A Group for fans of Sandy Denny to meet and discuss the work of this beautiful and tragic artist. I can’t believe there’s not a group already, for shame! Where were you Sandy Denny Fans?
Sandy Denny
6th January 1947 - 21st April 1978
Sandy Denny’s real name was Alexandra Elena Maclean Denny and she was born in Wimbledon London, She learned to play the Guitar at an early age and sang in the school choir.
She earned a reputation for herself as a singer and musician while studying to college to be a nurse. she played in folk clubs, and in less than a year she quit college to pursue a career in music.
She worked solo for two years then was invited to sing on a BBC radio broadcast and got a record deal. Soon after this she met Dave Cousins from the strawbs and they recorded "All Our Own Work" in Copenhagen. She only stayed with them for 6 months.
She recorded a solo album called Sandy Denny before replacing Judy Deeble in Fairport Convention in May 1968. She recorded 3 albums with them, What We Did On Our Holidays, Unhalf Bricking And Liege and Lief. She also introduced Traditional folk songs into their repertoire. Sandy Left in 1969 when they vowed to pursue a purist path at the expense of original material, and formed Fotheringay
Fotheringay only recorded one album together called Fotheringay, bad business management forced the group to split before they could complete a second album.
She then again resumed her solo career releasing The North Star Grassman And The Ravens and Sandy in 1971. The same year Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin asked Sandy to Duet with him on The Battle Of Evermore this made her the only guest vocalist to appear on a Led Zeppelin album ever.
She had a change of direction releasing Like An Old fashioned Waltz covering several Fats Waller songs.
She Married Fotheringay and Fairport guitarist Trevor Lucas in 1973. Fairport reformed for a short while in 1974 and toured and released Rising For The Moon. It wasnt the same however so sandy and trevor left in December 1975.
By this time alcohol consumption was effecting her career and worrying her friends and family. She tried to settle into married life and recorded Rendezvous. In 1977 she had her daughter Georgia.
Plans were made to record a new set in America but thing went wrong as her marriage disintegrated. during a visit to her parents house in 1978 she fell down the stairs onto a stone floor in their kitchen. She wasn’t taken to hospital and a couple of weeks later was found collapsed on the stairs in her friends house. Four days later she died in hospital of a brain haemorrage.
