Steve Ashley

Steve Ashley has played a significant role in the development of British folk-rock. A singer-songwriter with a distinctive English style, he has sung with The Albion Country Band (as a founder-member), his own bands, Ragged Robin and The Steve Ashley Band, and occasionally with members of Fairport Convention. He has performed solo tours in Europe and the USA, and during the eighties shared a long-standing partnership with Fairport's Chris Leslie.

Steve's albums have enjoyed consistent critical acclaim, and his debut, "Stroll On" (Gull 1974) is now widely regarded as a folk-rock classic. Produced by Austin John Marshall with orchestral arrangements by Robert Kirby, Stroll On was awarded ‘Contemporary Folk Album of The Year' by Folk Review and the recommended folk album of the year in the Sunday Telegraph. The album and its follow-up, "Speedy Return" were both marketed and distributed in the USA by Motown.

Then came the "Family Album" (Woodworm), followed by two "Demo Tapes" albums for the Peace Movement and "Mysterious Ways" (Line) - his last album prior to a break from music in 1992. Steve has also featured on albums by, amongst others, Anne Briggs, Richard Thompson and Shirley and Dolly Collins.

An anthology of his work, "The Test of Time" (Buckingham Industrial Park), was released in 1999 and prompted Steve's return to live performance. By August, he was back on stage to sing "Fire and Wine" with Fairport at Cropredy, while "Stroll On" was reissued with extra tracks from the sessions, re-titled, "Stroll On Revisited" (Buckingham Industrial Park).

Following a series of rave reviews, this album received a full-page tribute in Mojo as a "Buried Treasure". In August 2003, Buckingham Industrial Park's reissue of "Speedy Return" was also well received.

Steve Ashley's songs - whether focused upon family life, war and peace, love, old age, or the changing environment - are all characterised by his distinctive view of English life. His most recent release, "Everyday Lives" (Topic) brings further evidence of this, receiving a four-star review in Q and the following from Colin Irwin in fROOTS:

"If British singer-songwriterdom is to enjoy a renaissance - and it's high time it did - it is right and proper that Steve Ashley should be in the forefront. He seems to have lost none of his way with a beguiling tune and a deft lyric."


"- one of the finest singer-songwriters in Britain - if not the entire English-speaking world." - Melody Maker 1973

"- has a remarkable gift for writing original material of true folk quality." - Daily Telegraph 1974

"One of the finest singers in his field" - Time Out 1974

"- one of the best songwriters in Britain. Go and see for yourself." - Sounds 1975

"- a delightful surprise. His voice is good. His originals are sensitive ... he also has one of the funniest of dry stage raps. Ex-Albion Country Band, Ashley can hold an audience." - Variety USA 1975

"- has proved himself a more than able songsmith and given the rootsy folk-rock world plenty to think about -" Q Magazine (Mysterious Ways) 1990

"Songs this gentle and lovely retain their beauty even a quarter of a century after being written." - Dirty Linen USA (Stroll On Revisited) 2000

"Songs and vocal performances of breathtaking artistry, an English approach to music and words which delves to the very roots of the Tradition, while being both innovatory and exciting" - Living Tradition (Test Of Time) 1999

"The Inspector Morse of the folk world - a gentle romantic with a flair for mystery - a man who cares enough about things to sing fireside dream poetry on wide open stages" - Mojo Magazine (Cropredy Festival) 2001

"The club's intimate atmosphere only served to enhance the man's mythical status. He's telling his own stories but he could be singing your song. All in all it was a magnificent, magical evening." - Folk on Tap (Woolston FC) 2001

"Steve is a man of depth and wisdom, his love songs reach beyond tropical honeymoons to the flying plates of real relationships. This will remain a treasured evening of truth and beauty." - Somerset County Gazette (South Petherton Arts Centre) 2002

"-reflections on the ordinary that would do credit to Ray Davies or John Betjeman and ideas that seem plucked from the English air." - BBC Radio website (Speedy Return) 2003

"One may cast Ashley as the Wordsworth to Nick Drake's Coleridge, metaphorically rambling among the hills for inspiration - the one bringing along opium, the other (rather more sensibly) a picnic of ale and pies." - Mojo (Speedy Return) 2004

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