Welcome to my Music Diary – today for the 25th November!
Nicholas Rodney „Nick“ Drake (19th June 1948 – 25th November 1974)
On the 25th November 1974 the British singer and songwriter Nick Drake died in his sleep at the age of only 26 years. In his very short career he recorded the three albums „Five Leaves Left“ (1969), „Bryter Layter“ and „Pink Moon“ (both 1972). Although all of them didn’t succeed and sold very badly, these recordings became legendary milestones. Nick Drake suffered from depression and on the 25th November 1972 he died from an overdose of amitriptyline. It was never resolved if it was an accident or suicide.
The automobile concern Volkswagen featured Drake’s song „Pink Moon“ in a TV spot in 2000. After that, all recordings by Nick Drake sold more than in the previous thirty years.
Welcome to my Music Diary – today for the 2nd November!
Dave Pegg (Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull)
Happy birthday to Mr. Dave „Peggy“ Pegg, who was born on the 2nd November 1947 in Birmingham, UK. The English mulit-instrumentalist is best known for his playing with the legendary Folk band Fairport Convention and his contribution as a bass player for Jethro Tull from 1979 until 1995.
At the age of 14 years he started to play the guitar and he was also member of the school band at Yardley Grammar School. In the sixties he worked with severeal Birmingham groups like „The Crawdaddys“ and „The Roy Everett Blues Band“. In 1966 he failed to become the guitar player for a band called The Uglys (featuring Steve Gibbons), but he took the chance to be a member as the bass player – so he switched the instruments. One year later Pegg formed the Blues trio „The Exception“ with singer Alan Eastwood and Roger Hill on guitar. During that time Dave also played with Robert Plant and John Bonham, with whom he played in the band „The Way of Life“. In 1967 Dave Pegg joined the Ian Campbell Folk Group, where he also learned to play the mandolin. Two years later he began to play with a group called „The Beast“ (featuring Cozy Powell and Dave Clempson).
Exactly on his 22nd birthday he received a telephone call by Dave Swarbrick from Fairport Convention and was asked if he would like to join the band, because of the departing of Ashley Hutchings, who was going to found the Folk-Rock group Steeleye Span (feat. Maddy Prior). And in July 1970 the first Fairport Convention album feat. Dave Pegg on bass was released: „Full House„. Until the break up in 1979 Dave Pegg recorded nine studio albums with Fairport Convention.
In 1979 David Pegg was asked by Ian Anderson to join Jethro Tull and to replace the ailing John Glascock. His live debut was on the 5th October 1979 for the „Stormwatch“ world tour and took place in Toronto, Canada. So for the next fifteen years Peggy was the bass player and recorded the six classic studio albums „A“ (1980), „The Broadsword and the Beast“ (1982), „Under Wraps“ (1984), „Crest of a Knave“ (1987), „Rock Island“ (1989), „Catfish Rising“ (1991) and three tracks for „Roots to Branches“ (1995). His last live performance with Jethro Tull happened on the 29th May 1994 in Basingstoke, UK.
After his departure from Jethro Tull, David Pegg concentrated more on his work with Fairport Convention again. The reunion of the Folk Rock institution happened already with the album „Gladys‘ Leap“ in 1985.
In 1987 he did some recording sessions with Tull again for the album „Crest of a Knave„. His drumming can be heard on the tracks „Jump Start“, „Said she was a Dancer“, „Budapest“, „The Waking Edge“ and „Part of the Machine“. In 1998 he became the drummer and percussionist for the legendary Folk-Rock band Fairport Convention.
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