The whole team at At The Barrier is deeply saddened by the news that Gerry Conway – former Fairport drummer and sometime drummer with Fotheringay, Jethro Tull, Eclection, Al Stewart, Joan Armatrading, Cat Stevens and many others – passed away this week. We pay our short tribute to a rare talent.

It was September, 2022, when news broke from Fairport Towers that drummer Gerry Conway had taken the decision to part company with Fairport Convention. On Fairport’s website, Gerry said: “I never expected to still be playing at 75, my mum was always asking me when I’d retire! Well, I’m not retiring but looking forward to some new adventures. Thanks, Fairport, we had some great times.”

What nobody, not even Gerry’s Fairport colleagues, knew at the time was that the drummer was in the early stages of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and now, sadly, that disease has taken its inevitable toll. Gerry left us on Friday 29th March 2024. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Gerry’s family, his friends and, most particularly, with his bereaved wife, Jacqui McShee.

A stalwart member of Fairport’s longest-lasting lineup, Gerry first moved onto the band’s drumstool when it was vacated by Dave Mattacks after the 1998 winter tour, and he remained the stool’s occupant for the next 24 years. Fairport have always been fortunate in the drum department – Martin Lamble, Dave Mattacks and Bruce Rowland have all been fine exponents of their art, and Gerry was up there with the best of them. I’d always considered Gerry to be more than a mere drummer – in fact, he was arguably the finest pure percussionist that I’ve ever come across.

It was always a massive pleasure to watch him at work, as he selected which of his many devices to use to best enhance the band’s sound, with the precision and timing of a true master – just listen to, say, the intro and outro to Don’t Reveal My Name, opening track of Shuffle and Go, Fairport’s latest studio album if you need help in understanding what I’m trying to say.

And it wasn’t just the newer stuff that allowed Gerry to excel; his contribution to the versions of Sloth that Fairport were performing immediately after the COVID lockdown was mind-boggling, and that’s before we start to talk about him being let loose on extravaganzas like Sandy Nelson’s Let There Be Drums! Gerry’s contribution gave a unique edge to Fairport Convention and, whatever happens in the future, they’ll never sound quite the same without Gerry.

Personally speaking, my first encounter with the name of Gerry Conway was when his name appeared on the sleeve credits for Fairport’s Rosie album – he played on the album’s classic title track as well as on The Plainsman and Knights Of The Road, two Trevor Lucas tracks originally intended for a Fotheringay album. I dug a little deeper and discovered that Gerry had been a member of the aforementioned Fotheringay, Sandy Denny’s band that also featured future Fairporters Jerry Donahue and Trevor Lucas. Digging deeper still, I came across the wonderful Eclection, Gerry’s late 60’s outfit – and if you’ve never heard that band’s single, Nevertheless, a classic slice of psych-pop, then here’s your chance:

Then there’s was his work with Cat Stevens (on such classic albums as Teaser and the Firecat and Catch Bull at Four), Jethro Tull, Al Stewart, Joan Armatrading, Steve Winwood and so, so many others; Gerry has truly left a legacy that we’ll all continue to enjoy for the rest of our own lives.

But, despite the monumental achievements of other parts of Gerry’s career, it is, without doubt, his contribution to Fairport Convention for which I’m most grateful. It was clear that, during his final year of Fairport service, Gerry wasn’t the vigorous character that we’d all come to love, but there’s no doubt that, once behind the kit, his drumming and percussive skills were never diminished.

Closer to home, we at At The Barrier are truly grateful that Gerry took the time to contribute both to our Why I Love… feature and, more recently, to offer his thoughts on the great moments that he’s experienced at Cropredy Festival.

Simon Nicol, guitarist, vocalist and founding member of Fairport Convention had this to say in tribute to his dearest drumming pal: “None of us knew [when he decided to retire from Fairport] Gerry was in the early stages of that pernicious horror, Motor Neurone Disease – I didn’t know until today when news of his death filtered out from the protection and privacy he and Jacqui McShee sought and deserved. Wonderfully patient and wise, infuriatingly tardy (!) but always ready and eager to play, and blessed with his own inner calm and and solidity, I’m going to miss him more than I can say.”

Former Fairporter Iain Matthews added: “Gerry is gone and I don’t know how I feel, except intensely sad. I knew him less than many [in the Fairport circle] but we went wayyy back. He played incredibly on my first solo album, If You Saw Through My Eyes… pure Gerry Energy and spirit.”

Thank you Gerry Conway. Your contribution to music has brought us more pleasure than you could possibly have imagined. We’ll always cherish your contribution to Fairport, Fotheringay and the rest. Rest in Peace, dear friend.

Listen to Don’t Reveal My Name from Fairport’s Shuffle And Go album, and marvel at the percussive skills of Gerry Conway here: