English folk-rock group. Formed by husband and wife Bob Pegg and Carole Pegg, the band was one of the first of the folk-rock movement to fuse English traditional sounds with those of rock, and used their own compositions (rather than folksongs) to draw on the essence of the tradition. Initially known on the national folk-circuit for their staunch support of traditional music, the Peggs became a leading influence on the folk-rock scene with Mr Fox, which made its début in 1970 at London’s Royal Festival Hall. In the initial line-up, Carole Pegg’s fiddle style, Bob Pegg’s melodeon and whistle playing, and the hard edge of the Peggs’ vocals created the English sound; cello, flute and clarinet gave a chapel-band feel; and drums and bass provided cross-fertilization. Later the band became a four-piece, comprising the Peggs with Alun Eden (percussion) and Barry Lyon (bass).
Mr Fox was one of the most adventurous and quintessentially English of the early folk-rock bands. The first album, Mr Fox (1970), drew on the dances, chapel services, folklore and topography of the Yorkshire Dales, mixing eerie narrative songs, such as ‘Mr Fox’ and ‘The Gay Goshawk’, with poignant ballads, such as ‘Leaving the Dales’. The second album, The Gypsy (1971), was musically broader including, for instance, the epic title song and ‘Aunt Lucy Broadwood’, an example of English rap. It showed the band’s great potential but was its last recording. Bob and Carole Pegg went on to follow solo careers.
D. Laing and R. Newman: Thirty Years of the Cambridge Folk Festival (Cambridge, 1994)
B. Pegg: Mr Fox, Castle Communications ESM CD 433 (1996) [disc notes]
C. Pegg: Mr Fox, Castle Communications ESM CD 433 (1996) [disc notes]
ROBIN DENSELOW