Steeleye Span -

Steeleye Span was an English folk-rock band that debuted with the 1970 RCA release Hark! The Village Wait, followed by the 1971 albums Please to See the King and Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again.

Between 1972 and 1982, they made eight studio albums and two live discs on Chrysalis, plus a 1989 comeback album. The subsequent two decades witnessed sporadic Steeleye releases on Park Records.

They evolved from a partnership between vocalist Maddy Prior and string-instrumentalist Tim Hart, who made three albums as a duo between 1968 and 1971.

Members: Maddy Prior (banjo, vocals, tambourine, bells), Tim Hart (dulcimer, banjo, fiddle, guitar, harmonium, vocals, 1969-82), Ashley Hutchings (bass, vocals, 1969-71), Gay Woods (vocals, concertina, percussion, tambourine, 1969-70, 1995-2001), Terry Woods (guitar, mandolin, vocals, 1969-70), Peter Knight (organ, fiddle, mandolin, violin, guitar, keyboards, vocals, bells, 1970-77, 1980-2013), Martin Carthy (organ, banjo, guitar, vocals, bells, 1971-72, 1977-78), Bob Johnson (guitar, vocals, 1972-77, 1980-2002), Rick Kemp (bass, vocals, drums, 1972-86, 2000-present), Nigel Pegrum (synthesizer, flute, drums, oboe, tambourine, 1973-89), John Kirkpatrick (accordion, vocals, 1977-78)

Background

Steeleye Span was formed in late 1969 by bassist/singer Ashley Hutchings, who co-founded Fairport Convention two years earlier. He left Fairport after they suffered a road accident that claimed the life of drummer Martin Lamble.

Wishing to explore a more trad sound, Hutchings teamed with the Irish husband/wife duo Terry and Gay Woods. Terry hailed from the folk trio Sweeney’s Men, which issued two albums on Transatlantic Records in 1968/69.

To round out the new band, Hutchings tried to recruit Terry’s ex-Sweeney’s colleagues Andy Irvine and Johnny Moynihan. When they declined, Hutchings sent the invite out to three different parties: brothers Robin and Barry Dransfield (later to record as Dransfield); husband/wife pair Bob and Carole Pegg (just prior to their two-album stint in Mr. Fox); and the folk duo of Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, who accepted. Hart and Prior had performed together since 1966 and released two albums, Folk Songs of Olde England Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (both 1968).

The new band named itself Steeleye Span after the character in the folk traditional “Horkstow Grange.” To cut costs and bond as a musical unit, the five members shared the same house. Before long, tensions developed between the two duos. This lineup only lasted long enough for one album, recorded in March 1970.

Hark! The Village Wait

Steeleye Span released their debut album, Hark! The Village Wait, in June 1970 on RCA Victor.

The album presents traditional ballads and rural laments in updated electric-folk arrangements centered on modal vocal interplay, droning acoustic timbres, and restrained rhythm support. It marks the sole appearance of the band’s original lineup, including dual female vocals by Maddy Prior and Gay Woods. Electric dulcimer, harmonium, concertina, mandola, and autoharp intermingle with subdued bass and sparse drumming to underscore both stately a cappella pieces and slow, minor-key narratives.

Tim Hart, Terry Woods, and Prior share instrumental duties across electric and folk stringed instruments. Bassist Ashley Hutchings provides continuity with his prior Fairport tenure, while Gerry Conway and Dave Mattacks contribute light percussion across select tracks.

Hark! The Village Wait features traditional material arranged by the band, with the exception of “Fisherman’s Wife” by Ewan MacColl and “One Night as I Lay on My Bed,” transcribed by folk archivist H. E. D. Hammond.

A1. “A Calling-On Song” (1:12) — modeled on the Earsdon Sword Dance Song (Roud 610), a ritual tune linked to Northumbrian folk custom; used here as an a cappella prelude.
A2. “The Blacksmith” (3:41) — traditional English folk song (Roud 816); earliest known transcription by Vaughan Williams in 1909 from Ellen Powell of Herefordshire.
A3. “Fisherman’s Wife” (3:14)
A4. “Blackleg Miner” (2:47) — Northumbrian strike song from the 1844 miners’ dispute (Roud 3193); refers to Seghill and Seaton Delaval; known for inciting violence against strikebreakers.
A5. “Dark-Eyed Sailor” (5:59)
A6. “Copshawholme Fair” (2:34)

B1. “All Things Are Quite Silent” (2:40)
B2. “The Hills of Greenmore” (4:02) — traditional English hunting song; arranged with syncopated drums by Gerry Conway.
B3. “My Johnny Was a Shoemaker” (1:11)
B4. “Lowlands of Holland” (6:01) — Scottish ballad (Roud 484) dating to the mid-18th century; earliest known melody published by James Oswald in 1741; earliest broadside with lyrics dates to 1776.
B5. “Twa Corbies” (2:07) — Scots variant of the ballad “The Three Ravens” (Roud 5, Child 26), first printed in Melismata by Thomas Ravenscroft (1611).
B6. “One Night as I Lay on My Bed” (3:31) — traditional English ballad (Roud 672); collected by Henry Hammond; recounts a nocturnal lover’s visit and secret admission.

Sessions took place in March 1970 at Sound Techniques, London, with production by Sandy Roberton and the band. Engineering was handled in-house during a single concentrated period.

The album cover for the original UK RCA pressing features a close-up photo of rustic signage. Later reissues on Chrysalis and Mooncrest (mid-1970s) featured an alternate sepia-toned image of The Leather Bottle pub in Cobham.

Please to See the King

Steeleye Span released their second album, Please to See the King, in March 1971 on B&C.

Recorded without drums and following a major personnel shift, the album adopts a denser, fully electric folk-rock approach built around interlocking guitars, looping bass figures, and close vocal blends. Martin Carthy’s arrival replaces Gay Woods and brings a sharper rhythmic attack, while Peter Knight expands the instrumental palette with violin, mandolin, and occasional organ. The absence of percussion places greater emphasis on pulse generated through strummed patterns, syncopation, and bass repetition.

All material is traditional, arranged by the group. Several songs draw from early printed or collected sources, with variant texts and melodies selected deliberately rather than modernized.

A1. “The Blacksmith” (4:45) — traditional English song, noted by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909; re-recorded here with a syncopated electric arrangement distinct from the 1970 debut version.
A2. “Cold, Haily, Windy Night” (4:34)
A3. “Jigs: Bryan O’Lynn / The Hag With the Money” (3:15) — Irish jigs; “Bryan O’Lynn” documented in 18th‑century collections.
A4. “Prince Charlie Stuart” (4:13) — Jacobite song concerning Charles Edward Stuart (1720–1788); text reflects mid‑18th‑century origins.
A5. “Boys of Bedlam” (4:17) — variant of “Tom o’ Bedlam,” using the earliest printed text from Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy (c. 1700).

B1. “False Knight on the Road” (2:45) — Child Ballad No. 3; first published in the early 19th century (c. 1824).
B2. “The Lark in the Morning” (4:28) — English folk song collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in the early 20th century.
B3. “Female Drummer” (3:59)
B4. “The King” (1:26) — song linked to the Wren Day (“Cutty Wren”) custom, associated with St Stephen’s Day traditions dating back several centuries.
B5. “Lovely on the Water” (5:16) — English folk song collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in Norfolk in 1908.

Sessions occured in late 1970 at Sound Techniques, London, with producer Sandy Roberton. The lineup features Maddy Prior (vocals, spoons, tabor, tambourine), Tim Hart (vocals, guitar, dulcimer), Ashley Hutchings (bass, vocals), Peter Knight (violin, mandolin, vocals, organ, bass), and Martin Carthy (vocals, guitar, banjo, organ).

Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again

Steeleye Span released their third album, Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again, in December 1971 on Pegasus.

The album continues the group’s development of amplified traditional material with increasingly Irish inflections and dense acoustic interplay. With no drums or electric lead lines, the arrangements rely on rhythmic fiddle phrasing, looped banjo patterns, and droning dulcimer and guitar textures beneath alternating vocal leads. It marks the final appearance of founding bassist Ashley Hutchings, who departed after sessions concluded in September 1971.

Ten Man Mop draws from Irish and British folk traditions with material involving wassailing, racehorse ballads, and humorous narrative songs rooted in centuries-old broadsides and collected variants. As with its predecessors, the arrangements avoid percussion and employ sparse instrumentation and layered harmonies.

A1. “Gower Wassail” (5:28) — traditional carol from Gower, Wales; documented in Folk Song in England (1967) by A.L. Lloyd, sourced from singer Phil Tanner. Features trisyllabic lines in 6/8 with Balliol rhyme and “ffal de radl” vocal refrains common to Welsh tradition.
A2. “Jigs: Paddy Clancy’s Jig / Willie Clancy’s Fancy” (3:11)
A3. “Four Nights Drunk” (3:06) — variant of the humorous Irish song “Seven Drunken Nights,” itself derived from the English/Scottish ballad “Our Goodman” (Child 274, Roud 114), traceable to 18th-century broadsides.
A4. “When I Was on Horseback” (6:13) — Irish variant of the melody also found in “Streets of Laredo” and “St. James Infirmary Blues.”

B1. “Marrowbones” (4:28) — English murder ballad rooted in “Eggs and Marrowbone” (Laws Q2, Roud 183); known across Ireland, Scotland, and England under multiple titles including “The Wily Auld Carle” and “The Wife of Kelso.”
B2. “Captain Coulston” (5:06)
B3. “Reels: Dowd’s Favourite / £10 Float / The Morning Dew” (3:47)
B4. “Wee Weaver” (2:41)
B5. “Skewball” (3:31) — ballad about the 18th-century British racehorse foaled in 1741 and owned by Francis Godolphin; widely circulated in broadsheet form under various spellings including “Stewball” and “Sku-ball.”

Sessions took place in September 1971 at Sound Techniques, London, with production by Sandy Roberton. The band self-financed a lavish textured gatefold sleeve, featuring a 1900 photograph titled Sippers and Topers by John Benjamin Stone, depicting two drinkers at Bidford Mop fair in Warwickshire.

The album title references the Mop Fair tradition, with the phrase “ten man mop” suggesting a poor turnout of laborers. The subtitle honors obscure folk performer Reservoir Butler, whose name the band sought to preserve.

Below the Salt

Steeleye Span released their fourth album, Below the Salt, in September 1972 on Chrysalis.

The album marks the debut of guitarist Bob Johnson and bassist Rick Kemp, forming a new quintet lineup alongside holdovers Maddy Prior, Tim Hart, and Peter Knight. Departing from the Irish slant of their prior release, the band explores older English sources, arranging modal ballads, wassail chants, and medieval Latin hymns with harmonic rigor and acoustic interplay. Prior’s voice assumes greater centrality in the arrangements, often rising over subdued mandolin, dulcimer, and bowed string textures.

Hart and Prior curated most of the material, with Johnson proposing “Gaudete,” an obscure sacred Latin carol that became the band’s first charting single.

A1. “Spotted Cow” (3:01) — collected from Norfolk singer Harry Cox.
A2. “Rosebud in June” (3:36) — sourced from Journals of the Folk-Song Society; collected by Cecil Sharp from William King in Somerset, 1904.
A3. “Jigs: The Bride’s Favourite / Tansey’s Fancy” (3:06)
A4. “Sheep-Crook and Black Dog” (4:39) — collected by Ewan MacColl from Queen Caroline Hughes, a Roma then living in Dorset.
A5. “Royal Forester” (4:29) — learned from the singing of John Strachan.

B1. “King Henry” (7:03) — ballad #32 from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads edited by Francis James Child.
B2. “Gaudete” (2:21) — from Piae Cantiones (1582), a collection of sacred Latin songs published in Sweden.
B3. “John Barleycorn” (4:42) — collected by Fred Hamer from Billy Bartle in Bedfordshire; dedicated to Margaret Hamer.
B4. “Saucy Sailor” (5:45) — from Journals of the Folk-Song Society; collected by George Butterworth in Sussex, 1907.

Below the Salt was recorded in May and June 1972 at Sound Techniques, London, with production jointly handled by the band and engineer Jerry Boys. It reached No. 43 on the UK Albums Chart. The single “Gaudete” peaked at No. 14 that December.

Parcel of Rogues

Steeleye Span released their fifth album, Parcel of Rogues, in April 1973 on Chrysalis.

The album introduces a heightened level of studio layering and sonic contrast, combining multitrack vocal textures, amplified fiddle counterpoint, and overdubbed guitars with a continued focus on historical ballads and Scottish traditional material. It marks the studio debut of drums within their sound and the emergence of a more electrified folk-rock direction driven by bassist Rick Kemp’s rhythmic foundation. Bob Johnson assumes a central vocal role, sharing narrative duties with Maddy Prior and Tim Hart across arrangements that juxtapose acoustic airs and distorted reels.

Much of the material derives from 18th-century Scottish texts sourced during the band’s stage adaptation of Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, especially poems tied to the Jacobite risings and early industrial tensions.

A1. “One Misty Moisty Morning” (3:24)
A2. “Alison Gross” (5:20) — traditional Scottish ballad (Roud 3212, Child 35), also known as “Alison Cross”; recounts a rejected witch who transforms the narrator into a worm.
A3. “The Bold Poachers” (4:11)
A4. “The Ups and Downs” (2:38) — also known as “The Maid of Tottenham.”
A5. “Robbery With Violins” (1:42) — instrumental version of “The Bank of Ireland” (O’Neill’s collection); associated with traditional Irish dance music and later heard in Titanic.

B1. “The Wee Wee Man” (3:53) — Anglo-Scottish border ballad (Roud 2865, Child 38); source variants traceable to the 17th century.
B2. “The Weaver and the Factory Maid” (5:15)
B3. “Rogues in a Nation” (4:25) — first published 1747 in Caledonian Pocket Companion as “A Parcel of Rogues in the Nation,” later printed with lyrics in Scots Musical Museum (1792); attributed posthumously to Robert Burns.
B4. “Cam Ye O’er Frae France” (2:45) — Scots political satire from the Jacobite rebellions; lampoons George I, his mistresses, and Hanoverian courtiers.
B5. “Hares on the Mountain” (4:28) — traditional English folk song (Roud 329) known under multiple variant titles; widely collected in England, Canada, and the U.S.

Sessions took place in January–February 1973 at Sound Techniques, London, with production by Steeleye Span and Jerry Boys. The band layered overdubbed harmonies and multi-instrumental parts, with Johnson’s vocals set against dual mandolins, recorders, and harmonium. The sleeve features a tile image of a milkmaid—possibly referencing the studio’s original function as a dairy.

Now We Are Six

Steeleye Span released their sixth album, Now We Are Six, in March 1974 on Chrysalis.

The album introduces drummer Nigel Pegrum as the band’s sixth member, marking a shift toward fuller arrangements and multitrack studio layering. With Pegrum contributing oboe and flute in addition to drums, the band further expanded their instrumental palette. Produced by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, the album alternates between intricately arranged traditional ballads, riddle songs, and a pair of rock and roll interludes delivered in parody style. David Bowie appears on alto saxophone for the album’s closing track, reflecting the band’s live encore habit of 1950s sendups.

The album’s title nods to A. A. Milne’s poetry collection Now We Are Six, and the inclusion of nursery material (“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”) and faux school choir gags underscores the group’s eccentric blend of archaism and irony.

A1. “Seven Hundred Elves” (5:11) — English rendering of the Danish ballad “Eline af Villenskov.”
A2. “Drink Down the Moon” (6:21) — hybrid of three traditional songs indexed as Roud #290 (first part), Roud #1506 and #5407 (second part).
A3. “Now We Are Six” (2:17) — indexed as Roud #20174; presented in faux-child style by the band under the “St. Eleye Primary School” pseudonym.
A4. “Thomas the Rhymer” (6:44) — based on “True Thomas,” Roud #219, Child Ballad #37; recounts the prophetic tale of Thomas of Erceldoune, a 13th-century laird and seer from the Scottish Borders.

B1. “The Mooncoin Jig” (3:50)
B2. “Edwin” (4:40) — indexed as Roud #182.
B3. “Long-a-Growing” (4:02) — variant of “The Trees They Grow So High,” Roud #31; known in Scotland since at least the 1770s, and adapted by Robert Burns as “Lady Mary Ann” (1792).
B4. “Two Magicians” (4:23) — Roud #1350, Child Ballad #44; first printed in 1828 by Peter Buchan and later published in English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child.
B5. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” (1:32) — English lullaby with lyrics from Jane Taylor’s 1806 poem “The Star”; sung to the French melody “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman,” first published in 1761.
B6. “To Know Him Is to Love Him” (2:40) — written by Phil Spector and originally recorded by The Teddy Bears in 1958; features David Bowie on alto saxophone.

Sessions took place in December 1973 and January 1974 at Morgan Studios, London, with Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson in a rare outside production role. “Thomas the Rhymer” appears in two versions: the full 6:44 cut on the UK LP and a 3:14 edit used for the U.S. release and single. The album reached No. 13 on the UK Albums Chart.

Commoners Crown

Steeleye Span released their seventh album, Commoners Crown, in January 1975 on Chrysalis.

The album continues the band’s full-scale integration of rock elements, with electric guitar lines, dense vocal layering, and sustained rhythmic drive beneath traditional balladry. Building on the momentum of Now We Are Six, Commoners Crown expands the sound through longer compositions, intricate arrangements, and occasional whimsical flourishes. Peter Sellers guests on ukulele for the closing track, part of the group’s ongoing nods to vaudevillian humor.

Produced with Robin Black at Morgan Studios, the album reflects both sonic clarity and studio elaboration, with occasional tape manipulation and overdubbing used for dramatic and comedic effect. The title references a sculpture made of hundreds of tiny human figures arranged in the shape of a crown, which appears on the album cover.

A1. “Little Sir Hugh” (4:44) — adaptation of “Sir Hugh” (Child 155, Roud 73), a British ballad originally tied to medieval anti-Semitic blood libel narratives; Steeleye Span omit the original prejudicial content.
A2. “Bach Goes to Limerick” (3:40) — fusion piece combining a classical Bach violin motif with a traditional Irish fiddle tune.
A3. “Long Lankin” (8:38) — English ballad (Child 93, Roud 6) recounting a domestic murder; versions circulated in England, Scotland, and North America under names such as “Lamkin,” “Bolakins,” and “Cruel Lincoln.”
A4. “Dogs and Ferrets” (2:44)

B1. “Galtee Farmer” (3:43)
B2. “Demon Lover” (5:55) — known broadly as “The Daemon Lover” (Child 243, Roud 14); documented since 1657 with variant titles including “House Carpenter” and “James Harris.”
B3. “Elf Call” (3:56)
B4. “Weary Cutters” (2:04)
B5. “New York Girls” (3:01) — traditional sea shanty (Roud 486), also known as “Can’t You Dance the Polka”; collected by W. B. Whall in the 1860s and printed in Ships, Sea Songs and Shanties (1910). This version features Peter Sellers on ukulele and includes a spoken Goon Show-style coda on the original LP.

Sessions occurred in September and October 1974 at Morgan Studios, London, with production handled jointly by the band and engineer Robin Black. “New York Girls” assigns verses to Rick Kemp, Tim Hart, Peter Knight, and Bob Johnson, with chorus vocals by Maddy Prior.

The album reached No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart.

All Around My Hat

Steeleye Span released their eighth album, All Around My Hat, in October 1975 on Chrysalis.

The album presents a polished, accessible blend of traditional material with contemporary arrangements, produced by Mike Batt at AIR Studios in London. It became the band’s most commercially successful release, peaking at No. 7 on the UK Albums Chart and remaining there for six months. The title track, issued in a shortened single edit, reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. Batt’s production emphasized harmonic clarity and rhythmic drive, with a tighter structure across the material compared to earlier recordings.

This period solidified the six-piece lineup that had emerged over the prior two albums. While the arrangements maintain core folk elements—modal melodies, dance rhythms, and narrative ballads—they now operate within a controlled studio framework, supported by Pegrum’s consistent drumming and layered instrumentation.

A1. “Black Jack Davy” (4:15) — variant of “The Raggle Taggle Gypsy” (Roud 1, Child 200), a border ballad involving a woman’s elopement with a gypsy lover; known in many forms as “Gypsy Davy” or “Seven Yellow Gypsies.”
A2. “Hard Times of Old England” (5:10) — adaptation of “Hard, Hard Times” (Roud 876), a Newfoundland version of “Rigs of the Times,” rewritten by William James Emberley in 1936 during the Great Depression to reflect the hardship of Atlantic Canadian fishermen.
A3. “Cadgwith Anthem” (2:45)
A4. “Sum Waves (Tunes)” (4:00)
A5. “The Wife of Ushers Well” (4:32) — traditional ballad (Child 79, Roud 196) concerning a mother whose three sons return as revenants; versions documented by Walter Scott (1802) and Cecil Sharp, who located further variants in Appalachia.

B1. “Gamble Gold / Robin Hood” (3:40)
B2. “All Around My Hat” (4:06) — nineteenth-century English broadside (Roud 567, Laws P31); centers on a costermonger pledging fidelity to a transported lover, symbolized by wearing willow in his hat for a twelve-month and a day.
B3. “Dance With Me” (3:51) — English rendering of the Scandinavian ballad “Herr Olof och Älvorna,” part of the Elverskud tradition involving nocturnal encounters with elves.
B4. “Batchelors Hall” (5:45)

Recording took place in July 1975 at AIR Studios with Mike Batt producing. The album cover, designed by John O’Connor, uses anamorphic projection to distort the band’s faces unless viewed through pinholes in the lyric sheet. In 1980, All Around My Hat was reissued by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in a half-speed mastered audiophile edition.

The album was certified Gold by the BPI for UK sales exceeding 100,000 copies.

Rocket Cottage

Steeleye Span released their ninth album, Rocket Cottage, in September 1976 on Chrysalis.

The album presents the band’s most electrified studio sound to date, balancing heavy rhythm guitar and layered violin runs with compact adaptations of traditional British ballads and dances. Tim Hart and Bob Johnson double on guitars over the firm rhythm section of bassist Rick Kemp and drummer Nigel Pegrum, while Peter Knight’s fiddle alternates between melodic lead and percussive counterpoint. Maddy Prior and Hart share vocals on narrative-driven tracks steeped in antiquity and dark folkloric imagery.

Rocket Cottage includes four original compositions by the full lineup, four traditional ballads adapted by the group, one standalone instrumental, and one traditional tune of unspecified provenance (“Sligo Maid”).

A1. “London” (4:14) — set in E minor, opens with unison vocals and march-like syncopation; punctuated by sharp guitar jabs and fiddle interjections; chorus marked by tempo acceleration and dynamic lifts.
A2. “The Bosnian Hornpipes” (0:58) — brief instrumental with rapid fiddle triplets in irregular meter over hand percussion.
A3. “Orfeo / Nathan’s Reel” (6:01) — “Orfeo” adapts Sir Orfeo, a Middle English Breton lai from the late 13th to early 14th century, based on the Orpheus myth. The vocal section uses chant-like delivery over sparse backing; transitions into “Nathan’s Reel,” a double-time fiddle dance that fades out mid-flow.
A4. “The Twelve Witches” (4:32)
A5. “The Brown Girl” (5:06) — based on The Brown Girl (Roud 180, Child 295), a traditional Appalachian ballad with roots in English and East Coast U.S. variants. Narrative centers on rejection and fatal revenge.

B1. “Fighting for Strangers” (4:26) — derived from “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye” (Roud 3137), an anti-war song first published in London in 1867 by Joseph B. Geoghegan. Sung in modal minor, set to the same tune as “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”
B2. “Sligo Maid” (3:44)
B3. “Sir James the Rose” (6:16) — adapts Sir James the Rose (Child 213), a Scottish border ballad published as a broadside. Story recounts a nobleman’s murder of a rival and betrayal by his lover, who dies of remorse. Arrangement builds to a crescendo during the betrayal.
B4. “Camptown Races” (2:11)
B5. “The Drunkard” (5:44)

Rocket Cottage was recorded in June 1976 at Frans Peters Studio in Hilversum, Netherlands, with producer Mike Batt and engineer Robin Freeman. The album features cover photography by Clive Arrowsmith.

Storm Force Ten

Steeleye Span released their tenth album, Storm Force Ten, in November 1977 on Chrysalis.

The album introduces a new instrumental identity shaped by John Kirkpatrick’s accordion, replacing Peter Knight’s fiddle and altering the band’s harmonic texture and rhythmic drive. Martin Carthy rejoins on guitar and vocals after a six-year absence, rounding out a revised six-piece with longtime members Maddy Prior, Tim Hart, Rick Kemp, and Nigel Pegrum. This lineup explores darker narrative ballads, anti-war laments, and period street songs with stripped-back arrangements and starker vocal blends.

The set includes seven traditional numbers, two German cabaret texts adapted into English, and no original compositions. It remains the only Steeleye Span studio album to feature accordion in place of fiddle throughout.

A1. “Awake, Awake” (5:06) — a pastoral love lyric derived from the Song of Solomon, set here as a duet over minor drone textures and rolling guitar figures.
A2. “Sweep, Chimney Sweep” (4:45) — a cappella setting of Roud 1217, sourced from the Copper family songbook and rendered as a group harmony arrangement.
A3. “The Wife of the Soldier” (2:40) — words by Bertolt Brecht with music by Johnny Scott; an anti-militarist recitation voiced over staccato guitar strums, reprising a Carthy arrangement from Byker Hill (1967).
A4. “The Victory” (8:37) — first published by John Ashton in Modern Street Ballads (1888); adapted from an earlier song about General Wolfe. Steeleye’s version builds through shifting tempi, spoken interludes, and phased vocal counterpoint.

B1. “The Black Freighter” (5:59) — Brecht–Weill composition from The Threepenny Opera, originally titled “Pirate Jenny”; Maddy Prior assumes the narrator’s role of a barmaid envisioning retribution aboard a ghostly warship.
B2. “Some Rival” (3:23) — known also as “Some Tyrant” and “A Rival Heart” (Roud 587); likely dates back to 1656. Sung by Prior over sparse acoustic guitar with softened modal phrasing.
B3. “Treadmill Song” (6:12) — documents prison treadmills used in England (1779–1902); first transcribed in Somerset in 1906. Associated with Roud 1077 and alternate titles “The Gaol Song” and “Durham Gaol.”
B4. “Seventeen Come Sunday” (5:08) — tale of youthful courtship and enlistment, related to Roud 277 and traced to early 19th-century broadsides. Appeared in 1792 via Robert Burns and adapted by Percy Grainger (1912) and Vaughan Williams (1923).

Storm Force Ten was recorded in September 1977 at Phonogram Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands, with production by Steeleye Span and Mike Thompson. Uncredited synthesizer parts were played by Mike Batt. The album features cover art by Adrian Chesterman.

“Some Rival” appeared on the back of “The Boar’s Head Carol,” a non-album trad number released as a November 1977 maxi single with their earlier hit “Gaudete.”

Live at Last!

In September 1978, Steeleye Span released Live at Last!, recorded at a March 7 show at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth.

The album marked a temporary farewell, as the band disbanded five days after the show. It captures the short-lived lineup of Maddy Prior, Tim Hart, Martin Carthy, Rick Kemp, John Kirkpatrick, and Nigel Pegrum—formed after the departure of Bob Johnson and Peter Knight—featuring arrangements centered around Kirkpatrick’s accordion in place of the band’s customary fiddle.

The set combines rarely performed traditional material with two previously released Steeleye tracks and a pair of outside selections. Several pieces make their recording debut in this performance, including the fifteen-minute epic “Montrose.” Only “False Knight on the Road” and “Saucy Sailor” had been recorded by earlier lineups. Most arrangements here were exclusive to this performance.

A1. “The Atholl Highlanders / Walter Bulwer’s Polka” (5:06)
A2. “Saucy Sailor / Black Freighter” (9:50) — “Saucy Sailor” is a traditional broadside ballad; the segue leads into “Black Freighter” from The Threepenny Opera by Brecht and Weill, sung from the perspective of Pirate Jenny, who imagines violent revenge against wealthy customers. The two songs are presented separately despite being banded together on the LP.
A3. “The Maid and the Palmer” (6:37) — a dark Child ballad (No. 21) also known as “The Maid of Coldingham” and “The Well Below the Valley.” The story follows a woman condemned by a palmer (possibly Christ in disguise) for infanticide and punished with a supernatural triad of seven-year penances. The ballad was rediscovered in Ireland in the 1960s after centuries of apparent disappearance from the British tradition.
A4. “Hunting the Wren” (3:09) — adaptation of the Cutty Wren ritual tradition (Roud 236), a folk rite documented in multiple English sources. The band previously approached the same lore on “The King” and later revisited it as “The Cutty Wren.”

B1. “Montrose” (15:12)
B2. “The False Knight on the Road” (6:07) — Child ballad No. 3 (Roud 20); the performance expands on Steeleye’s earlier 1971 version with contrasting time signatures and extended instrumental passages.
B3. “Rag Doll” (3:03) — cover of the 1964 Four Seasons hit written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. The song was inspired by a real-life encounter with a young homeless girl in Hell’s Kitchen and became one of the group’s most enduring singles.

Live at Last! was engineered by Mike Thompson and recorded to multitrack by concert sound engineer Scott “Colac” Thompson. Mixing was handled by Thompson and Tim Hart.

The album features cover art and liner design credited to Chrysalis Records. It was the final release of the 1970–78 era lineup before their 1980 reformation.

Sails of Silver

Steeleye Span released their eleventh album, Sails of Silver, in November 1980 on Chrysalis.

The album marked the band’s return after a two-year hiatus and restored the mid-’70s lineup with the re-entry of Bob Johnson and Peter Knight. Departing were Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick, whose tenure defined the accordion-centered sound of Storm Force Ten and Live at Last. Sails of Silver introduces a new model for Steeleye Span: for the first time, band-written originals dominate the tracklist, signaling a shift from traditional ballads toward structured folk-rock songwriting.

Despite production by Gus Dudgeon, the album failed commercially and internally marked a period of uncertainty. Tim Hart departed shortly after its release, leaving Maddy Prior as the group’s last remaining founder. Though the album diverged from earlier aesthetics, it initiated a pattern of original songwriting that continued across all subsequent Steeleye releases.

A1. “Sails of Silver” (3:30) — written by Tim Hart; features Maddy Prior on lead vocals.
A2. “My Love” (2:50)
A3. “Barnet Fair” (4:35)
A4. “Senior Service” (3:04) — composed by Prior and Kemp; one of the first collaborative original numbers under the band’s name, sung by Prior.
A5. “Gone to America” (4:20) — written by Peter Knight; lyrical narrative on emigration, sung by Prior.

B1. “Where Are They Now” (4:13) — composed by Kemp and voiced by Prior.
B2. “Let Her Go Down” (3:35) — composed and sung by Knight; a maritime-themed ballad of self-determination and fatalism.
B3. “Longbone” (4:00) — composed and sung by Johnson.
B4. “Marigold / Harvest Home” (3:08)
B5. “Tell Me Why” (3:50) — the album’s sole traditional piece, arranged collectively by the band.

Sails of Silver was recorded at Sawmills Studios in Golant, Cornwall, with production by Gus Dudgeon and engineering by the in-house team at Chrysalis.

The album cover features stylized nautical iconography consistent with the album’s themes of departure and transit. A 1998 reissue appended three live bonus tracks recorded in the mid-1990s.

Back in Line

Steeleye Span released their twelfth studio album, Back in Line, in 1986 on Shanachie Records.

The album marked the band’s return after a six-year hiatus and introduced a new phase centered on historical themes and original songwriting. Founding member Tim Hart did not return, leaving Maddy Prior the last remaining original member. The classic mid-’70s lineup—Prior, Bob Johnson, Rick Kemp, Peter Knight, and Nigel Pegrum—was briefly reunited for this release. Kemp, however, would leave shortly afterward due to a shoulder injury and not return until 2004.

Back in Line consists entirely of new material, much of it composed by the band and set against episodes from British and Scottish history. From the Northumbrian miners’ strike to the Wars of Independence and the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, the album explores power, loyalty, rebellion, and exile through layered arrangements and character-based narratives.

A1. “Edward” (4:20)
A2. “Isabel” (5:22) — voiced from the perspective of Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, who crowned Robert the Bruce in 1306. Captured by the English, she was held in an outdoor cage at Berwick-upon-Tweed for four years.
A3. “Lady Diamond” (4:41) — adaptation of Child Ballad 269; tells the story of a noblewoman executed by her father for bearing a servant’s child.
A4. “Canon by Telemann” (1:44) — instrumental from XIIX Canons mélodieux (TWV 40:118–123), with Peter Knight overdubbing both violin parts.
A5. “Peace on the Border” (4:23) — narrative set during the 18th-century Jacobite rebellions and deportations; sung and written by Rick Kemp.

B1. “Blackleg Miner” (4:06) — new live version of the 1844 Northumbrian strike song (Roud 3193), reworked with a funk-inflected rhythm section and heavier delivery. Recorded direct to cassette at Theatre Royal, Nottingham, in November 1985, just after the end of the 1984–85 miners’ strike.
B2. “White Man” (4:39) — Peter Knight composition critiquing European colonialism through layered vocals and percussive instrumentation.
B3. “Lanercost” (4:32) — depicts Edward I’s final campaign against Scotland, staged from Lanercost Priory. Each verse contrasts the canons’ rituals with Edward’s military decisions and eventual death, punctuated by a chorus of “Kyrie eleison.”
B4. “Scarecrow” (4:13) — Bob Johnson composition centered on the 1644 Battle of Cropredy Bridge, a Royalist victory during the English Civil War.
B5. “Take My Heart” (3:58) — based on the historical account of Robert the Bruce entrusting his heart to Sir James Douglas to be buried in the Holy Land after his death.

Back in Line was produced by John Acock and recorded in 1986. Guest musician Vince Cross contributes DX7 synthesizer parts to several tracks.

The original LP cover uses stylized calligraphy and monochrome photography. A 1991 Park Records CD reissue appended “Somewhere in London” (single B-side) and two live tracks from the mid-’80s tour.

Tempted and Tried

Steeleye Span released their thirteenth studio album, Tempted and Tried, on September 18, 1989, on Shanachie (US) and Chrysalis (UK).

Billed as a “20th Anniversary Celebration,” the album marks the return of traditional source material as the band’s primary focus, following two studio albums that leaned heavily on original songwriting. Longtime drummer Nigel Pegrum and returning instrumentalist Peter Knight co-produced the album with Bob Johnson and engineer John Etchells. New bassist Tim Harries joined the lineup in place of Rick Kemp, whose shoulder injury had sidelined him permanently by this time. Harries brought renewed technical dexterity and vocal range, solidifying a refreshed yet classic-sounding configuration.

Tempted and Tried features arrangements of Child ballads and folk dance tunes alongside three new compositions by Knight, including the closing piece “The Fox,” which inspired the album’s cover image. The band paired the album with a commemorative tour; Pegrum left the group soon afterward and was succeeded by Liam Genockey for live performances.

A1. “Padstow” (3:03)
A2. “The Fox” (3:02) — written by Peter Knight; a short character sketch celebrating the cleverness of the hunted fox, paired visually with the album’s cover.
A3. “Two Butchers” (4:49) — arranged by Bob Johnson from traditional sources; dramatizes a robbery and murder committed by two assailants on the road to London.
A4. “Following Me” (3:38) — original by Knight; portrays a woman’s fear of being stalked, set in a contemporary frame.
A5. “Seagull” (4:32) — also by Knight; a reflection on the game of Shove-penny and its link to tradition, rendered in an acoustic folk idiom.
A6. “The Cruel Mother” (5:36)

B1. “Jack Hall” (3:57) — arrangement of a traditional gallows song about the real-life chimney sweep turned thief, executed in 1707.
B2. “Searching for Lambs” (4:12)
B3. “Shaking of the Sheets” (4:11) — Johnson arrangement; 17th-century dance tune with lyrics invoking death as the great equalizer.
B4. “Reels: The First House in Connaught / Sailor’s Bonnet” (2:48) — set of Irish dance tunes arranged as an instrumental medley.
B5. “Betsy Bell and Mary Gray” (4:59) — Child Ballad 201; recounts the plague death of two Scottish women who fled to the countryside in 1645.

Tempted and Tried was recorded in 1989 with production by Peter Knight, Bob Johnson, and John Etchells. Martin Ditcham contributes additional percussion.

The album cover features a fox head illustration referencing the closing track. A non-album single, “Following Me / The Two Butchers,” was released on Dover Records, marked with a reissued Flutterby catalog number.

Discography: