Albion Country Band

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Albion Country Band
Background information
Origin	England
Genre(s)	folk
Years active	1972 - 2002
Associated acts	Fairport Convention Steeleye Span
Former members
Ashley Hutchings Dave Mattacks Richard Thompson Linda Thompson Shirley Collins Phil Beer Martin Carthy John Kirkpatrick Chris Leslie Cathy Lesurf Julie Matthews Simon Nicol Ric Sanders John Tams Chris While

The Albion Country Band were an English folk band.

The band was formed in April 1972 by Steeleye Span member Ashley Hutchings. Dave Mattacks from Fairport Convention was recruited, and later that year Richard Thompson and Linda Thompson also joined. Shirley Collins was briefly listed as a member. The band split in August 1973 and retrospectively released their sole album, Battle of the Field, on Island Records. They also acted as backing band on Shirley Collins' No Roses LP.

Later on there was another album - Rise Up Like the Sun - released under the name The Albion Band.

"Following the Autumn 2002 tour the line-up of The Albion Band broke up. This was as a result of the shrinking number of gigs available to the band. This made it difficult for members to commit themselves full time to the group. Consequently, there are no current plans to continue with the band. With a glorious history stretching back over twenty years The Albion Band has been a showcase for some of the finest folk musicians in the land. Past members include Phil Beer, Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, John Kirkpatrick, Chris Leslie, Cathy Lesurf, Dave Mattacks, Julie Matthews, Simon Nicol, Ric Sanders, John Tams, Richard Thompson and Chris While." - From the official Website