interest in electric UK folk in general resulted in Fly On Strangewings establishing itself as one of the brightest jewels in the UK folk-rock crown.
Going green: Marian in her teenage folk days; Jade recording Fly On Strangewings at Trident Studio, London, March ’70, with guitarists Michael Rosen (left) and Jimmy Litherland (right). Manager Jon Miller looks on (far right)
One of these folk-rock saplings was the three-piece Jade, leed by singer songwriter Marian Segal. Their captivating album, Fly On Strangewings, appeared in 1970 before disappearing into the foliage. Centred around Marian’s expressive, pure and dynamic vocal tones and supported by Dave Waite and Rod Edwards’ harmonies, Fly On Strangewings is a collection of melodic, elaborately executed and original folk songs with a beautifully understated, acoustic and electric rock backing, courtesy of the UK’s finest studio session musicians of the era. Dave Waite’s deep and rich vocals blend seamlessly with Marian’s and when Rod Edwards joins in on vocals and piano, the overall sound is nothing less than heavenly. Alternating between harpsichord-laden melancholy, guitar and fiddle driven exuberance and introspective poetry the album soars between the wilds of rural England and the sunshine of the West Coast of America, revealing the musical influences of both.
Jimmy Litherland’s excellent, electric guitar work accents the proceedings but it is Marian’s heartfelt songs that really carry the album beyond the status of mere “also ran”, challenging even the acknowledged queen of folk, Sandy Denny, with its blend of pathos, intelligence and romantic charm epitomised by Marian’s ultimate masterpiece ‘Fly Me To The North’. It’s not often that one wonders why a real talent failed to reach a wider audience but when listening to Marian’s music that very question is posed. Having languished in obscurity, it wasn’t until 2003 that a reissue of Jade’s music appeared on the Lightning Tree label, and finally brought this great record and Marian’s talent into focus. A renewed
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Marian Segal began singing with a group of school friends in the basement of a shop in 1964 in Battersea, South London, run by her family. One of her band mates was Danny Kirwan, who offered to play drums but it wasn’t long before he had asked to borrow Marian’s guitar and he soon mastered that too. A few years later Danny would find fame with Fleetwood Mac and make some fine solo albums. Marian absorbed the output of American singer songwriters such as
Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell and this love of American folk would influence the sound of Jade, particularly in the trademark multi-part harmonies and dense acoustic guitar textures. Marian’s first public performances, proper, occurred at the folk and blues club held at The Nag’s Head in Battersea, where she performed with a friend, Malcolm Laws. From there, under the guidance of managers David Jones and Colin Deacon, who also ran the club, she began to venture out to other venues. By ’66 Marian had begun performing in the folk clubs in and around London and the surrounding wilds of Surrey. One of her first major appearances was at Battersea Town Hall – now The Battersea Arts Centre – in South London, where she sang with Alex Campbell (who also performed with Sandy Denny). Also on the bill was blues boom outfit Black Cat Bones, who included a young Paul Kossoff, later of Free.
Dave Waite was born in Battersea in 1940 and he grew up in the South London suburbs in a very musical family. By the mid-50s he was, in his own words, “a dedicated guitar freak” and listened to serious guitar players such as Laurindo Almieda (from Brazil) Segovia (a Spaniard) Tal Farlow, Johnny Smith (both Americans) Dave Goldberg, Johnny Smith and Judd Proctor (all English). By the late ’50s Dave was in and out of various trios and duos until ’60 when he became part of The Countrymen who, whilst all but forgotten now, traded a clean-cut, middle of the road folk-pop sound that was very popular with BBC variety audiences. They issued
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