Dave Pegg (Fairport Convention)

Welcome. Dave Pegg is the longest serving member of Fairport Convention. Fairport are one of those bands who are a subculture unto themselves. They were formed in 1967 with Dave joining the band in 1969. Fairport split in 1979 but reformed in 1985 and have been active since then. They’re still a very hardworking touring band here in the UK. They came through my hometown of Southend earlier this year and I saw my first Fairport show. Frankly, I was shocked how good it was. The band on record tend to be a bit defined by a run of albums they did in the late 60s when Richard Thompson and the late Sandy Denny were in the band. I think a bit of line-up snobbery had contributed to my not having seen them sooner, but alongside Dave, the band still features founding member Simon Nicol. Multi-instrumentalists Ric Sanders and Chris Leslie have been in the band since 1985 and 1996 respectively. The tour I caught them on also saw them reunite with drummer Dave Mattacks who originally joined in 1969 and has had several spells in the band. A big part of the Fairport culture is their annual music festival Cropredy which is taking place in August this year, so we discuss preparations for this year’s event. In addition to Fairport Convention, Dave played with Jethro Tull for a long time, as well as working with Nick Drake on his wonderful “Bryter Later” album. Hope you enjoy our conversation.