Steve Tilston
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Steve Tilston (born 26 March 1950) is an English
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
singer-songwriter and guitarist.


Early life

Steve Tilston was born in Liverpool and brought up in Leicestershire. A graphic designer before taking up music in 1971, Tilston lived in Bristol where he recorded his first album, ''An Acoustic Confusion''. In the early 1980s, he ran a folk club with
Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...
in New Kings Road, London. Tilston recorded a rock album in 1982 called ''In for a Penny – In for a Pound'', but soon reverted to quieter music. In 1985, Tilston played guitar and mandolin with the on-stage band for "''Sergeant Early's Dream''" while on tour with
Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...
, and again when the ballet toured England in 2000–2001. Tilston formed his own record label, Run River, in 1987, and in 1988 he was a member of John Renbourn's group Ship of Fools, which released one eponymous album on Tilston's label. In 1990, he was a session musician on Peter Bellamy's album ''Soldiers Three''. By the 1990s, Tilston was frequently performing with
Maggie Boyle Maggie Boyle (24 December 1956 – 6 November 2014) was an English, London-born folk singer, who also played flute, whistle and bodhrán. Early life Margaret Boyle was born in the Battersea district of southwest London, and grew up in London's I ...
, whom he had married in 1984. Tilston garnered positive reviews in the United States for his 1992 album, ''Of Moor and Mesa'', which contained two of his compositions, "The Slip Jigs and Reels" and "The Naked Highwayman", that were later recorded by
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
. Tilston formed Hubris Records in 1995. By 1999, Tilston and
Maggie Boyle Maggie Boyle (24 December 1956 – 6 November 2014) was an English, London-born folk singer, who also played flute, whistle and bodhrán. Early life Margaret Boyle was born in the Battersea district of southwest London, and grew up in London's I ...
had separated.


Career


As solo artist

He then joined WAZ! with
Pete Zorn Pete Zorn (29 May 1950 – 19 April 2016) was an American multi-instrumentalist who was a longstanding member of Richard Thompson's backing band. He was also a member of Steeleye Span, The Albion Band, and Driver 67. Career As a member of Tho ...
and
Maartin Allcock Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer. Biography Born in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), E ...
. In 2003, there was a slight change of direction as he moved towards melodic jazz with ''Such And Such'', an album with saxophonist
Andy Sheppard Andy Sheppard (born 20 January 1957) is a British jazz saxophonist and composer. He has been awarded several prizes at the British Jazz Awards, and has worked with some notable figures in contemporary jazz, including Gil Evans, Carla Bley, ...
. ''Live Hemistry'' was not a misspelling for "Chemistry" but a live album with many of his best songs, so named because the live recordings are taken from the UK and Australia, thus from two hemispheres. The
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
Society selected his song "Here's to Tom Paine" as their theme song. His song "Night Owl" was not only recorded by
Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and has since embarked on a solo career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...
, but was the title of her 1998 album. His songs have been recorded by
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
,
Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and has since embarked on a solo career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...
, The House Band,
Peter Bellamy Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums and touring folk clubs and concert halls. He ...
, North Cregg, Bob Fox, John Wright and others. His instrumental style crosses classical music with Irish and English folk. He also plays an early 19th-century instrument called an
arpeggione The arpeggione is a six-stringed musical instrument fretted and tuned like a guitar, but with a curved bridge so it can be bowed like a cello, and thus similar to the bass viola da gamba. The instrument is sometimes also called a guitar violonce ...
(bowed guitar). He has been a tutor at summer camps. In 2007, ''Reaching Back'' was released. This was a
boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
of five CDs of his songs, with rarities and contributions from
Wizz Jones Raymond Ronald Jones (born 25 April 1939), better-known as Wizz Jones, is an English acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England and has been performing since the late 1950s and sound recording an ...
,
Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (19 ...
and Coope, Boyes and Simpson. 2008 saw the release of another solo album, ''Ziggurat''. He performed a 40th anniversary concert in Bristol on 23 September 2010 with guests Wizz Jones, Keith Warmington, Brooks Williams, Chris Parkinson, Maggie Boyle, Hugh Bradley, and his children Martha, Joe and Molly.


Steve Tilston & The Durbervilles

In 2010, Tilston also began working with Yorkshire-based band The Durbervilles, with a selection of low key live dates followed by work in the studio. The first fruits of the collaboration was a track on a
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
70th birthday tribute album put out by UK label, Fat Cat Records. Steve Tilston & The Durbervilles then worked as a touring unit appearing at various venues in the UK including
Cropredy Festival Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festi ...
2011. In March 2012, Steve Tilston & the Durbervilles released ''The Oxenhope EP''.


TV work and Folk Award

In 2011, Tilston released his solo album, ''The Reckoning'', on his own Hubris label. In October 2011, he performed "Oil & Water" from the album on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. He was subsequently interviewed by
Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...
"at the piano" and the pair paid homage to the late
Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...
who died earlier in the month. In February 2012 the title track from ''The Reckoning'' was awarded Best Original Song at the
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British ra ...
. The award was shared with
Bella Hardy Bella Hardy (born 24 May 1984) is an English contemporary folk musician, singer and songwriter from Edale, Derbyshire, England, who performs a combination of traditional and self-penned material. She was named Folk Singer of the Year at the 2014 ...
, who polled exactly the same number of votes.


Personal life

His daughter
Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...
also maintains a folk music career as a solo artist while his son Joe Tilston is in the ska-punk band,
Random Hand Random Hand is a British ska band, formed in Keighley in 2002. Their sound fuses influences from many genres, including ska, reggae, punk rock, Heavy metal music, metal, Hip hop music, hip hop and Dub music, dub. The band is typically associated ...
. In August 2010, it was reported that
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
had penned a letter of support to Tilston in 1971, though it was never delivered. Lennon had been inspired to write to the then 21-year-old folk singer after having read an interview in ''
ZigZag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
'' magazine in which Tilston admitted he feared wealth and fame might negatively affect his songwriting. Tilston did not become aware of the letter's existence until a collector contacted him in 2005 to verify its authenticity. "Being rich doesn't change your experience in the way you think", Lennon wrote. It was signed "Love John and Yoko." This letter was the inspiration behind the 2015 film ''
Danny Collins Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...
''.


Discography


Solo albums

* ''An Acoustic Confusion'' (1971) (1997 reissue) * ''Collection'' (1972) * ''Songs From the Dress Rehearsal'' (1977) (2005 reissue) * ''In for a Penny, In for a Pound'' (1982) * ''Life by Misadventure'' (1987) * ''Swans at Coole'' (1990) * ''And So It Goes'' (1995) * ''The Greening Wind'' (1999 compilation of 1971–1992 recordings) * ''Solorubato'' (1999) * ''Live Hemistry'' (2001) * ''Such and Such'' (2003) * ''Of Many Hands'' (2005) * ''Reaching Back: The Life And Music of Steve Tilston (5 CD Compilation)'' (2007) * ''Ziggurat'' (2008) * ''The Reckoning'' (2011) * ''Truth To Tell'' (2015) * ''Distant Days'' (2018) * ''Such Times'' (2021)


As contributor to compilations

* ''The Music of O'Carolan'' (1987) * ''Silently the Snow Falls'' (1989)


With John Renbourn's Ship of Fools

* ''John Renbourn's Ship of Fools'' (1988)


With Maggie Boyle

* ''Of Moor and Mesa'' (1992) * ''All Under the Sun'' (1996)


As member of WAZ!

* ''Fully Chromatic'' (1999)


With The Durbervilles

* ''The Oxenhope EP '' (2012)


With the Steve Tilston Trio

* ''Happenstance'' (2013) (with Stuart Gordon (violin, vocals, viola, mandolin, ukulele oprano, baritone, bass harmonium, piano, percussion) and Keith Warmington (harmonica, vocals)


With Jez Lowe

* ''The Janus Game'' (2016)


DVDs

* ''Sound Techniques – Guitar Maestros #5'' (2006)


Books

* ''The Steve Tilston Music Book'' – A collection of songs and tunes in notation and tablature. * ''All For Poor Jack'' (Isthmus Books – 2010) – Steve's first novel.


References


External links


Official Web SiteSteve Tilston - Topic
at youtube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilston, Steve 1950 births English folk singers English male singers English folk guitarists English male guitarists Living people Musicians from Liverpool