Tim Hart 1948 - 2009 LONDON (Reuters) - Tim Hart, one of the founder members of British folk-rock group Steeleye Span, has died of lung cancer, the band's record company said on Wednesday. Hart, 61, died on Dec 24 in the home he had made in Spain's Canary Islands after retiring from the music scene in the 1980s, John Dagnell, managing director of independent label Park Records in England told Reuters. "Tim died on Christmas Eve. It is a sad loss. It came as a shock to us as we did not realise his illness was so far advanced," Dagnell said. Hart, who had devoted the latter part of his life to photography, was diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago. Steeleye Span, best known for the hit records "All Around My Hat" and "Gaudete", was formed in 1969 when Hart and singer Maddy Prior teamed up with ex-Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings. The band made more than 12 albums before most of its members went their separate ways in the late 1980s but they reformed, without Hart, for UK tours in 2006 and for a 40th anniversary tour in 2009. Hart performed with Maddy Prior in England in October 2008 and Park Records has been working on a re-release of his 1981 album of nursery rhymes. Hart devoted his life to wild-life photography after moving to the small Canary Island of La Gomera in the late 1980s. His work as a photographer included putting together an English guidebook for tourists. "In what now feels like a previous life, I once spent sixteen years as a member of the English folk-rock band Steeleye Span," Hart wrote on his web site. "As the Everly Brothers so rightly sang 'We did it for the stories we could tell'. But after a few years of travelling too-fast around the world I got myself a camera, a Pentax Spotmatic, in order to provide a more substantial, and accurate, archive of memories." (Reporting by Jill Serjeant) Reuters Website Tim Hart Photography Wikipedia Article in the Guardian

Maddy and Steeleye Span on BBC4 Following on from the rousing Electric Proms set the BBC is now having a Maddy Prior Night in all but name. On Friday 21st November BBC4 is showing a repeat of one of the excellent Folk Britannia series to set the scene, 60mins of Maddy Prior at the Electric Proms and a 30 minute set from Steeleye Span originally broadcast as part of the BBC's 70's Electric Folk series. Available via freeview, but will be available online via the BBC iplayer for limited period afterwards and may well be repeated on BBC2 at a future date.

BBC4

9pm Folk Britannia Rise of 1960's folk rock

10pm Maddy Prior at the Electric Proms Maddy performs songs from Seven for Old England album

11pm Electric Folk: Steeleye Span 1974 set from Penshurst Place in Kent accompanied by Albion Morris Men.

information on the Electric Proms gig

Maddy Prior Profile on BBC

As part of the 2008 Electric Proms Maddy is playing Cecil Sharp House on Thurs 23rd October alongside daughter Rose Kemp and friends June Tabor and Tim Hart. The concert is being broadcast on BBC4 on Friday 24th October at 10.30pm and will be available afterwards on the BBCi player

The Carnival Band Around The World in 80 Tunes Roadhead Hall Friday 7th November 2008 7.30pm details: 07763 414 037 - maddmin@maddyprior.co.uk

This is a unique opportunity to see the band in an intimate setting and experience 80 tunes in one evening!

Spanfest 2008 Photos

Photos from Spanfest

Maddy Prior Live 2008

Maddy tour dates for October have changed slightly and a new date has been added in Colchester click here to view dates

Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band

Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band Tour in December more information to be announced

Spanfest 2008 Folk Day

New venue for the 2008 Folk Day. Spanfest 08 will be on Saturday 26th July at Stanford Hall, Leicestershire. click here for Spanfest website

Seven For Old England CD 2008

I have recorded a traditional acoustic CD, following a few dates in March with Benji Kirkpatrick and Giles Lewin, a more comprehensive tour is to follow in the autumn. The project is called 'Seven for Old England' and references my first LPs with Tim Hart, 'Folksongs of Olde England Vols 1 & 2'. The 'e' on Olde was never popular with either of us the first time round.

The title comes from the magpie rhyme:
                        One for sorrow
                        Two for joy
                        Three for a wedding
                        Four for a boy
                        Five for a fiddler
                        Six for a dance
                        Seven for Old England
                        And eight for France.

This is different from the one most people are familiar with from the TV programme, and I don’t know where it came from, but it’s firmly stuck in my mind. There is an assortment of material here, some I remember from childhood, written pieces from Playford’s Dancing Master, although I didn’t know that at the time. Incidentally, one of my family names is Playford, a quite unusual name. Other songs I remember friends from the revival performing. Some I have come across in books, some in Cecil Sharp House, that bastion of traditional music.

Benji and Giles have put perfect accompaniments, drawing out the individual styles of each piece and lifting them to joyous and delicious heights. Benji’s dad John is to join us on certain tracks, and Giles is writing some string parts. Some are sweet, some ribald, some solemn, some earthy and some poignant, but all great to sing. I look forward to touring with them.

Maddy Prior

click here for an archive of earlier news

Park Records act as Maddy's agent, to whom all enquiries regarding bookings and appearances should be directed. Park Records