''Gladys' Leap'' is the fourteenth studio album by

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

, released in August 1985. It was recorded in April and May 1985 at Woodworm Studios, Barford St. Michael,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, UK. It was produced and engineered by Simon Nicol,

Dave Mattacks David James Mattacks (born 13 March 1948) is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention. Fairport Convention He replaced Martin Lamble, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road ac ...

and

Dave Pegg Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...

and the assistant engineers were Tim Matyear and Mark Powell. The album features the first contributions to a Fairport album by founding member Richard Thompson since '' Rosie'' in 1973. Thompson wrote the opening track "How Many Times" and played lead guitar on "Head in a Sack". The title comes from Gladys Hillier, who was a postwoman for Cranham, a village near

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England. As a short-cut, to save a two-mile walk, she used to jump a three feet (~ 1 metre) wide brook, a tributary of Painswick Stream, on her round. In 1977 the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

agreed to name the spot in her honour and in 2005, when Hillier was 88, a footbridge was built across the stream (a signpost lists her period of service as 1942-1977). Fairport heard the story, and named the album in Gladys' honour.

Track listing

;Side one (The Folkside) # "How Many Times" ( Richard Thompson) - 3:29 # "Bird from the Mountain" ( Ralph McTell) - 4:51 # "Honour and Praise" (John Richards) - 5:21 # " The Hiring Fair" (Ralph McTell,

) - 5:53 ;Side two (The Backside) # Instrumental Medley '85 - 5:08 ## "The Riverhead" (

) ## "Gladys' Leap" (Dave Pegg) ## "The Wise Maid" (Traditional; arrangement by Simon Nicol and Dave Pegg) # "My Feet are Set for Dancing" ( Cathy Lesurf, arranged by Bill Martin) - 4:01 # "

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (1341 or – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in Kingdom of England, England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to City of London, London to oppose the collection of a Tax per head, poll tax and to dem ...

" (Ralph McTell, Simon Nicol) - 5:36 # "Head in a Sack" (Dave Whetstone) - 4:23 ;2001 CD reissue bonus tracks from the 1982 Cropredy festival # "Angel Delight" (Swarbrick, Pegg, Nicol, Mattacks) – 4:32 # "Polly On the Shore" (Lucas, Pegg, Swarbrick) – 5:15 # "Lucky Old Sun" (Smith, Gillespie) – 5:36

Personnel

;Fairport Convention * Simon Nicol - vocals, electric & acoustic guitars *

- bass guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, double bass, vocals *

- drums, drum machine, keyboards, percussion ;Additional personnel * Ric Sanders - violin ("Bird from the Mountain", "The Hiring Fair", Instrumental Medley) * Richard Thompson - electric guitar ("Head in a Sack") * Cathy Lesurf - vocal ("My Feet Are Set for Dancing") *Harold Wells - spoken intro to "Bird from the Mountain"

References

External links

Fan site with trivia and reissue details
{{Authority control 1985 albums Fairport Convention albums Albums produced by Simon Nicol