What We Did on Our Holidays

Updated on Nov 16, 2023

Edit

Comment

Released January 1969 What We Did on Our Holidays (1969) Unhalfbricking (1969) Release date January 1969 Label Island Records		Length 38:07 Artist Fairport Convention Producer Joe Boyd Genres Rock music, Folk rock

Recorded June–October 1968 at Kingsway and Olympic Studio No. 1 Similar Fairport Convention albums, Folk rock albums

Fairport convention what we did on our holidays 1969

What We Did on Our Holidays, released in 1969, is the second album by the band Fairport Convention, and was the first to feature Sandy Denny, whose "haunting, ethereal vocals gave Fairport a big boost", according to Allmusic's reviewer. The album also showed a move towards the folk rock for which they became noted, including tracks later to become perennial favourites such as "Fotheringay" and the song traditionally used to close live concerts, "Meet on the Ledge".

Fairport convention fotheringay

History

Following the departure of Judy Dyble, the band conducted auditions for a replacement singer, and Sandy Denny became the obvious choice. Simon Nicol has said "it was a one horse race really...she stood out like a clean glass in a sink full of dirty dishes".

The album has been described by author Richie Unterberger as "a near-ideal balance between imaginative reworkings of traditional folk songs ... quality covers of contemporary folk-rock singer-songwriters, some quite obscure ... and original folk-rock material by various members". Simon Nicol has cited the album as his favourite.

The cover features a sketch of the band performing, described in the album credits as "from a blackboard assaulted by Fairport Convention" and the reverse of the original sleeve a photograph of the band performing. The Island Masters 1990 re-release IMCD 97 also features a portrait of Sandy Denny.

In the USA, the album was released by A&M Records (SP-4185), containing an identical track listing but featured new cover art, and was retitled Fairport Convention.

In 2008 Four Men With Beards released a 180 gram version of the album that is being distributed by City Hall Records.

Reception and influence

Neal Casal, of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, lists What We Did on Our Holidays as one of his favourite albums of all time.

Fairport Convention

Sandy Denny (as Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny) – vocals, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, organ, piano, harpsichord

Iain Matthews – vocals, congas

Richard Thompson – electric, acoustic & 12-string acoustic guitars, piano accordion, sitar on "Book Song" (uncredited), vocals

Ashley Hutchings – bass, backing vocals

Simon Nicol – electric & acoustic guitars, electric autoharp, electric dulcimer, backing vocals

Martin Lamble – drums, percussion, violin, tabla & footsteps

Additional personnel

Bruce Lacey & his robots on "Mr. Lacey"

Claire Lowther – cello on "Book Song"

Kingsley Abbott – coins on "The Lord Is in This Place...," backing vocals on "Meet on the Ledge"

Paul Ghosh, Andrew Horvitch & Marc Ellington – backing vocals on "Meet on the Ledge"

Peter Ross – harmonica on "Throwaway Street Puzzle"

Production and other credits

Recorded at Sound Techniques, London and Olympic Studio No. 1, London (except "The Lord Is in This Place..." recorded at St. Peter's Church, Westbourne Grove, West London). Further work recorded at Morgan Studios

Engineered by John Wood, Sound Techniques, London

Photography by Richard Bennett Zeff & Annie Brown

Design by Diogenic Attempts Ltd.