Fotheringay

Fotheringay
Fotheringay c. 1970
Fotheringay c. 1970
Background information
OriginUK
GenresFolk rock
Years active
  • 1970 (1970)–1971 (1971)
  • 2015–2016
LabelsIsland
Spinoff ofFairport Convention
Members
Past members

Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer-songwriter and musician Sandy Denny on her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her 1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay Castle, in which Mary, Queen of Scots had been imprisoned. The song originally appeared on the 1969 Fairport Convention album, What We Did on Our Holidays, Denny's first album with that group. The original Fotheringay released one self-titled album but disbanded at the start of 1971 as Denny embarked on a solo career. Forty-five years later, a new version of the band re-formed featuring the three original surviving members together with other musicians, and toured in 2015 and 2016.