Georgia Rose Lucas, born in July 1977, this book’s author/ complier, is the daughter of Sandy Denny. Her father, Trevor Lucas, fearing that her mother’s lifestyle might in some way harm her, spirited Georgia away to Australia the following April and Sandy died following a fall later that same month, so Georgia barely knew her mother, only her music. It’s a profoundly sad story that has been told many times, and this book, the latest oral tribute to musicians and groups published by Spenwood, some reviewed elsewhere on my blog, tries its best not to retell it and, to a certain extent, succeeds. This People’s History, however, differs from the others in the series in that the contributors are largely fellow musicians and friends of the artist – Sandy in this case – with far fewer supplied by fans who witnessed performances as in others from Spenwood. As a result, it offers a much more in-depth portrait of its subject and, to my mind, would better have been titled An Oral History. Furthermore, the book is printed on art paper, heavy stock, that means the many illustrations – mainly photographs from the family archive but also scans from the music press, posters and flyers – are reproduced in fine definition.
The contributors include Richard Thompson, who writes a foreword, his former wife Linda, and members of the Strawbs, Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, the writers Jerry Gilbert and Patrick Humphries, the photographers Ray Stevenson and Barrie Wentzell, and Georgia has researched the music press to extract quotes from musicians who have passed, among them Dave Swarbrick and Dave Cousins.
All are insightful and many are poignant. That Sandy was much loved for all her insecurities and colourful ways is much evident. She was clumsy, forever tripping up, insecure and fond of a drink or three but stick her in front of a microphone, on stage or in the studio, capable of singing with amazing grace. “I’d say it was to fly above the music,” says Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records.
Though I met Sandy only twice, the first backstage at a disastrous rock festival near Halifax in 1970 when she was hanging out in Elton John’s caravan, I was even called upon to contribute to the book myself, an anecdote about the second occasion, the Melody Maker Poll Winners party at London’s Savoy Hotel later that same year. It doesn’t offer much in the way of analysing Sandy’s character but here it is anyway.
They were a ‘hot little quartet’, according to Chris Welch who reported on the event in Melody Maker’s September 26 issue. He was referring to Sandy, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Bonham, the former present to collect her award as Top female UK singer, the latter three as Top UK group, toppling The Beatles who had won that category for as long as anyone could remember.
“She is a small but heavily built young lady, with a noticeably large bosom and a face that defies any suggestion of showbiz glamour,” wrote Michael Watts in a profile of Sandy that appeared in the previous week’s MM, alongside the news that she had won the poll, beating last year’s winner, Christine Perfect, soon to be Christine McVie, into second place. “It’s a real honest-to-God English folksinger’s face; there is no trace of that saintly purity of feature that American girl singers, like Joan Baez and Judy Collins, always have. It belongs to the small, bare upstairs rooms of English pubs, where everyone is downing pints and the person in the seat at your elbow suddenly gets up and sings unaccompanied a 20-verse traditional. It’s a wholesome country barmaid’s face that makes you feel at home.
“She was pleased she had won the MM poll, but not in personal terms. She knows she is not the most conventional idea of a female singer, so she figures her success is a victory for music.”
Back in 1970 winning the MM poll was a bit like winning the Brits, so much so that national newspapers carried the results and the winning acts took the trouble to turn up to collect their awards, this year presented by Jimmy Savile. The three members of Led Zeppelin flew back from a US tour to attend – John Paul Jones was holidaying in Hawaii – and a host of others were on hand, whether they won anything or not, including Ian Anderson, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, members of Free and Mungo Jerry and Top DJ John Peel.
Sandy had her photograph taken with the members of Led Zeppelin by the Thames at the rear of the hotel and there’s a likelihood that it was here that she was invited to sing on ‘Battle Of Evermore’, the song on Led Zep’s untitled fourth LP that was released the following year. Although Sandy was on the cusp of leaving Fairport Convention to form Fotheringay with her partner Trevor Lucas, her old band’s bass player Dave Pegg was a lifelong friend of fellow-Midlanders Plant and Bonham, and the following month Page and Plant went to see Fotheringay supporting Elton John at the Albert Hall. Inclusion of the song on their next LP gave Sandy the singular distinction of being the only outside musician ever to be credited as having sang on a Led Zeppelin album.
It also seems likely that in keeping with her reputation for enjoying herself at parties, she helped herself to a few glasses of complimentary wine. “Sandy Denny terrified Jiving K. Boots by attacking him in the lobby,” reported Chris Welch in reference to the fictitious rock star who made regular appearances in MM’s Raver gossip column. “She revealed she was upset because Boots had been graceless in his observance of proprieties,” he added mysteriously.
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