L is also for Lindisfarne

Wednesday 15th May

Lindisfarne emerged in the early seventies – the very best time for music.  They came out of the North-East and named themselves after a small off-shore island near Newcastle, and they have never forgotten their roots.  Coming from a folky background they married perfectly traditional instruments, fiddle and harmonica with guitars and drums to ride the wave that was breaking in the creative years after the Beatles. What set Lindisfarne apart was their incredible songwriting, courtesy mostly of Alan Hull, constantly coming up with great tunes and songs you could sing along to like ‘Fog on the Tyne’ and ‘We Can Swing Together’ along with gorgeous ballads such as ‘Lady Eleanor’ and ‘Clear White Light’.  So they hit two spots simultaneously, reaching out to young listeners like me who wanted that plaintive singer songwriter sound together with rousing renditions of old favourite tunes you just couldn’t help jigging around the room to. They were also a part of that very English sound, singing in English, not some transatlantic soulful warble that included Strawbs and Fairport Convention and even the Sutherland Brothers and Gallagher and Lyle.

They were great favourites of the late John Peel, and I bought all their early albums and saw them live a few times, always a great gig.  Inevitably the band broke up but after a few years they reconvened and have carried on with mixed success ever since.  They don’t seem to have ever cared particularly about success, seeming to just enjoy playing music for music sake.

I return time and again to those first few albums and they sound as fresh as ever, and quite unlike anything else on the CD rack.  They are one of the few bands that you can recognize straightaway.   So glad I was around when they were.