Chris Leslie (musician)

Chris Leslie (musician)
Christopher Julian Leslie (born 15 December 1956) is a British folk rock musician. He joined Fairport Convention in 1997.
Early years
Leslie grew up in Banbury, Oxfordshire. His brother John steered him toward The Watersons' Frost and Fire, Dave Swarbrick, and The Corries. In 1969 he began to teach himself fiddle and modelled himself on the fiddle-playing of Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention, Peter Knight of Steeleye Span, and Barry Dransfield.
Leslie made his first recording at the age of 16, with a Banbury-based folk rock band and then went on to forge a successful career around the folk clubs with his brother John - cutting their first album, The Ship of Time in 1976. During this period he was also the fiddle player for The Hookey Band and a member of the morris dancers at Adderbury. It was around this time that he first came to the attention of Fairport's Dave Pegg.
From 1981-1983 Chris Leslie studied violin making, under the watchful eye of maker Patrick Jowett, at the Newark School of Violin Making in Nottinghamshire, England. He currently plays the second fiddle he made at Newark on stage.
Session work
Since then he has worked with Steve Ashley, Whippersnapper, the Albion Band, All About Eve, Simon Mayor and Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull). In 1981 he contributed to a cassette tape of peace songs by Steve Ashley released by CND entitled Demo Tapes. Also on the tape were sessions by members of Fairport Convention, Dave Pegg, Simon Nicol and Bruce Rowland. In 1983 he contributed to More Demo Tapes, another Steve Ashley cassette album for CND. He also accompanied Steve Ashley on his song "Down By the Old Embankment" on the album All Through the Year (1991). This was a compilation of original tracks by various artists. He also appeared on People on the Highway (Bert Jansch tribute album, 2000). There were other appearances on Steve Ashley albums (see discography). In 2003, Chris played violin on several tracks from Mostly Autumn's album Passengers. In late 2007 he recorded violin and mandolin parts on Dan Crisp's debut album Far From Here.
With Fairport and solo albums
In 1997 he joined Fairport Convention as singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has recorded five solo albums - The Flow, The Gift, Dancing Days, Origins, Turquoise Tales and Fiddle Back. At first sight Dancing Days appears to be a Fairport Convention album, as it features Simon Nicol, Dave Pegg, Ashley Hutchings and Ric Sanders. However, each of these artists appears only in a sequence of duos with Leslie. He has also recorded collaborations with Ashley Hutchings including Grandson of Morris On .
Chris also takes part in an annual Christmas tour with St Agnes Fountain and also takes part in "A Feast of Fiddles" - a collaboration with Peter Knight, Tom Leary (The Hookey Band), Ian Cutler, Phil Beer (Show of Hands) and Brian McNeill (The Battlefield Band).
Personal life
He is Buddhist, a vegetarian, and a teetotaler.
Discography
Solo
1994 - The Gift
1997 - The Flow
2004 - Dancing Days
2013 - Origins
2015 - Turquoise Tales
2020 - Fiddle Back
In groups
1985 - Whippersnapper: Promises
1987 - Whippersnapper: Tsubo
1988 - Whippersnapper: These Foolish Strings
1990 - Whippersnapper: Fortune
1991 - Whippersnapper: Stories
1996 - The Albion Band: Demi Paradise
1997 - Fairport Convention: Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
1999 - Fairport Convention: The Wood and the Wire
2001 - St Agnes Fountain: Acoustic Carols for Christmas
2001 - Fairport Convention: XXXV
2002 - Morris On Band: Grandson of Morris On
2002 - St Agnes Fountain: Comfort and Joy
2004 - Feast of Fiddles: Nicely Wrong
2004 - Fairport Convention: Over the Next Hill
2006 - St Agnes Fountain: The White Xmas Album
2007 - Fairport Convention: Sense of Occasion
2008 - St Agnes Fountain: Soal Cake
2010 - Feast of Fiddles: Walk Before You Fly
2010 - St Agnes Fountain: Spirit of Christmas
2011 - Fairport Convention: Festival Bell
2012 - Fairport Convention: By Popular Request
2012 - St Agnes Fountain: Twelve Years of Christmas
2013 - Feast of Fiddles: Rise Above It
2014 - St Agnes Fountain: Christmas is Not Far Away
2015 - Fairport Convention: Myths and Heroes
2017 - Fairport Convention: 50:50@50
2017 - Feast of Fiddles: Sleight of Elbow
2017 - St Agnes Fountain: 25/12
2020 - Fairport Convention: Shuffle and Go
2021 - St Agnes Fountain: Night of a Million Stars
Appearances with Steve Ashley
1981 - Demo Tapes
1982 - Steve Ashley's Family Album
1985 - More Demo Tapes
1989 - Mysterious Ways
1991 - All Through The Year
1999 - The Test of Time
2000 - People On The Highway
2001 - Everyday Lives
2006 - Live in Concert
2007 - Time And Tide
2021 - Steve Ashley's Family Album Revisited
References
External links
The Hookey Band
, including two written and performed by Chris Leslie
Website of Fairport Convention
Chris Leslie on CND tapes
1956 births
Living people
People from Banbury
English folk musicians
English fiddlers
British male violinists
Fairport Convention members
British folk rock musicians
21st-century violinists
21st-century British male musicians
The Albion Band members
Whippersnapper (band) members