Maddy Prior

Maddy Prior stands among the foremost voices to arise from Britain’s early-’70s folk-rock scene, earning a lasting position with Shirley Collins and Sandy Denny among the foremost female figures in English folk. Having first gained notice in the late ’60s through a partnership with singer and guitarist Tim Hart, the pair subsequently founded Steeleye Span, whose landmark releases Hark! The Village Wait (1970) and Below the Salt (1972) helped establish the group as one of the genre’s most enduring acts; commercial success peaked with the 1975 hit All Around My Hat. Her commanding presence and a voice that moved fluidly from gentle to robust secured frequent invitations to collaborate across an array of projects. Although leadership of Steeleye Span has anchored her work into the 2010s, Prior has sustained an expansive solo discography whose highlights include the expansive Ravenchild (1999) and Arthur the King (2001). Additional ventures encompass the Silly Sisters duo alongside fellow U.K. folk singer June Tabor and a longstanding association, begun in the mid-’80s, with the early-music ensemble the Carnival Band. In 2013 she returned to the U.K. charts when Steeleye Span issued its 22nd studio album, Wintersmith; four years later the group marked its 50th anniversary with a fresh recording and an extensive tour.

Born in Blackpool in 1947, Prior passed her adolescent years in St. Albans, where she encountered a circle of musicians centered on the Cock Pub in the early ’60s. Donovan Leitch and fingerstyle guitarist Mac MacLeod numbered among that circle; for a time Prior and MacLeod performed together as the folk duo Mac & Maddy. By 1966 she had joined forces with another St. Albans musician, Tim Hart, and the two issued the traditional-song collections Folk Songs of Olde England, Vol. 1 and 2. Their robust vocal blend and Hart’s command of multiple folk instruments drew notice on the London circuit, leading former Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings to invite them in late 1969 to help launch a new folk-rock ensemble.

Steeleye Span debuted in 1970 with Hark! The Village Wait, showcasing the group’s layered vocal approach and vigorous instrumental treatment of traditional British material. Although personnel rotated repeatedly over the decades, Prior’s singular voice and engaging stage manner remained fixed elements throughout the band’s evolution. After one further duo recording with Hart—the 1971 album Summer Solstice—Steeleye Span emerged as one of the most prominent and commercially viable acts of the folk-rock era, achieving an unexpected hit with its a cappella version of the Renaissance carol “Gaudete” and a later pop-oriented success with 1975’s “All Around My Hat.” By the close of the ’70s Prior had married Steeleye Span colleague Rick Kemp and begun independent work, first uniting with June Tabor for the acclaimed 1976 Silly Sisters album, then commencing a solo career with 1978’s Woman in the Wings, produced by Ian Anderson. A second solo set, Changing Winds, followed later that year during a fractious hiatus in Steeleye Span’s activities.

Persuaded to regroup in 1980, Prior and the band delivered their eleventh studio album, Sails of Silver, after which they functioned largely as an occasional touring unit through the first half of the ’80s. While raising a family, Prior and Kemp performed sporadically and recorded 1982’s Hooked on Winning and Going for Glory under the Maddy Prior Band name. In contrast to most Steeleye Span material, her solo recordings emphasized original songs—an emphasis that persisted when the group reconvened for 1986’s Back in Line, which contained the Prior/Kemp composition “Lanercost.” That same year she initiated an enduring collaboration with the Carnival Band, beginning with A Tapestry of Carols and continuing through numerous explorations of early music. The Silly Sisters partnership with Tabor resumed briefly in 1988 with No More to the Dance, followed in 1989 by Steeleye Span’s Tempted & Tried.

Entering the ’90s, Prior sustained a demanding pace, issuing the duo album Happy Families with Kemp and the solo Year in 1993; between these projects came additional Carnival Band recordings that had become her primary focus. After two further mid-’90s releases with the ensemble, vocal-range challenges prompted Steeleye Span to recall founding member Gay Woods as co-vocalist. The 1996 album Time reunited the two singers for the first time since the band’s 1971 debut. Shortly afterward Prior departed Steeleye Span, which continued with Woods as lead vocalist on its next pair of albums. Unconstrained by band obligations, she instituted annual Christmas tours with the Carnival Band and concentrated on two ambitious solo projects: 1998’s Flesh and Blood and 1999’s Ravenchild, both shaped by mythology and produced by Nick Holland and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley.

After the 2000 live collection Ballads and Candles, Prior resumed her studio collaboration with Holland and Donockley, releasing the song cycle Arthur the King in 2001 and Lionhearts in 2003. She also completed another Carnival Band project and, with daughter Rose Kemp and friend Abbie Lathe, recorded the 2002 album Under the Covers, issued under the name Maddy & the Girls. Rejoining Steeleye Span in 2004 after an eight-year absence, she participated in They Called Her Babylon and the band’s first Christmas album, Winter. Throughout the remainder of the decade Prior maintained an exceptionally prolific schedule, contributing to two further Steeleye Span albums, three Carnival Band releases, and another Maddy & the Girls recording while co-operating the Stones Barn Arts Centre in Cumbria, which she had established in 2003. Following the 2007 live DVD The Quest, she issued the traditionally oriented solo album Seven for Old England in 2008, prominently featuring former Steeleye Span accordionist John Kirkpatrick and his son Benji.

Early the following decade Prior formed a trio with Carnival Band fiddler and piper Giles Lewin and accordionist Hannah James. The streamlined configuration, supported by assured playing and Prior’s still-nimble vocals, yielded 2012’s 3 for Joy. One year later Steeleye Span returned to the charts for the first time in years with Wintersmith, a conceptual work developed in partnership with fantasy author Terry Pratchett. After another band album, 2016’s Dodgy Bastards, Prior resumed trio activity with Lewin and James on 2017’s Shortwinger. Marking the 50th anniversary of Steeleye Span, Prior and the group undertook a major English tour in 2019.