The Albion Band

This volatile traditional folk ensemble was founded, as the Albion Country Band, in April 1972 by defecting Steeleye Span bass player Ashley Hutchings (b. 26 January 1945, Southgate, Middlesex, England). Royston Wood (b. 1935, d. 8 April 1990; vocals), Sue Draheim (b. August 1949, Oakland, California, USA; fiddle) and Steve Ashley (b. 9 March 1946, London, England; guitar) completed the new venture alongside Simon Nicol (b. 13 October 1950, Muswell Hill, London, England; guitar) and Dave Mattacks (b. 13 March 1948, Edgware, Middlesex, England; drums), two of Hutchings’ former colleagues from Fairport Convention. The Albion moniker had already been used by Hutchings to back an album (No Roses) by his wife, Shirley Collins (b. Shirley Elizabeth Collins, 5 July 1935, Hastings, East Sussex, England), in 1971. The early line-up disintegrated six months after its inception and a caretaker unit, which included another Fairport Convention alumnus Richard Thompson (b. 3 April 1949, Totteridge & Whetstone, London, England), fulfilled all outstanding obligations. Hutchings, Nicol and new drummer Roger Swallow then pieced together a second Albion Country Band with folk acolytes Martin Carthy (b. 21 May 1941, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England), Sue Harris (b. 17 May 1949, Coventry, Warwickshire, England) and John Kirkpatrick (b. 8 August 1947, Chiswick, London, England), but this innovative sextet was also doomed to a premature demise. Their lone album, Battle Of The Field, recorded in 1973, was withheld until 1976, and was only issued following public demand. Hutchings, Nicol and Mattacks were reunited in the Etchingham Steam Band, a part-time band formed to support Shirley Collins. They subsequently evolved into the Albion Dance Band and then simply the Albion Band, a large-scale, highly flexible unit that recorded a series of collections evocative of ‘merrie England’ and enjoyed considerable acclaim for their contributions to several theatrical productions. One of the most notable recording was 1978’s Rise Up Like The Sun, featuring Hutchings, Mattacks, Nicol, John Tams, Ric Sanders, Philip Pickett, Pete Bullock, Michael Gregory and Graeme Taylor. 1980’s Lark Rise To Candleford was another typical project, an adaptation of Flora Thompson’s novel set to music. Their work during the 80s retained a mixture of traditional and original material, and always remained open to experimentation, including 1987’s The Wild Side Of Town, a collaboration with television presenter and naturalist Chris Baines. Musicians continued to arrive and depart with alarming regularity, and by the end of the 80s the personnel tally easily exceeded one hundred. On one occasion in 1980, the entire band quit en masse, forming the critically acclaimed Home Service. Throughout, Ashley Hutchings remained at the helm, ensuring the dogged individuality of this legendary band was carried on into the new millennium, before he finally called time on the Albion Band following their Autumn 2002 tour.