Interview with Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention
Judy Dyble is mostly known as the first vocalist of Fairport Convention, one of the pioneering British folk-rock bands during the late 60's, with whom she played at The Marquee on several occasions. She later went on to collaborate with King Crimson's embryo: Giles, Giles and Fripp. At The Marquee, she also played with Trader Horne -a duo consisting of Jackie McAuley and herself-, and Dyble Coxhill & The Miller Brothers, later to form Caravan.
During the 00's, Judy has also released several solo albums and she released a single in collaboration with The Conspirators.
Judy Dyble talked about her memories of the Marquee club in the very first interview for this web site with a female artist.
-What is the first image that springs to your mind when you hear the words "Marquee Club"?
Dark, long corridors to get to the main club area, very cramped, tiny stage, heaving with people.
-Do you remember Fairport Convention's first gig at The Marquee in January 29th 1968?
Actually, not very well, I remember the dressing room being really titchy and with 6 or 7 of us in there, it would have been really difficult to tune up, particularly my autoharp which had over 30 strings, which would go out of tune at the drop of a hat.
-With Fairport Convention, you were protagonist of the birth of the folk revival in Britain. How was the scene on those days?
With my Fairport, we weren't really folky at all.
Richard was such a rock guitarist then although a lot of the songs we did were more American folk rock, but they were vehicles for a gentler kind of rock, but which allowed the band let rip when they wanted to.-Apart from The Marquee, you also played other London clubs such as Middle Earth and The Atlas and you even worked at the Revolution Club as a membership secretary. How different was the atmosphere from these clubs to The Marquee?
Middle Earth was very much a hippy psychedelic club so very laid back, man. The Atlas? I only remember that as a folk club, that I went to before Fairport was thought of, The Revolution, Blaises and Speakeasy clubs were much more up market and were places where the music cognoscenti and the movers and shakers went. Plus the debutantes and their rich boyfriends.
So, completely different to The Marquee. That was a real 'have a great time, see some great bands' kind of place. Completely different.-In June 1968, you and Ian McDonald, who was your boyfriend at the time, got involved into Giles, Giles and Fripp. How did you join them?
I put an advertisement in the Melody Maker looking for musicians to join my (virtually non existent) band and Peter Giles answered it. So we went over to the flat where Mike (Giles), Peter (Giles) and Robert (Fripp) lived to meet and have a play with them and see what was what, and ended up joining with them. I only stayed with them for a short time and then the rest is, as they say, history!
-At the time you used to rehearse at a flat in Brondesbury Road in Kilburn, is that right?
Yes that's right, number 93A! I think it was the ground floor flat but I seem to remember the rooms being large and with very high ceilings. Peter (Giles) had a brilliant recording set up so we would rehearse and then record things and see how they sounded.
-Your husband, Simon Stable, used to be a good friend of Ian McDonald and King Crimson. I think he used to see them rehearse very often at the basement of the Fulham Palace Cafe. How did you meet Simon?
Simon was a DJ sometimes employed by the Red Bus Agency, who were Trader Horne's management and agency. He also wrote for various magazines so he interviewed us a bit or mentioned us in his columns of gossipy stuff. I thought he was really weird, but he was also kind of loveable, so we married...
-I think Simon was a big Crimson supporter in their early days, writing nice things about them in the music magazines and all that.
He was a great supporter of Crimson.He thought they were a wonderful band, as indeed they were. And did all he could to promote them. In fact both Robert (Fripp) and the late lovely Crimson drummer, Ian Wallace, occupied the spare room in our flat in Notting Hill at various times.
-Simon worked as a DJ at London's Sisters club. He also worked along with The Marquee Club's resident DJ, Jerry Floyd, at The Temple club in Wardour Street. Do you remember Jerry?
Oh yes, I remember Jerry very well, there were two or three DJs that were really a big part of the times, Simon, Jerry and Jeff Dexter. One or the other were always around at whatever gigs I played at. Heavens! Was there room for a DJ at The Marquee as well as everything else? Where on earth were they put?
-In 1969, you used to share a flat in Notting Hill Gate with the guitarist from Steamhammer, Martin Quittenton, and his girlfriend. Did you see Steamhammer play at The Marquee?
I must have done. I'm sure I got dragged along to see them by Soup, my friend. Also their manager became Trader Horne's manager for a while before we were taken up by Red Bus. In fact it was probably through Steamhammer that I met Jack McAuley and formed Trader Horne.
-Apart from some commercial pop-stars, in the late 60's there were not very many female singers in London. Do you remember missing a stronger female presence in the music scene?
I don't think it even crossed my mind. I was on the road in a band with my friends who happened to be all guys. It was a very exciting time and there were other girls in bands, Jacqui McShee in Pentangle, Christine Perfect in Chicken Shack, Kerillee Male in Eclection. We shared some gigs and met in the Ladies to brush our hair or repair the makeup, but there really wasn't the opportunity to really make friends, no real time to socialise. Ships that passed in the night really.
-There was any feeling of competitive or camaraderie between all of you, or you just didn't know each other at all?
No, as I say there was not really enough time to get to know one another. A shame really, it might have been nice to do so.
-In February 1971, you and Jackie McAuley started a Thursday residency at The Marquee with your new band Trader Home, supporting the folk band Comus. Do you remember these concerts?
I have just checked the dates of when I left Trader Horne and that was in May 1970, so in fact it would have been Trader Horne Mk2 with Saffron Summerfield who played the residency in 1971. No wonder I couldn't remember it...
-I believe the last time you ever played at The Marquee was in June 1971, as a member of Dyble Coxhill & The Miller Brothers. What's your memory about it?
Again, I don't remember that much. We were an odd mix of musicians, Steve and Phil Miller had played together many times, and when I joined them I think it was more of a 'let's see where we go and how we get on' band. They were wonderful to play with though, I learnt a lot from them all. It was the first time I'd worked with anyone at all jazzy so it was yet a different direction from anything I'd done before.
-Being a young lady, which was your feeling when being in a hot, sticky and sweaty club as The Marquee?
Well my main problem was that being small it was difficult to get around in there. Being very crowded it was a major problem trying to get from the dressing room to the cloakroom, or on stage, or the bar or anywhere really. Trying to get changed in the dressing room was an impossibility and the Ladies Room was no better. But I don't remember being upset about it, it was just the way things were in those days.
-What did you think when you heard about the demolishing of the original building at 90 Wardour street in the 90's?
Well I probably thought, there goes a piece of history, but I was completely out of the music business at that time so it was probably just a passing piece of sadness for some memories.
-In 2004, you had a comeback and since then you have released two solo albums. Do you miss playing at clubs like The Marquee Club and Middle Earth today?
Actually I don't miss playing at all. It was all very lovely playing at these places, but it was really hard work as well, the days and nights sort of melded together, and the clubs were, in my memory, just one long trail of big dark rooms full of people. I am sure that I had a good time, just that I can't remember it!
-If you had to define the effect that the Marquee club had in your life or in your musical career, how would you put it into words?
It was definitely the place to play and to see great bands play at. There was always a sort of aura about it (possibly the dim lights!) but there was definitely charisma attached to playing there and knowing that such fantastic bands had played on that stage before you and would play there after you.
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