Gerry Conway (musician)

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Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway performing at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2014
Background information
Born	(1947-09-11) 11 September 1947 (age 73) King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
Genres	Rock, folk, British folk rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Island, Matty Grooves
Associated acts	Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, Pentangle, Alun Davies, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Eclection, Steeleye Span

Gerald Conway (born 11 September 1947) is an English folk and rock drummer/percussionist, best known for having performed with the backing band for Cat Stevens in the 1970s, Jethro Tull during the 1980s, and currently a member of Fairport Convention as well as his side projects. Conway has done a considerable amount of work as a session musician. Conway is married to Pentangle vocalist Jacqui McShee.

History[]

Conway was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

In the 1970s, he was the drummer for the band Fotheringay as well as for Eclection (other members included Kerrilee Male, Georg Kajanus [as George Hultgreen], Michael Rosen and Trevor Lucas). In their early years, Steeleye Span also drafted in the services of Conway, who was a friend of the band. Conway played on their now-classic song "Dark-Eyed Sailor" and several others from their first album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970), which album also featured contributions from Dave Mattacks, who Conway later replaced in Fairport. His studio works also include the debut solo albums of Sandy Denny and Shelagh McDonald, and appearances on albums by Wizz Jones, John Cale, Jim Capaldi and others. He was also one of the drummers on Whatever's for Us, the debut album of Joan Armatrading in 1972. He toured and recorded as a member of Cat Stevens' band for six years.

Conway was a consistent member of the close knit Cat Stevens backing band throughout the mid-1970s. When Stevens gave up his pop music career at the close of the decade, Conway performed on Daydo; the short-lived solo album of singer-songwriter Alun Davies, another long-term member of Stevens' band.^[1] During the 1980s, Conway also toured and recorded with Kate & Anna McGarrigle.^[2]:83

Conway joined Jethro Tull for their album Broadsword and the Beast and also played on their Grammy-award winning album Crest of a Knave.

Conway has secured the drummer's position in Fairport Convention (on a regular basis since 1998) and Pentangle (occasionally). In the years since 2006, Davies has re-joined with Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam). Both Conway and Davies additionally play in a side project called "Good Men in the Jungle", which features Davies' daughter, Becky Moncurr.

Discography[]

With Eclection[]

• Eclection (1968)

With Steeleye Span[]

• Hark! The Village Wait (1969)

With Al Stewart[]

• Zero She Flies (1970)

With Cat Stevens[]

• Teaser and the Firecat (1971)
• Catch Bull at Four (1972)
• Foreigner (1973)
• Buddha and the Chocolate Box (1974)
• Saturnight (1974)
• Numbers (1975)
• Back to Earth (1978)
• Majikat (2004)

With Mike McGear[]

• McGear (1974)

With Kate & Anna McGarrigle[]

• Entre la jeunesse et la sagesse (1980)

With Jethro Tull[]

• The Broadsword and the Beast (1982)
• Crest of a Knave (1987)

With Fairport Convention[]

• The Wood and the Wire (1999)
• XXXV (2002)
• Over the Next Hill (2004)
• Sense of Occasion (2007)
• Festival Bell (2011)
• By Popular Request (2012)
• Myths and Heroes (2015)
• 50:50@50 (2017)
• Shuffle and Go (2020)

References[]

External links[]

• Biography at Jethro Tull official website
• Good Men in the Jungle MySpace page