All Around my Hat : The Steeleye Span Story

Formed in 1969 as a traditional folk group, they gradually moved into folk-rock territory, with their disdain for the more purist elements, and a love of mixing original material with traditional songs and ambitious musical arrangements. This biography examines the music, line-up changes, highs and lows, and periods of their commercial success.

Steeleye Span have been at the forefront of British folk-rock for almost half a century. Formed in 1969 by Ashley Hutchings after his departure from Fairport Convention, the genre’s founding fathers, and named after a character in an old Lincolnshire song, they began as a traditional folk group but gradually moved more into folk-rock territory. They dismayed some fans but acquired many others, with their disdain for the more purist elements, and a love of mixing original material with traditional songs, ambitious musical arrangements, multi-part harmonies, collaborations with pop producer and arranger Mike Batt and writer Terry Pratchett, and even occasional guest appearances on their records from Peter Sellers and David Bowie. This biography looks in detail at the music, the many personnel changes with vocalist Maddy Prior an almost constant presence throughout their long history, the highs and lows, and periods of commercial success – notably with the hit singles ‘All Around my Hat’ and ‘Gaudete’ - which have made them a well-respected staple of the British music scene for so long.