Part Two of a Fairport 'Convention'

In that December of 1969, even as I was listening to 'Liege & Lief', unbeknown to me Fairport Convention were already breaking up, as first Ashley Hutchings and then Sandy Denny left the group. 

Richard Thompson's autobiography has many stories that followed in 1970 as the band continued as a 5-piece, adding Dave Pegg on bass. They, their families and the road crew, all moved into a former pub in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire. 'The Angel' became their base until tragedy struck in February 1971, when a lorry crashed into the building, causing severe damage and destroying Dave Swarbrick's bedroom. He miraculously avoided injured, surviving to tell the tale, however the lorry driver was killed.

Needless to say their time at 'The Angel' was over and so to was Richard Thompson's time in the band. He moved on and the first Fairport album without him was released with the title song 'Angel Delight' documenting life in the pub with light-hearted lyrics that mention, towards the end, the crash. 

Let's split... 

The above is the album recording. I found a later video (from Cropredy in 1982), but the sound isn't as good, however to see Swarb singing with a cigarette in his mouth, it's certainly worth a look, click here.