Frederick Stanley 'Rick' Kemp (born 15 November 1941) is an English

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

band

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

Projects

In the 1960s, he shot to prominence through his work with singer-songwriter Michael Chapman, and had a reputation within the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

as a rock and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

session bassist, before his transition into

. Kemp joined Steeleye Span in 1972, left in 1986, rejoined in 2000, and left again at the end of 2016. In 1971 Kemp auditioned for King Crimson, and got the gig shortly before the band recorded their album '' Islands''. However, he turned down the opportunity to join them permanently, and reportedly departed the band after just a week, with his role as bassist being filled by singer Boz Burrell. Kemp has played bass on a number of Maddy Prior records, and was a member of the Maddy Prior Band in the 1980s. The 1990 album ''Happy Families'' was officially credited to "Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp". He also played on solo albums by former Steeleye Span member Tim Hart in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s he joined Doug Morter ( Albion Band) and Jerry Donahue (Fotheringay, Fairport Convention) in The Backroom Boys. In 2007 again with Morter and Donahue he formed The Gathering (later Gathering Britannia) alongside Kristina Donahue, Ray Jackson and Clive Bunker. They released one album ''The Bridge Between'' (2011) In 1979 Kemp co-founded the

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

Plant Life with Steeleye Span drummer Nigel Pegrum. The label was discontinued in 1984. He has released five solo albums: ''Escape'' (1996), ''Spies'' (1998), ''Codes'' (2004), ''Fanfare'' (2009) and ''Perfect Blue'' (2018). The line-up for his first two solo albums consisted primarily of a traditional Blues three-piece, with Kemp working alongside Spud Sinclair on guitar and Charlie Carruthers on drums. His more recent albums have seen Kemp himself playing most of the instruments, with various guest musicians. From 1997 to around 2009, Kemp was the producer for the ceilidh dance band, Whapweasel. He also occasionally played

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

(as opposed to bass) with them.

Personal life

Kemp was born Little Hanford,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, UK. He lives in

Carlisle, Cumbria Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

and was a Music Tutor at Cumbria College of Art and Design in Carlisle in 1996. He was the husband of Steeleye Span lead vocalist Maddy Prior, but they have since divorced. He is also the father of the musician Rose Kemp and hip-hop artist 'Kemp' whose first name is Alex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Rick 1941 births Living people English male singers English songwriters English bass guitarists English male guitarists Male bass guitarists English folk musicians English record producers People from Dorset Steeleye Span members King Crimson members British folk rock musicians English modern pagans Performers of modern pagan music