Nic Jones

One of the most enduringly influential and best-loved British folk singers and guitarists, Nic Jones' career was seemingly ended by an horrific car crash in 1982... only to make an emotional comeback 30 years later. Originally inspired to play guitar by the likes of Hank Marvin of The Shadows and Duane Eddy, he worked as a lifeguard while gaining his first significant musical experiences with the group The Halliard. By the time they split, he and his wife Julia were running a folk club in Chelmsford and, against his better judgement, was persuaded by his friend Dave Burland to attempt a solo career. It resulted in huge acclaim as he evolved his unique fingerstyle guitar accompaniments and invested traditional song with innovative, modernistic arrangements. His early albums Ballads & Songs (1970), Nic Jones (1971), The Noah's Ark Trap (1977) and From The Devil To A Stanger (1978) drew increasing acclaim as his deadpan humour and quirky stage approach made him one of the biggest folk stars of the era, but they were all eclipsed by his masterpiece, Penguin Eggs (1980), still regarded as a major folk music landmark with its rock inflected arrangements and Jones' relaxed, but vivid vocals, particularly on the signature track Canadee-i-o. He was also briefly involved with the folk supergroup Bandoggs, with Pete and Chris Coe and Tony Rose, who made one album together. Driving home to Essex after a gig in Glossop in February, 1982, he was severely injured in a collision with a lorry, spending several months in hospital that left him partially paralysed. Over the next three decades, however, Penguin Eggs continued to have a marked influence on younger musicians and a cult following arose around the man who'd made such an inspirational album. At Sidmouth Folk Festival in 2010, Jones finally performed again at a concert in his honour, singing with a new line-up of Bandoggs, followed by an appearance at a similar tribute show at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall the following year. The emotional comeback was completed with a series of festival appearances with his son Joe on guitar and Belinda O'Hooley playing piano through 2012 and 2013 when he rolled back the years.

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