3 Essential Bands That Led the Late 1960s and Early 1970s British Folk Revival

In 2019, Grapefruit Records released a collection of artists who shaped British folk music in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

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The compilation album Strangers in the Room: A Journey Through the British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973 shows a diverse range of artists who combined old-world British music with modern styles of rock and psychedelia.

It also shows how nostalgia and an idealized perception of the past collided with contemporary trends and commercial pursuits.

While The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin pushed rock and roll into its future, the three bands on this list were essential to keeping British folk music alive.

Fairport Convention

North American folkies like The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell first inspired Fairport Convention. The group then shifted and began looking to Britain’s past. On Fairport Convention’s third studio album Unhalfbricking (1969), you can hear the traditional “A Sailor’s Life” being pulled into the modern era. Meanwhile, singer Sandy Denny’s original “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” remains a definitive contribution to Britain’s folk tradition.

The group also introduced the world to guitarist and co-founder Richard Thompson. He left Fairport Convention in 1971 and embarked on a long and prolific solo career. His songs have been covered by Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, David Gilmour, and others.

So come the storms of winter
And then the birds in spring again
I have no fear of time

Pentangle

Pentangle started in London in 1967, and though folk music was essential to their DNA, it doesn’t neatly describe the band. Famous for their two virtuoso guitarists, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, Pentangle fused many styles, including jazz, blues, and pop, creating an uncategorizable sound.

Renbourn, in particular, rejected the “folk-rock” label. And double bassist Danny Thompson said he preferred “folk-jazz” to describe the band. With singer Jacqui McShee and drummer Terry Cox, Pentangle was crucial to the scene and what followed. They influenced future legends like Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend.

For when your thyme is past and gone
He’ll care no more for you
And in the place your thyme was waste
Will spread all o’er with rue
Will spread all o’er with rue

Steeleye Span

Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings formed Steeleye Span in 1969. Hutchings’s new group performed mostly traditional songs. Though the pastoral leanings eventually gave way to electrified ’70s folk-rock. Steeleye Span charted in 1975 with an upbeat interpretation of “All Around My Hat,” a world away from their debut Hark! The Village Wait.

A haunting take on the 16th-century Christmas carol “Gaudete” features one of their signature gorgeous chants. Still, they evolved. And Hutchings wasn’t interested in the group’s increasingly pop turn and quit in 1971. Only Maddy Prior and Tim Hart remained as original members when they released Below the Salt.

Gaudete, gaudete Christos est natus
Ex Maria virginae, gaudete

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