Tim Hart

All Music Guide:

English folksinger and multi-instrumentalist Tim Hart was born in Lincoln, a county town of Lincolnshire, England, on January 9, 1948. The son of a vicar, Hart was best known for his work with groundbreaking British folk-rock outfit Steeleye Span, of which he was a founding member. He began his musical career in the early '60s playing in a band called the Rattfinks while attending St. Albans School (also home to the Zombies). In 1966 he began touring English pubs and folk clubs with vocalist Maddy Prior. The two released a pair of well-received albums (Folk Songs of Olde England, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) before joining Steeleye Span in 1969. The band, formed by Prior, Hart, and ex-Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings, and rounded out by husband-and-wife team Gay and Terry Woods, released its critically acclaimed debut album, Hark! The Village Wait, in 1970. Steeleye Span saw more than a few members come and go throughout its long tenure (still touring as of 2010), but Hart and Prior served as the ensemble’s backbone through 1982 -- the pair managed one more release as a duo, 1971’s lush Summer Solstice, which featured string arrangements from famed arranger Robert Kirby. As a solo artist, Hart released an eponymous record in 1979 with help from a handful of Steeleye members, as well as a pair of nursery rhyme collections in 1981. Health problems led to a 1988 move to warmer climates, specifically the island of La Gomera, part of Spain’s Canary Islands, where he began focusing on family, writing, and photography. In 2008 he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He passed away in his island home the following year on Christmas Eve.

Wikipedia:

Tim Hart (9 January 1948 - 24 December 2009) was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.

Early years

Tim Hart was born in Lincoln. His father, Rev. Canon Dennis Hart, was the vicar of St Saviour's in St Albans. Hart began his life as a musician performing with the Rattfinks, St Albans School's second band, the first being The Zombies. In 1966, he began performing with the Blackpool born Maddy Prior, touring English folk clubs. In 1968 and 1969 the duo recorded two albums: Folk Songs of Olde England, (Volumes One and Two).

Steeleye Span

From 1970 to 1982, Hart and Prior were the backbone of Steeleye Span. Hart's contribution to the band demonstrated his musical abilities on a wide range of instruments, some electronic, including: acoustic guitars, dulcimer, organ, 5 string banjo, mandolin, bells, tabor and spoons as well as vocals.

In 1971, as well as recording two albums as part of Steeleye Span, they recorded Summer Solstice - a much more professional recording than their first two albums, including a string arrangement by Robert Kirby, better known for his work with Nick Drake. Almost every song that Hart sang was traditional. Steeleye Span's commercial success peaked in 1975. They toured in the United States and Australia and used electric instruments more frequently. However, further hits eluded them. They announced that their 1978 tour of the United Kingdom would be their farewell, although they have in fact continued recording and performing live to this day.

The fragmentation

Hart took this opportunity to release a solo album, Tim Hart, in 1979. Steeleye Span members Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp, and Nigel Pegrum contributed vocals, bass, drums, and percussion. Bob Johnson and Peter Knight recorded a narrative project in 1977 The King of Elfland's Daughter. Maddy Prior outdid them all by producing two solo albums in 1978, Woman in the Wings and Changing Winds, that included her own compositions. Hart appeared on one more Steeleye Span record, Sails of Silver, before resigning in 1982. His last gig was at the Theatre Royal, Norwich.

In 1981 Hart released two albums of nursery rhymes originally written for his own children on the Music for Pleasure label. He used most of Steeleye Span, and other musicians who had small children and could take the project seriously. In a bold move, he became a record producer for a rock band, The Monochrome Set. Their album Eligible Bachelors was a whimsical cynical view of relations between the sexes.

Hart's health seriously declined, and in 1988 he emigrated to La Gomera, a small island in the Canary Islands. Abandoning music altogether, he became full time writer and photographer, married again, built himself a house on the side of a mountain, and restored his health. As there was no guidebook to La Gomera available in English, Hart wrote, and took most of the photographs for, La Gomera: A Guide to the Unspoiled Canary Island (2004).

The Journey

In 1995, Hart was persuaded to return to the United Kingdom for a five-hour marathon performance. It was a concert in aid of the charity War Child, and featured almost every member of Steeleye Span. A recording of the concert, The Journey did not appear until 1999. For many years he did not perform outside of La Gomera. However, Hart performed with Maddy Prior as part of the BBC Electric Proms on 23 October 2008.

Illness and death

In December 2008, Hart was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, and returned to England with his wife Conny to seek continuing medical treatment. It was announced during Steeleye Span's 2009 winter tour that Park Records would be reissuing Hart's recordings of nursery rhymes in order to support him through his illness. He and his wife returned to their home in La Gomera in early December 2009, where he died peacefully in the early morning of 24 December 2009, aged 61. He was cremated at a private ceremony with half of his ashes being scattered over La Gomera, and the other half being returned to his family plot in St. Albans.

Book

Tim Hart