After fifty-five years of gold discs and international tours, folk rockers Steeleye Span are taking their music back on the road. Andrew McCartney reviews their performance at the Nottingham Playhouse...
So I was standing at the bus stop waiting to go home on the 43. And low and behold, the guy who I had spotted on the front row at The Playhouse was also waiting for the bus. “What did you think about that” I asked. “I've been waiting a long time to see them play,” he said “So how did you rate them?” I responded. “Amazing!”
Steeleye Span, formed in 1969, have gone through many lineup changes and yet still retain an exceptional degree of enigmatic interpretation of English folk traditional songs imbued with rocky 432 time twists. Folky Rock if you like a genre badge. Maddy Prior, a founding member and lead vocalist led the players, admirably supported by Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair on lead guitar, Athena Octavia on violin, Julian Littman on various instruments including guitar, mandolin and keyboards, Roger Carey on bass guitar and the iconic Liam Genocky on drums. We were treated to a rich blend of old and new songs all themed on the spirituality of being English.
The passion, musicality and cohesiveness in delivery were enjoyed immensely
Green Man, Little Sir Hugh, Hey Nonny Violence, Longbone, Shipbuilding and Ghost Ship enthralled us throughout the first half. During the interval whilst reflecting on what had just happened, I asked two lovely ladies why they had come along to this concert. Deborah said that she was a fan of folk music and had seen them play back in the seventies. Sue added that she had never seen them play before and thought the first half performance was 'magical'.
The second half built on the first with Dogs & Ferrets, Bad Bones, Giddy Aunt, Victory, King Henry, Jack Wall, I Was An Oak Tree, Trees Are Whispering, Cromwell's Skull, Mooncoin Jig, 700 Elves, Dark Morris, Thomas The Rhymer, Dodgy Bastards and for the ultimate finale - All Around My Hat.
For those of you who know about Steeleye Span – you just know. For those of you who don't, YouTube the above songs and maybe go along to one of their 'Green Man' concerts that continue throughout England until the end of October. The passion, musicality and cohesiveness in delivery were enjoyed immensely by the packed auditorium at The Playhouse, whose team once again hosted magnificently. As the lights went up I moved up to the stage and turned to the audience and asked out of ten how did you rate that performance. '11' said one man. Enough said.
Steeleye Span's The Green Man Tour performed at the Playhouse on Monday October 7th 2024.
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