"Steeleye Span is like a bus. It goes along, and people get on and get off it. Sometimes the bus goes along the route you want to go, and sometimes it turns off, so you get off. The only problem is that nobody's driving, and the bus tends to get lost." - Maddy Prior

After years of wandering, Steeleye Span have found their way, recovering a sense of identity that was largely lost in the 1980s. Their first studio album in seven years, Time, shows them to be much like the Steeleye Span of the mid-1970s, committed to combining traditional music with rock and roll in powerful and interesting ways. "The point we meet at is traditional music," said Prior, the band's longtime singer. "And rock... rock only in its application to what we do."

This firm resolve is appropriate considering the band's history. It was the first ensemble in Britain put together specifically to play "folk-rock" or "electric traditional music." The years have since brought other material into the bands repertoire, ranging from 1950s rock and roll to Berthold Brecht. But, at every concert since they were formed twenty-seven years ago, Steeleye Span have played traditional songs with electric instruments.

Read the full article in the current issue of Dirty Linen #67

Discography

Solo recordings by Peter Knight are available on Shanachie Records. Many solo recordings by Maddy Prior are available on Park Records.

Park Records/ 20 Raleigh Park Road/ North Hinksey/ Oxford OX2 9AZ/ England

Shanachie Records/ 37 East Clinton Street/ Newton, NJ 07860
email: shanachie@haven.ios.com
WWW: http://www.shanachie.com