Post by petrolino on Apr 5, 2024 23:04:25 GMT
Drummer Gerry Conway has died at the age of 76. Conway was a member of Eclection, Fotheringay, Jethro Tull, Pentangle and Fairport Convention. He also played throughout the 1970s with Cat Stevens.
"Sandy Denny was a very special person in lots of different ways. She not only had phenomenal musicality but also a rare demeanor that everyone loved. People in the music business saw her potential and tried to direct her in the way that they thought. She was not afraid of success but I think she had goals that took precedence over ambition.
Forming Fotheringay after leaving Fairport Convention was not a popular move with the music business. She had topped the Melody Maker polls twice and was heading for big success.
Sandy was very grounded in traditional folk music but she wanted a vehicle for her song writing and Fotheringay was initially formed for that. By this time she had partnered with Trevor Lucas and rehearsals for the first album were in the music room of their flat in Chipstead St., Fulham.
I don’t remember Sandy ever criticising our approach to her songs, she seemed quite happy to let the playing unfold organically and we gained a lot of confidence that way. She also had very broad taste musically and would listen to every thing from folk, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Band, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman and Stevie Wonder to Miles Davis. We had all become very good friends by the time that the first Fotheringay album was finished so we decided to rent a farm house near Chichester to “Get it together in the country”.
We started the second album at Sound Techniques but Sandy was under a lot of pressure to pursue a solo career and one morning in tears she told us that she had to leave. Sandy was very loyal to her friends, and content with people that she knew and trusted, so she really didn’t want to do this. On her subsequent solo albums with Island Records, she hired Pat Donaldson, Jerry Donahue, Trevor Lucas and myself From Fotheringay to play on them. It makes me smile every time I think of it !"
Forming Fotheringay after leaving Fairport Convention was not a popular move with the music business. She had topped the Melody Maker polls twice and was heading for big success.
Sandy was very grounded in traditional folk music but she wanted a vehicle for her song writing and Fotheringay was initially formed for that. By this time she had partnered with Trevor Lucas and rehearsals for the first album were in the music room of their flat in Chipstead St., Fulham.
I don’t remember Sandy ever criticising our approach to her songs, she seemed quite happy to let the playing unfold organically and we gained a lot of confidence that way. She also had very broad taste musically and would listen to every thing from folk, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Band, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman and Stevie Wonder to Miles Davis. We had all become very good friends by the time that the first Fotheringay album was finished so we decided to rent a farm house near Chichester to “Get it together in the country”.
We started the second album at Sound Techniques but Sandy was under a lot of pressure to pursue a solo career and one morning in tears she told us that she had to leave. Sandy was very loyal to her friends, and content with people that she knew and trusted, so she really didn’t want to do this. On her subsequent solo albums with Island Records, she hired Pat Donaldson, Jerry Donahue, Trevor Lucas and myself From Fotheringay to play on them. It makes me smile every time I think of it !"
- Gerry Conway, Sandy Denny Notes
"Sadly, my great old drummer, Gerry Conway just passed away. What a lad, and what ingenuity and style. May God grant him the beautiful reward of peace everlasting."
- Cat Stevens, Facebook
'Please (Mark II)' - Eclection
- -
'Nothing More' - Fotheringay
'Changes IV' - Cat Stevens
'Knights Of The Road' - Fairport Convention
'Ghost Town' - Cat Stevens
'Overhang' ¬ Jethro Tull
R.I.P.
