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Steeleye Span, Southport Theatre 06/05/09
Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Steeleye Span took to the stage in this intimate setting and proceeded to delight the many fans that turned up to celebrate with them.
Stalwarts Maddy Prior and Peter Knight front the band with an easy grace which comes from their experience and long standing members Ken Nicol and Liam Genockey, on guitar and drums respectively, are now an integral part of the unit.
Rick Kemp was unable to make the tour, but the bass guitar was in the more than capable hands of Pete Zorn.
The songs were taken from the whole of Steeleye's career and included the likes of Thomas the Rhymer, The Story Of the Scullion King and When I Was On Horseback to name but three.
The introductions to the songs were interesting and gave some insight to the stories behind them.
Of particular interest was They Called Her Babylon; a (comparatively) recent number which tells the story of the siege at nearby Lathom Hall during the Civil War.
Three Sisters, tells the story of – you guessed it – three sisters. One of them drowned and one was hung. Local lad Nicol described it as "To you, gruesome. But to me, just another day in Preston."
The traditional Span fayre was in evidence, Maddy's dancing throughout They Called Her Babylon harkened back to the glory days of the 70s, whilst the music crossed over from folk to out-and-out rock.
Peter Knight's fiddling was at its best with the Irish-flavoured The First House In Connaught/The Lady of the House, and he also supplied mandolin and even electric keyboards on Who Told The Butcher.
They ended the night – all too soon – with their biggest hit, All Around My Hat and a sublime Knight number called The Song Will Remain.
Musically spot-on, with pitch-perfect vocals, the band never fail to deliver.
It was a privilege to help them celebrate their milestone.
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Weather for Preston
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
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