Artist
|
Fairport
Convention
|
Title
|
Unhalfbriking
|
Photographs
|
Eric Hayes
|
Sleeve
Design
|
Diogenic
Attempts LTD
|
Record
Company
|
Island
Records, 1969
|
Fairport Convention – Unhalfbriking (Island Records -
ILPS 9102) - Front cover
Fairport Convention’s Unhalfbricking (Island Records - ILPS 9102), the
second of three albums the folk rock group released in 1969 (and third overall)
was recorded between January and April 1969 at Sound Techniques and Olympic
Studios, London and was released on July 3, 1969, in UK[1].
The album has been described as transitional, the one in which the group
shed its closest ties to its American folk-rock influences and started to edge
toward a more traditional British folk-slanted sound[2]. The album contains
what is often considered the official beginning of the English Folk-Rock
movement, the classic 11-minute rendering of the traditional tune A Sailor's
Life[3]. The record features for the first time Dave Swarbrick's
fiddle-playing, who was later invited to join as a full-time member for the
follow-up, Liege & Lief.
The front sleeve design for the UK release featured neither album title nor
band name. It was the style of Island Records’ releases at the time for their
acts name and album title not to appear on their sleeves, choosing instead just
their logo and catalogue number. Up until the late Sixties, where there was a
picture cover, it would normally have featured a portrait of the musicians, the
acts name and album title positioned quite prominently. But then something of a
revolution began to take place and, thanks to the likes of The Beatles and the
Rolling Stones, more creative ideas ideas started to appear[4]. The
photo, by photographer Eric Hayes, captured Fairport’s singer Sandy Denny's
parents (Neil and Edna) standing outside the family home with the band taking
tea distantly visible through the garden fence[1]. The misty church
spire in the distance underlines the image's assertion that this is rock music
unlike any other, rock music from a different lineage[5].
Fairport Convention – Unhalfbriking (Island Records -
ILPS 9102) - Backcover
The back cover photo, also by Hayes, reveals Fairport gathered more
intimately around a large, friendly table as they dig into a simple but
nourishing feast. The decidedly un-glamourous and very domestic shot
corresponds nicely with Fairport Convention's attempts to reconcile the past
with the present by gently blending traditional folk music with contemporary
rock instrumentation[3].
Although the album gave the band their first UK chart success (reaching
number 12 in the UK album chart and "Si tu dois partir" single achieved
number 21 in the UK singles chart[1]), the release of Unhalfbricking
would be sullied by tragedy. On 12 May 1969[6], two months before
the album was released, drummer Martin Lamble and guitarist Richard Thompson's
girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed in a car crash as the band were
returning from a concert in Birmingham. Fairport's van crashed on the M1
motorway, near Scratchwood Services, on the way home from a gig at Mothers.
Lamble was 19[7].
Martin
Lamble – photo (unknown)
Simon Nicol later said:
“That was a big watershed, I think. In the aftermath, we thought a lot
about what to do, whether to call it a day. It had been fun while it lasted but
it took a definite effort of will to continue. It had given us a lot but now it
had taken away a lot: was it worth it if it was going to cost people their
lives? Martin was only 18 or 19 years old. He would have gone on to have been
so much more than just another drummer, another musician: there was something
very special about him”[1]
The band’s manager at the time, Joe Boyd, recalls:
“That cover shot was taken in early spring, right before the crash, I think”[4]
Ashley Hutchings also said in relation to the album cover photograph:
“My memory of it is bound up with the terrible car crash. On the back cover
we're all eating around a table. The shirt and the leather waistcoat I'm
wearing are what I had on when the crash happened. I can clearly remember them
being bloodstained. You don't forget things like that“[8]
Album title
The title arose from the word-game, "Ghost", played by the band while travelling to and from gigs. Its object
was to "avoid completing a real word", and "Unhalfbricking"
was Sandy Denny's creation.[9]
Ghost is a spoken word game in which players take turns adding letters to a growing word fragment,
trying not to be the one to complete a valid word. Each fragment must be the
beginning of an actual word, and usually some minimum is set on the length of a
word that counts, such as three or four letters. The player who completes a
word loses the round and earns a "letter" (as in the basketball game horse), with
players being eliminated when they have been given all five letters of the word
"ghost".
Ghost can be played by two or more players of any age and requires no
equipment, although it can be played with pencil and paper instead of being
spoken aloud.[10]
Location
The house shown on the album cover was Sandy Denny’s parents' place at the
time (9B Arthur Road, SW19, Wimbledon, south London)[5]. St Mary's
Church, Wimbledon, can be seen in the background[1]. St Mary's
Church is a Church of England church and is part of the Parish of Wimblendon, south-west London, England. It has existed since the 12th century and may be the church
recorded in the Domesday Book in the Mortlake Hundred. It
is still in active use today.[11]
St Mary's Church – photo (unknown)
Diogenic Attempts LTD
Diogenic Attempts LTD were responsible of the design of the sleeve. This
wasn’t the first nor the last time that they worked with Fairport Convention,
as they also designed the sleeves of What We Did On Our Holiday (Island Records – ILPS 9092) and Liege
& Lief (Island Records – ILPS 9115). During the late sixties and
early seventies Diogenic Attempts LTD designed album covers for several folk
and rock acts such as Nick Drake (Five Leaves Left – Island Records –
ILPS 9105) and The Pentangle (Basket Of Light– Transatlantic Records –
TRA 205) among many others. For a wider list of their designs go to:
Eric Hayes, a 23-year-old canadian photographer, spent a year and a half in
London, England, backstage and in recording studios, documenting the lives and
performances of musicians who have become some of the biggest names in Rock
& Roll[12]. He was chosen by the band to shoot the cover for the
album. He liked what Fairport’s were doing and they were fans of his work for
other musicians.
Eric Hayes in 1969. Photo (unknown) –
Source
http://www.erichayes.ca/
"I was their photographer and I did the album cover for
Unhalfbricking. I was quite proud of that." - recalls Eric[13].
The shoot took place at Sandy Denny’s parents house in Wimbledon on a
Sunday afternoon. More close-up shots of the band were taken but few of them
had surfaced since then. The reason that the sleeve for Unhalfbricking works is
because the band aren’t the main focus of the photograph; in fact they are only
just visible through the trellis. After the shoot, the band were treated to a
fry-up which was also photographed by Hayes and used for the back of the sleeve.[4]
A picture of the band taken during the Unhalfbricking cover photoshoot - Photo Eric
Hayes
A picture of Sandy Denny taken during the
Unhalfbricking cover photoshoot - Photo Eric Hayes
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. For more cover variations go
to:
US VERSION
Country: US
Year:1969
Label: A&M Records – SP 4206
Unhalfbricking's cover in the US, released by A&M Records, consisted of
a picture of circus elephants with a small inset image of the band taken by
Eric Hayes during the same photoshoot of the UK cover. Some sources claim that
"the group apparently so upset their American label that they replaced it
with an image of trampolining elephants"[14] but it was quite
common for labels to be redesigned for the American release.
The cover was done by Tom Wilkes, A&M Records art director, whose
credits include “The Flying Burrito Bros – The Gilded Palace Of Sin”
(A&M Records – SP-4175) and “George Harrison – All Things
Must Pass” (Apple Records – STCH 639) among many others.
Tom Wilkes. Photo
(unknown) –
Source http://www.discogs.com/
For more info about Tom Wilkes go to:
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (A&M Records – SP 4206) - Front cover
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (A&M Records – SP 4206) - Backcover
ITALIAN VERSIONS
Country: Italy
Year: 1980
Label: Island Records – ORL 8374
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (Island Records – ORL 8374) - Front cover
Country: Italy
Year: 1986
Label: Island Records – ORL 19102
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (Island Records – ORL 19102) - Front cover
Country: Italy
Year: Unknown
Label: Island Records – Slir-il 22.037
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (Island Records – Slir-il 22.037) - Front cover
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (Island Records – Slir-il 22.037) - Back cover
AUSTRALIAN VERSION
Country: Australia
Year: 1982
Label: Festival Records –
L-33512, Island Records – L-33512
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (Festival Records – L-33512, Island Records –
L-33512) - Front cover
Fairport
Convention – Unhalfbriking (Festival Records – L-33512, Island Records –
L-33512) - Backcover
http://www.fairportconvention.com/
Official Fairport Convention website
http://www.erichayes.ca/
Official Eric Hayes website
1. Unhalfbricking. http://en.wikipedia.org/. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unhalfbricking. Retrieved
12 December 2015.
2. AllMusic Review by Richie
Unterberger http://www.allmusic.com/album/unhalfbricking-mw0000650131 Retrieved 12 December 2015.
3. England's 1969 Rock World Comes Alive At Photo
Show. Ron Foley Macdonald http://www.erichayes.ca/press/260303.html Retrieved 12 December 2015.
4. Great
album covers #5: unhalfbricking. July 12, 2012.
5. Sandy Denny List, Frequently Asked
Questions - Unhalfbricking Album Cover
http://sandydennylist.blogspot.com.es/2012/07/unhalfbricking-album-cover.html Retrieved 12 December 2015.
6. Martin Lamble - Artist
Biography by Richie Unterberger
7. This Day in Music Spotlight: The Highway
Wreck that Killed Fairport Convention’s Drummer. Andrew Vaughan. 05.25.2011
http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/spotlight-0525-2011.aspx Retrieved 12 December
2015.
8. Unhalfbricking, Fairport Convention. The
Observer. Sunday 20 June 2004. John Harris
9. Playing Games. David Greenberger.
10. Ghost (game). http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_%28game%29 Retrieved 12 December 2015.
11. St Mary’s Church, Wimblendon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mary%27s_Church,_Wimbledon Retrieved 12 December 2015.
13. Shooting stars.
By Stacey Colwell http://www.erichayes.ca/press/050303.html
Retrieved
12 December 2015.
14. Pavement to penthouse. Frieze Issue
68 June-August 2002. Aubrey Powell.
http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/pavement_to_penthouse/ Retrieved 12 December 2015.
