Music Biography cont'd

Eventually, I was persuaded to record a tribute album to Sandy. To be honest I was very nervous about doing such an album, after all, the originals were still available and were superb, but so many people were asking me to do this tribute album that I felt encouraged. However, I had to put the project on hold whilst I recorded In Flight with the wonderful bass player, Fred T. Baker. Fred and I had met whilst we were both performing at the Edinburgh Festival. Initially Fred frightened the life out of me with his biker gear and wild hair down to his waist (he still does, but I'm stronger now). We jammed together and I loved his playing so much that we decided to work together. I once overheard someone talking about Fred and they said "The thing is with Fred - he gets 7 ideas at once and whereas you or I would go for just ONE idea Fred goes for all 7 simultaneously!"

Vikki, Fred and Thingy

On In Flight I decided to include a couple of songs that I had written. I'd been writing songs for a while and was keen to write more. The album features a mix of my songs, Freddy's compositions and some traditional songs we'd arranged. We invited Ric Sanders to play on the album as we'd just had the idea of working as a trio. Ric and Fred go way back as jazzers. We then embarked on a "trio tour", which was described by the music press as "dangerous music" (It was pretty scary sometimes, I do admit). Our repertoire was made up of Fairport/Sandy Denny songs (obviously). Together with some Jazzy versions of traditional songs and, of course, our own respective compositions. I can honestly say that throughout the year that we toured, we never ever played the songs the same way twice!! We had a lot of fun and together with Paul V. Smith who was our sound engineer and road manager we toured the UK and Europe. Although we never kept still long enough to record a studio album we did release a live recording called Carried away… a very apt title. The recording does give an indication of the mayhem and chaos that took place each night on stage.

The Trio

After the In Flight tour I got the support slot on tour with John Martyn, who I'd idolised forever. It was a big thrill for me and I loved every minute. He had some wonderful players in his band too!

The subject of the Sandy Denny tribute album had reared its head again and so I went into the studio to record It Suits Me Well. I found it too difficult to choose ten songs from so many wonderful recordings and in the end I asked fans and people who knew Sandy to choose for me. I also asked Sandy's Dad, Neil Denny, which song he would like to hear. He chose No End. Ric and Fred came into the studio with me although when I later added three tracks to the album for H.T.D. records I invited Dave Pegg to play bass and Chris Leslie to add some of his lovely playing.

The next project was a kind of Sandy Denny tribute band. This involved the original members of Fotheringhay, the band that Sandy formed, with Jerry Donahue, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway and Doug Morter (replacing Trevor Lucas). Boy if I thought Fairport could drink! These guys were unbelievable. I don't believe any of us made any money from the tour; I think we spent all our fees on refreshments! It was really interesting for me to sing Sandy's songs with these excellent musicians and ranks as one of the nicest bands I've ever worked in.

Vikki and Doug Morter

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