Bill Fay (born William Fay; 1943) is an English singer-songwriter. His early recordings were released by
Deram, but following the release of his second album in 1971, Fay was dropped by the label. His work enjoyed a growing cult status in the 1990s, and his older works were re-issued in 1998 and 2004/2005. Fay's 2012 album ''
Life Is People'' was his first album of all-new material since 1971. His most recent album, ''
Countless Branches'', was released on 17 January 2020.
Biography
Early career
Fay was born in north London, where he still lives.
His first single, "Some Good Advice" / "Screams in the Ears", was issued on the
Deram label in 1967, and was followed by two albums, ''
Bill Fay
Bill Fay (born William Fay; 1943) is an English singer-songwriter. His early recordings were released by Deram Records, Deram, but following the release of his second album in 1971, Fay was dropped by the label. His work enjoyed a growing cult ...
'' in 1970 and ''
Time of the Last Persecution'' in 1971.
The recordings did not sell well, and Fay was dropped from Deram soon after the release of his second album.
They were re-issued in 1998,
and then again in 2005.
Despite returning to the recording studio in the late 1970s, the follow-up to ''Time of the Last Persecution'' was not released until January 2005,
following the reissues of his earlier works.
Cult status and comeback
Bill Fay's work enjoyed a growing cult status in the 1990s. His first two albums were re-issued in 1998,
an event which Bill Fay described in 2012 as follows:
In 2004, the British label
Wooden Hill released a collection of
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming ...
recorded between 1966 and 1970 entitled ''From the Bottom of an Old Grandfather Clock''. In 2005 his late 1970s recordings were released January 2005. Entitled ''Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow'', it was credited to the Bill Fay Group and was released on the
Durtro Jnana label.
The compilation album ''Still Some Light'' appeared on the Coptic Cat label in 2010,
a double CD containing a mix of older material and newer, home-recorded songs.
''Life is People'', released 21 August 2012 on Dead Oceans, is his first new studio LP in over 40 years.
A new album by Bill Fay was released in April 2015, titled ''
Who Is the Sender?. The second album track, "War Machine", came out as a single in February 2015.
A feature article entitled ''"Bill Fay Was a Hidden Gem. One Musician Made Finding Him a Mission''" was published in the New York Times on January 15, 2020.
His most recent album, ''
Countless Branches'', was released on 17 January 2020.
Covers and appreciation
The American band
Wilco has played Fay's song "Be Not So Fearful" in live performances and the band's singer,
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high s ...
, can be heard singing it in the documentary, ''
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco''. Fay has joined the band and Tweedy onstage for the rendition of the song at shows at the
Shepherd's Bush Empire
Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...
in 2007, and at the
Union Chapel, Islington
Union Chapel is a working church, live entertainment venue and charity drop-in centre for the homeless in Islington, London, England. Built in the late 19th century in the Gothic revival style, the church is Grade I-listed. It is at the north ...
in 2010 respectively, both in London.
The English singer-songwriter and pianist
John Howard recorded a cover version of the song "Be Not So Fearful" for his E.P. ''Songs for the Lost and Found'' (2008). The song "Be Not So Fearful" was also covered by
Ed Harcourt on the benefit compilation album ''Songs to Save a Life - In Aid of Samaritans'' (2011).
A
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of Fay's "Pictures of Adolf Again", by producer and musician
Jim O'Rourke and Wilco drummer
Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche (born December 31, 1970 in Roselle, Illinois, United States) is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 40th greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.
Prior to ...
, can be heard in the film from
Kōji Wakamatsu, ''
United Red Army
The was a militant organization, that operated in Japan between July 1971 and March 1972. The URA was formed as the result of a merger that began on 13 July 1971 between two extremist groups, the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist , led in 1971 by Tsune ...
''. The title track of "Time of the Last Persecution" became a live standard of the British
Apocalyptic folk
Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumenta ...
group,
Current 93
Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member.
Background
Tibet has been the only consta ...
.
The band
Okkervil River
Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They be ...
covered Fay's song "Plan D" on their ''
Golden Opportunities 2'' EP in 2011.
The American band
The War on Drugs covered Fay's song "I Hear You Calling" at shows throughout 2014.
His song "Be Not So Fearful" was covered by
A.C. Newman
Allan Carl Newman (born April 14, 1968) is a Canadian musician and singer–songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of the N ...
in 2014, and was used in the episode "Us" of ''
The Walking Dead''.
''A.C. Newman takes on a classic folk song for this week's episode of The Walking Dead.''
Indie88.com
In 2008 the English singer Marc Almond recorded a live version of "Cosmic Boxer" and it was released on his album ''In 'Bluegate Fields': Live at Wilton's Music Hall''.
Discography
Albums
* ''Bill Fay
Bill Fay (born William Fay; 1943) is an English singer-songwriter. His early recordings were released by Deram Records, Deram, but following the release of his second album in 1971, Fay was dropped by the label. His work enjoyed a growing cult ...
'' (Deram, 1970)
* '' Time of the Last Persecution'' (Deram, 1971)
* ''Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow'' (recorded 1978-1981; Durtro, 2005)
* '' Life Is People'' (Dead Oceans, 2012)
* '' Who Is the Sender?'' (Dead Oceans, 2015)
* '' Countless Branches'' (Dead Oceans, 2020)
Compilation albums
* ''From the Bottom of an Old Grandfather Clock'' (recorded 1966-1970; Wooden Hill, 2004)
* ''Still Some Light'' (2CD, recorded 1970, 1971, 2009; Coptic Cat, 2010) (compilation of early 1970–1971 studio recordings and 2009 new material home recordings)
Notes
References
External links
;Fansite & info
The only dedicated Bill Fay site
Dead Oceans, ''Bill Fay''
;Interviews
Robert Leeming, ''A Conversation with Bill Fay – Part One''
Linda Wertheimer, ''Bill Fay: A Cult Figure Returns, Skeptical But Optimistic'', interview with Bill Fay
aquarium drunkard, ''Bill Fay :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview''
;Videoclips
Video of John Howard's 2008 cover version of Bill Fay's "Be Not So Fearful"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Bill
1943 births
Living people
20th-century English singers
20th-century British male singers
21st-century English singers
21st-century British male singers
21st-century pianists
British male pianists
Dead Oceans artists
Deram Records artists
English male singers
English pop pianists
English pop singers
English songwriters
Singers from London
British male songwriters