Cult lo- fi folk singer Bill Fay passes quietly. Simon Jones pays respects.
Bill Fay who left us on Februray 22nd was a singer songwriter whose music weaved in and out of the decades gaining cult status along the way. He was discovered and signed to Deram Records an arm of the Decca organisation for whom he cut a 45 in 1967, but then took his time about releasing a full album. ‘Bill Fay,’ 1970 was strong on studied writing, at times reflective, a touch sad, even resigned, songs which suited longer evenings and candle light. 1971’s follow up, ‘Time Of The Last Persecution,’ had similarities with Nick Drake’s final works, sombre and drifting to the spiritual, several of the songs had a biblical prophetic core to them and not exactly being readily accessible Bill was duly let go by his label.
Everyone thought he’d just retired but once away from the music treadmill Bill continued his distinctive writing and in the late 70s returned to a studio to cut more songs which duly lay unissed and gathered dust. Eventually in 2005 they saw light of day as ‘Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow.’ That in turn had followed Wooden Hill’s collection of late 60s demoes ‘From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock,’ in 2004. His Deram albums had already been reissued in 1998 when much to his surprise Bill Fay found a whole new audience of younger fans were switched on by his lo fi creations, he stated several years later that he had been totally astonished that anybody remembered his records. The cult of Bill Fay however was just beginning.
By 2010 he’d a new double CD in the shops ‘Still Some Light,’ half old material and half new songs, the reviews were profuse in praise and identified Bill as a rediscovered treasure. The American band Wilco were great fans and had him join them on stage a couple of times, Ed Harcourt, Pavement and War On Drugs were among others who covered his work. Enter label Dead Oceans who were keen on Bill writing and producing more albums for this new fandom. Once more in the saddle and this time with a more supportive record company behind him three new albums appeared in due course each as individual and distinctive as his previous work, ‘Life Is People’ 2012, ‘Who Is The Sender?’ 2015 and ‘Countless Branches,’ 2020. In another similarity to Nick Drake Bill didn’t play live all that often he preferred to let his recordings represent him, however he did make a typically atmospheric and deceptively understated visit to the studios of Jools Holland and Later – the results captivate as he gently plays his piano and whispers his lyric ‘The Never Ending Happening.’ Check it out on Youtube.
Ironically as he passed Bill was working on another new collection, Dead Oceans hope to make it available in future. His label summed him up neatly showing a great understanding of both the man and his artistry. Annoucing his death they stated, “Bill was a gentle man and a gentleman, wise beyond our times. He was a private person with the biggest of hearts, who wrote immensely moving, meaningful songs that will continue to find people for years to come.”
A fact he’d find amazing.
