From: colm@mathcs.emory.edu (Colm Mulcahy)
Newsgroups: rec.music.folk,rec.music.misc
Subject: Ian Matthews - career summary
Date: 6 Oct 92 18:15:40 GMT
Followup-To: rec.music.folk
Organization: sometimes, but never early in the morning

In article <1992Oct6.1568.6443@channel1> "eliot gelwan" <eliot.gelwan@channel1.com> writes:
>On 10-05-92 85P8379 wrote:
>
>P/Question:  Who is/was Ian Mathews ?  I have a feeling he used
>P/to be in awell-known band in the 70's, but not sure which one.
>
>Oh, not so important, just one of the founding members of
>Fairport Convention.
>

not quite, Ian MacDonald (as was his name, changed mid 1968 to avoid
confusion with the  guy in Traffic) joined FC circa Sep/Oct 1967, a few
months after they debuted, and certainly after they did those summer
shows at trendy London clubs with the likes of Pink Floyd.  Also, IM
was not present at the August recording sessions, which yielded Both
Sides Now (the very first thing they recorded according to RT, whoever
he might be, though never released) and parts of the A-side of their debut
single If I Had A Ribbon Bow (released Feb 1968, IM is on both sides, now!)
)
note that a few years ago IM changed his first name to Iain.

at least he retains the same initials.

trivia question (hard): what other one time Fairport member has
changed his name twice, but retained the same initials?  and what were
those three names used?  answer posted in a month if anybody cares.

(no, it/s not David Svarbriski!)



Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald) has been a major presence on over
25 albums since 1967, mostly as a solo artist.  While primarily known as a
singer, he should not be underestimated as a songwriter.  For many years he
specialized in placing his own songs alongside carefully chosen material from
relatively obscure sources
(The Wildweed's Al Anderson\footnote{later of NRBQ fame},



Ian can be found on the first two Fairport albums, and the attendent singles,
as well as on one track from the band's third album.  He also contributed to
the various cassette and video releases resulting from 1986's Cropredy.

Ian MacDonald's pre-Faiport recording career consists of one single with
Pyramid.  By late summer 1967 he became Fairport's second vocalist, alongside
Judy Dyble.  Shortly after Judy was replaced by Sandy Denny in May 1968, Ian
switched his last name to Matthews, their being an Ian McDonald in Traffic at
the time.  Early in 1969, Ian left Fairport.

That summer he recorded his first solo album with much assistance from some of
his former colleagues.  By the time the LP was in the shops in 1970, its title
had been appropriated as the name of Ian's new band: Matthews Southern Comfort.
This band featured steel guitar legend Gordon Huntley and guitarist Mark
Griffiths.  Two more albums and a hit single followed on UNI/MCA that year, then
Ian left to go solo again.

After a pair of albums on Vertigo, in 1972 Ian teamed up with Andy Roberts, Dave
Richards and Bob Ronga as Plainsong.  This outfit released one album on Elekra,
and recorded another which was never issued as planned.  In the middle of all
this another solo album was cut for contractual reasons, it turned up two years
later.

Ian moved to America in 1973, and continued to work with his now established
pattern of mixing obscure covers with his own songs.  After a pair of solo
albums on Elektra, there was a two year silence.  Emerging in 1976 on CBS, Ian
released an album a year until 1980.  By then he had switched to his producer
Sandy Roberton's Rockburgh label, and teamed up with Mark Griffiths again.  An
artist approved double compilation album also appeared in 1980.

1981 saw Ian settled in Seattle, playing in a group called Hi-Fi with David
Surkamp (ex-Pavlov's Dog).  Several local releases, with limited UK parallels,
take the story up to 1982.

In late 1983 Ian recorded an album in the UK which was only released in parts
of continental Europe.  A live video from a 1984 show at the Marquee was the
last sign of life from Mr. Matthews for a further two years.

1986 saw Ian make a triumphant return to live performance at that year's
Cropredy, an event which inspired him to return to singing fulltime.  An album
of Jules Shears' songs on Windham Hill was the first result.

Moving to Austin, Texas, and changing the spelling of his first name to Iain
soon thereafter, he closed the 1980s by releasing an album of original and
contemporary material with much assistance from Mark Hallman.

The early 1990s actually produced a flurry of Matthews' activities and releases.
Two live cassettes were sold at his shows, one of which was subsequently
released on CD by Taxim in Germany.  The same label also put out the twenty year
old demos for the long lost second Plainsong album.  Dirty Linen magazine, with
the help of the artist himself, issued a CD of previously unreleased recordings
from the 1970s.

1992 sees another first for Iain, an album of all original material.  And if 
that isn't enough, Iain regrouped with Andy Roberts, Mark Griffiths and new
member Julian Dawson as Plainsong '92.

While Matthews has guested on releases by Marc Ellington, Allan Taylor, Julie
Covington, Richard & Linda Thompson and Any Trouble, he has not been a prolific
session man.  Nor has he been much in evidence as a producer, aside from his
own albums that is.  A mid-80s stint as A&R man for Island Records in America
lead to some work with Bourgeoise Tagg, and In Tua Nua (the latter unreleased).

Surprisingly few cover versions of Matthew's songs exist.



-- 
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In a world of mega-stores, mega-stars, mega-sales and mega-hype, there is little
room left for the individual with a magaphone.  Everything is being brought in
line with everything else.   ERIC GOULDEN, 1990