I’ve seen Fairport several times since I first saw them in 1979 on their “farewell” tour but they’ve never come anywhere close to how good they were that first time. I think the addition of keyboards to the groups sound never sat right with me but also I seem to recall the venue lacked atmosphere this night. I used to live in Walthamstow but this was the first time I’d been to a gig at the Assembly Rooms – four years after moving away! I think we went with our friends – the ones who bought our flat off us!
The line up of the band at this time was:
Dave Mattacks – drums, keyboards, bass guitar
Simon Nicol – guitar, vocal
Dave Pegg – bass guitar, mandolin, backing vocal
Maartin Allcock – guitar, mandolin, keyboards, vocal
Ric Sanders – fiddles, keyboards
Setlist was something like:
Dirty Linen
Kind Fortune
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik / Bridge Over The River Ash
The Naked Highwayman
Jewel in the Crown
Diamonds and Gold
A Surfeit of Lampreys
Red Tide
Con Casey’s Jig / Tripping Up the Stairs
Matty Groves / The Rutland Reel / Sack the Juggler
Meet on the Ledge