Simon Nicol in conversation at Cecil Sharp House

Simon Nicol in conversation at Cecil Sharp House

Author: Matthew Bannister April 27, 2026 Duration: 54:30

Fairport Convention founder member Simon Nicol joins Matthew Bannister on stage at the Indoor Festival of Folk at Cecil Sharp House to review a musical career lasting over 60 years. Simon talks about teaming up with Ashley Hutchings and Richard Thompson to start Fairport, tells how the band got its name from his family home and gives an emotional account of the motorway crash that killed drummer Martin Lamble and Richard Thompson’s girlfriend Jeannie Franklin. Then he recounts the making of the legendary album Liege and Lief and explains how the band still survives and thrives despite countless line up changes. It’s an intimate and revealing conversation with a key player in the creation of English folk rock.


---


We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...


Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfoot

Or just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfoot

Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com

Follow us on Facebook/Instagram/Bluesky: @folkonfoot


---


Find out more about Simon and Fairport Convention at https://www.fairportconvention.com


Cover photo by Alan Blundell


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Imagine stepping out for a walk with a friend who happens to be a brilliant musician, the path unfolding through the very hills, coastlines, or woods that shaped their songs. That’s the essence of Folk on Foot, a multi-award-winning podcast created by Matthew Bannister. Each episode is a gentle fusion of conversation, landscape, and live performance, recorded outdoors while walking with some of the most compelling voices in folk music. The format is beautifully simple yet profound: as they traverse a place of personal significance, the guests discuss their connection to the land, their creative process, and the stories behind their work, often pausing to play a tune or sing a song right there on the trail. Listeners are invited into an intimate, thoughtfully crafted soundscape that feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s been praised as a restorative listening experience and is noted for its impeccable production. This isn't just a series of interviews; it's an auditory journey that celebrates the deep, often unspoken bond between artist, music, and environment. The resulting podcast is consistently engaging, offering a unique blend of natural history, cultural insight, and, of course, fantastic music. It provides a genuine sense of accompaniment, as if you’re right there beside them, sharing in the quiet moments and the melodic ones, all woven together into a wonderfully calming and enriching hour.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Folk on Foot
Podcast Episodes
Maurice Henderson & Ewen Thomson on Shetland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:37
We’re back on the glorious Shetland Isles for this episode and who better to show us around than the renowned local fiddle player Maurice Henderson (of Fiddlers Bid) and his friend the luthier and guitarist from Fair Isl…
Official Folk Albums Chart of the Year Show 2021 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:29
Join us for a very special show streamed live from Cecil Sharp House. The show looks back at the highlights of 2021, the very first full year of The Official Folk Albums Chart.Hosted by Matthew Bannister with guest co-ho…
Kathryn Tickell & her Dad by the River Rede [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:36
“He said you could pluck songs out of the air - pluck them out of the air - and sing them bonny”. The great Northumbrian pipe player Kathryn Tickell describes the River Rede near her home as the backdrop and soundscape t…
Declan O‘Rourke in Kinvara [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:32
The acclaimed singer and songwriter Declan O’Rourke takes us for a scenic walk near his home in the beautiful fishing village of Kinvara on the west coast of Ireland, singing songs inspired by the area as he goes. Declan…
The Ciderhouse Rebellion & Jessie Summerhayes in the Rosedale Valley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:43
In the shadow of the disused ironstone kilns of the Rosedale Valley in North Yorkshire, Ciderhouse Rebellion - fiddle player Adam Summerhayes and accordionist Murray Grainger - conjure up a soundscape of rare beauty - im…
Edgelarks at Scorhill Stone Circle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:26
A Bronze Age site on Dartmoor, six musical instruments, a feather, harmonica-enhanced beatboxing, a stone that is said to increase fertility, a fast flowing river, a baby and a caring grandmother - all ingredients of a w…
Olivia Chaney at the House on Hawnby Moor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:59
Olivia Chaney wrote many of the songs for her critically acclaimed second solo album whilst living alone without electricity or mains water at her family’s remote and crumbling farmhouse on Hawnby Moor in North Yorkshire…
Robert Macfarlane & Johnny Flynn at Wandlebury [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:28
Question: What do you get when you go walking with the nature writer Robert Macfarlane and the actor and musician Johnny Flynn on a scorching hot summer's day in Wandlebury?Answer: A Neolithic track, an Iron Age fort, a…
Jenny Sturgeon in Shetland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:33
The singer, songwriter and artist Jenny Sturgeon has made her home on Shetland, a group of wild and wonderful islands in the North Atlantic. Her latest album “The Living Mountain” was inspired by the classic book about t…
Sam Sweeney at Swift's Hill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:23
The wonderful English fiddle player Sam Sweeney has been a key member of Bellowhead, Leveret, Eliza Carthy’s Wayward Band and many other collaborations. He’s also made two acclaimed solo albums. He takes us up to the top…