that should make a grown man cry… and does. At least if you’re me. It seemed that, after all, this was going to be a special night for my friend Mr. Steeleye. After that, the band regrouped on stage and performed a song Bob Johnson contributed to ‘Time’ called "The Prickly Bush.’ Since Bob left the band, Tim has been singing this one… after which he carried on with a Steeleye classic, which he introduced as the only traditional song he knew of that was told from the point of view of a worm! * * * * * I first saw Steeleye Span by accident in Central Park in 1974. John Sebastian was supposed to perform. He cancelled, and that night, Steeleye Span took the stage instead. And I was there. Just another one of those things that was meant to be. And even then, I had already been introduced to their music when someone I knew was lucky enough to have a blank tape ready when WBAI, a progressive NY radio station broadcast their most recent albums (‘Parcel of Rogues’ and ‘Now We Are Six’) over the airwaves— uninterrupted at that. It follows, then, that ‘Alison Gross’ was one of the first songs I ever knew by Steeleye Span. And I probably did see it in Central Park all those years ago… but almost certainly not since… And here it was , Tim instilling it with new life. Now, I have never felt that Tim is the best vocalist to have filled the band’s roster since its inception… but admittedly, anyone in the role would be facing some pretty fierce competition. Maybe Tim’s voice isn’t the strongest… ...but he obviously knows how to use what he’s got and it was quite evident in this number. Maybe he would hold a note at the end of a line for slightly less time than I was accustomed, but this enabled him to sing the song with greater intensity… And it began to dawn on me just how much of a burden Tim was carrying here—playing lead guitar as well as a good amount of keyboard, doing most of the vocals, singing "antique" Steeleye songs and introducing new material that seemed to have something of the flavor of the classic material. Here, surely, was a talent to be reckoned with, clearly coming into his own at last. ‘The King’ is one of those songs I find myself belting out almost every day and it might be considered among my all-time Steeleye favorites. The more the merrier on a song like this one, so it was strange to see it for the first time as sung by the relatively small group of Peter, Rick and Tim, who were naturally, unaccompanied. But they did the song justice, despite he fact that an additional voice or two wouldn’t have hurt any. I was ecstatic to finally see this song performed! Another one that I have known for so many years… that it seems just like an old friend. The second of Tim’s aforementioned new tunes was next, followed by two of the songs from ‘Bedlam Born.’ I first heard ‘John of Ditchford’ last fall, but it worked a lot better for me this time around as I was now familiar with the lyrics and the story they told. Another sad tale in the Steeleye Span tradition. Surely Tim needed a rest after lead vocals on four consecutive songs, so he must have been relieved when Taz once again took the spotlight for an impeccable rendition of ‘I See His Blood Upon the Rose." I don’t think there was anyone in the audience who wished Gay Woods was there instead. I had heard earlier in the day that Taz would be doing this one, and although it isn’t one of my favorites, it was clearly one of hers. Back on keyboards, Peter did a lively rendition of ‘Bonny Birdy.’ While not vastly different from the way I have heard it performed before, the powerful vocal "punch" on the lyric "Wow for the day!" was cut—again reminding me that the band was in a sort of state of flux… but also making it equally evident that what still remained was really pretty amazing. Tim was back on vocals for a song I’d heard considerable clamor for since it appeared on last Fall’s tour, but was cut from ‘Bedlam Born’ when it was released. I wondered if ‘Staring Robin’ was going to live up to the hype, or if maybe things were getting a bit blown out of proportion… and it was a pleasant surprise when the song turned out to be pretty good. Somewhat less pleasant was the realization that this was going to be the last song of the set. I could hardly believe it when Tim walked up to the microphone to thank the audience. It seemed to have gone so fast. It was hard to believe it was over already. Of course, at the time I didn’t known that roughly six songs had been cut from the set due to time restrictions. Rick had told me he would be doing ‘Batchelors Hall’ and that never happened. He told me after the show that they had also dropped ‘There Was a Wealthy Merchant’ and Nick mentioned later that they also planned to do ‘Let Her Go Down.’ I don’t know what the others were. All things considered, it had been a thoroughly enjoyable set… and it came as no surprise that the encore was ‘All Around My Hat.’ Taz had said earlier that she thought Maddy said "greater" and not "better" when "he thought to have deprived her of a far better thing" and, incidentally, that was the way she sang it. A brief but lively instrumental to punctuate the event… and the show was over… * * * * * The consensus amongst the chat room regulars seemed to be "thumbs up" and I spent some time talking to a fellow I met after the show. His name was Dave, originally from the States—Ohio, I think—but he’d been living in England for the past 14 years. He had never heard of Steeleye Span before and had been given a free pass just around the time the set had begun. It turned out that he was a "Deadhead" of sorts and described drummer Mickey Hart as his "main man," something I could certainly relate to. It is no exaggeration to say that he was highly impressed by the performance he had just seen… and as he put it, he felt like it was just "meant to be." He, like I, had had a hard time sitting in our seats the entire time. It would have been nice to have been up and dancing along… Dave congratulated Tim on a great performance before heading on his way. I couldn’t help but feel that the band had just found a new fan… and that Mr. Steeleye had just made a new friend. I mulled about as we all waited for Peter to emerge… and I was surprised when Stephanie told me that the set had definitely met with mixed reviews. That being the case, I really couldn’t be sure what planet these people came from! Maybe Tim knew this—or heard some of this. I don’t know. But when I saw him, I congratulated him on a great performance. And I saw him again just before he split for the night Whatever he might have been feeling on the inside, on the outside he was as friendly and spirited as he had been when we talked earlier that afternoon. He left telling me to get his E-mail address from Peter and to keep in touch. After that, Peter, Rick and we poor labouring chat-room folk spent a few hours winding down at the bar in the nearby Hotel de Paris, where a good number of pictures were taken, a few of which have appeared on Richard and Peter’s sites. All in all, it had been a wonderful experience. * * * * * I spent most of the next week on the road. A Ralph McTell show in Shrewsbury (where I stayed in a house built in 1428!), a Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool and a visit to my ancestors’ home and graves in Ireland… and by the time I was back in England some bad news was about to break. It was really the first opportunity I’d had to visit Peter’s site in over a week.. and it hit me like some sort of surreal wave, I would say. This was the last leg of my little Steeleye "tour"—a tour that I saw as some sort of link between the Steeleye that was and the Steeleye that was yet to come… and from out or nowhere came the sudden announcement that Tim Harries had decided to leave the band. And things just didn’t seem so right anymore. I couldn’t help but wonder exactly what had happened. And y’know what. I don’t have the answer. Given Peter’s announcement that he isn’t certain he wants to continue on with it under the circumstances, there has been some speculation that Cromer killed Steeleye Span and I can see how someone might arrive at this conclusion. Certainly there is something to the timing of Tim’s departure that cannot be dismissed as an unrelated coincidence. But, how could such a good show precipitate such a terrible outcome? Steeleye Span and I have been through an awful lot over the years. The ups and downs… some highs and some lows. Peter spoke a little about it after the show when he mentioned that if the band were to come to an end, he wanted it to be when they were on top. Ironically, It was Tim who said something during the show about how much he loved the band… and how much it meant to him to see it go on… Some have questioned whether Tim’s decision to leave the band may have been too impulsive and whether or not he might be persuaded to return to the fold. Still, after a dozen years with the band, I’m sure he couldn’t have acted without weighing all the factors and giving the situation some serious consideration. If this was a hasty decision, he shouldn’t feel that his hands are tied by it. But if this is what Tim really wants to do… then let him do it with our blessing and our thanks… and if I may be so bold, with a tip of the hat from our old friend Steeleye Span. * * * * * The night before I returned to the States I went to the Carthy show. Ralph McTell showed up as a special guest and Norma Waterson ended the show with Grateful Dead song called ‘Black Muddy River." I saw Rick there again and also got to meet Martin Carthy and Maddy Prior briefly as well! A wonderful way to end my little excursion with Steeleye Span. And if you looked closely you might have even been able to catch a glimpse of him up there on stage with Maddy and Rick and Martin and Ashley when they performed ‘The King,’ or ‘False Knight on the Road.’ And just maybe it was Mr. Steeleye who caused the record to skip—right there on the stage—during the otherwise perfect rendition of ‘Rave On.’ Who can really say? But as to the question of whether or not the life of Steeleye Span hangs in the balance, I’m not worried about that. Not at all. Steeleye Span isn’t dead. Don’t be silly. I know he’s alive because he’s here with me right now…
--Michael Higgins
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