Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue, it’s Simon Nicol. Along with Richard Thompson, Ashley Hutchings and Shaun Frater, the guitarist formed Fairport Convention in 1967 and is now the only original member in the current line-up. The progressive folk group, who recently celebrated their 50th anniversary, have just released a new studio album, Shuffle And Go. Here Nicol talks about the band’s humble beginnings and their role as musical pioneers.

Words: Paul Sexton

Within weeks of enjoying the renewed communal experience of a Fairport Convention gig on their winter tour, the very idea of such a gathering seemed as steeped in time as some of the band’s influences. Folk music is, by its very name, of the people and for the people, and like many of life’s pleasures, it’s rather less fun in isolation.

Thankfully, before the social drawbridge was pulled up, there was still the opportunity for a post-tour face-to-face in London with one of Fairport’s co-founding originals. Simon Nicol was one of those who was there before the beginning, so to speak, forming an early liaison with Ashley Hutchings that led to the group’s birth, with Richard Thompson and fleeting early drummer Shaun Frater, in 1967.

Fairport Convention in 1967, L-R, back row: Martin Lamble, Richard Thompson, Judy Dyble, Simon Nicol. Front: Ashley Hutchings, Iain Matthews.

PRESS/FAIRPORT CONVENTION ARCHIVE

A mere 69 years old, guitarist and vocalist Nicol now looks back on an aggregate of more than 40 years as a Fairport, in three terms with one of British music’s most noble and, it turns out, indestructible institutions.

The current line-up, in which he serves with Dave Pegg, Ric Sanders, Chris Leslie and Gerry Conway, have been together since 1998. Except that Nicol doesn’t tend to look back. For all of Fairport’s undisputed place in the vanguard of progressive folk, they continue to regard their next performance and record as their most important. Such rigour, coupled with a collective sense of wonder about what they can yet achieve, have resulted in a new beacon in their bespoke discography, the utterly delightful Shuffle And Go album.

“We took the right fork in life, not to commercial success or any kind of adulation, but to a career path, which is undeniable now. I’m not looking for another job, it’s official.”

The Latest album, shuffle and Go.

After those triumphant winter dates, further opportunities to showcase the LP have inevitably been shuttered, as has their annual backyard beanfeast, Cropredy Festival. Happily, that’s been successfully transported a year down the line, with the entire bill intact, and now glows like a nightlight in next year’s calendar (August 12-14, 2021, to be precise). Meanwhile, Nicol sat down with Prog for some gentle pondering of Fairport’s past, present and future.