Fairport Convention’s main singer Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny was an English singer who lived from 6 January 1947 to 21 April 1978. She’s referred to as “the foremost British folk-rock singer.”
As a child, she learned classical piano. Her paternal grandmother spoke Scots Gaelic and sang traditional songs. Her paternal grandfather was from Dundee.
Denny first expressed an interest in singing at a young age, but her strict parents were hesitant to think she could make a profession at it. She went to Coombe Girls’ School in New Malden, and after graduating, she enrolled in the Royal Brompton Hospital’s nursing program.
Who is in the Sandy Denny project?
The late Sandy Denny (of Fairport Convention), whose reputation as a songwriter and performer of traditional material grows every year, is interpreted by these six artists, each of whom has a strong folk-rock background and is at the pinnacle of their musical craft.
In honor of National Music Day 2017, BBC Radio Northampton invited former Footheringay members Sally Barker (of The Poozies and BBC’s The Voice) and guitarist PJ Wright (of TradArrr, The Dylan Project, and LJE) to perform at Byfield Village Hall, the location of Sandy Denny’s final concert in 1978.
The next year, Sally and PJ put together their ideal folk-rock group for a sold-out performance at the Byfield Village Hall to remember Sandy, who had passed away 40 years earlier.
The event is addressed as an homage in the truest sense thanks to the lineup of Sally, PJ, Anna Ryder, a frequent Fairport Convention visitor, rising star Marion Fleetwood, and the rhythm unit of Little Johnny England’s late bassist Mat Davies and drummer Mark Stevens.
