FAIRPORT CONVENTION - "Babbacombe" Lee (Reissue) - LP - 180g Vinyl [JAN 24]

LP - 180g Black Vinyl. This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1971 Island Records UK release in gatefold sleeve. Includes inner sleeve with lyrics, 8 page booklet and promotional poster (2025 Repress).  

'Babbacombe' Lee was Fairport Convention's foray into the concept album so loved by groups in the 70s. Instead of looking at something fantastical or progressive, the group went back to the tale of John 'Babbacombe' Lee, the man they couldn't hang: The gallows failed three times after he was convicted of the murder of Emma Keyse in Torquay in 1885. Dave Swarbrick found details of the trial in a junk shop, and the band worked up the story into an album.

Released at the end of 1971 with ephemera from the day telling the story,  'Babbacombe' Lee had episodes listed rather than tracks. It contained the most original material of a Fairport album to date, and was seen as taking folk-rock a huge step forward. Within weeks of the album's release both Dave Mattacks and Simon Nicol left the group, leaving Swarbrick and bassist Dave Pegg to lead Fairport on through their next chapter. Today, 'Babbacombe' Lee is one of the group's most enduring albums.

This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1971 Island Records UK release in gatefold sleeve, inner sleeve with lyrics, 8 page booklet, promotional poster and sticker; it is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

Tracklist: 

Side A
A1.        John's reflections on his boyhood, his introduction to Miss Keynes and the Glen, his restlessness, and his struggles with his family, finally successful, to join the navy. [6:19]

A2.        This Was The Happiest Period Of His Life. All Looked Set Fair For A Career Until He Was Stricken With Sickness And Invalided Out Of His Chosen Niche In Life. Reluctantly And Unhappily He Turned To A Number Of Mental Occupations And Finally Returned To The Service Of Miss Keynes. [10:12]

A3.        Tragedy Now Strikes Hard. The World's Imagination Is Caught By The Brutal Senselessness Of The Apparent Criminal Who Slays His Kind Old Mistress [3:57]

Side B
B1.        John Was Hardly More Than A Bewildered Observer At His Own Trial, Not Being Allowed To Say More Than A Few Words. The Tides Of Fate Wash Him To The Condemned Cell Where He Waits Three Sad Weeks For His Last Night On Earth. [7:32]

B2.        When It Comes, He Cannot Sleep, But When He Does, A Strange, Prophetic Dream Comes To Him, And Helps Him To Bear The Strain Of His Next Day's Ordeal As Scaffold And It's Crew Try In Vain Three Times To Take His Life [13:20]