I have just found out that Tim Hart, the great English singer/musician and founder member of Steeleye Span, died on Xmas Eve.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/dec/29/tim-hart-obituary
Very sad news, may he rest in peace.
Slan,
D.
Sorry to hear that. Here’s Tim (dulcimer) and an early Steeleye Span lineup. Great stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGHYl7Kv50g
Just five minutes ago I was listening to Tim singing English folk songs with Maddy Prior, and I had not heard that he had died. He will be sadly missed.
Ah, too bad. Tim was one of the first British folkies to penetrate my consciousness, back when Steeleye Span was a gateway band. Saw him/them live in 1974, an unforgettable experience to this day.
He/they were the first British folk/trad group that I ever heard. I heard Gaudete on the radio and drove to Bristol, one hour one way, to the closest music store and had them order Below the Salt. That was the early 70s. . They led the way for me to all the rest…
What a bummer! He’d been sick for a really long time, he had to all but retire in his 30’s, so it’s not unexpected, but it still sucks. I hope he didn’t suffer too much at the end.
As others have said, Steeleye Span was one of my first introductions to traditional music, and they’ve been one of the constants in my listening for well over 30 years. While I do love almost all of the incarnations of Steeleye, I still think the best albums to come out of that team were the first two Tim and Maddy albums. Two absolutely fantastic singers, recorded with nothing to cover up any imperfections.
I followed some of the links from the Lark in the Morning video Crookedtune posted – Martin Carthy is going strong, and we’ve got Eliza to introduce the music to yet another generation.