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Singer-songwriter with Fairport Convention who went on to success in the duo Trader Horne
Judy Dyble, who has died aged 71, was the first female singer with the English folk-rock pioneers Fairport Convention. She was already singing in north London folk clubs, accompanying herself on the autoharp, when in 1967 she was invited to join the Muswell Hill-based band, whose members included Ashley Hutchings, who had been at the same school as Dyble, Richard Thompson, her boyfriend at the time, and Simon Nicol. Throughout her career, Dyble sang in her natural speaking voice, with clear diction and without affectation.
Fairport Convention were initially influenced by American musicians such as Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, rather than by the British folk songs that came later, and their first, eponymous album, released later that year – the only one that featured Dyble – included two at-the-time unreleased songs from Mitchell, one of them Chelsea Morning. The album also featured Portfolio, written by Dyble and Hutchings. Live performances in London, including at the American record producer Joe Boyd’s UFO Club, were characterised by Dyble knitting on stage; she knitted while Thompson and Jimi Hendrix jammed at the Speakeasy Club. Boyd became the band’s manager but was anxious for Sandy Denny to replace Dyble, who left in 1968. Continue reading...