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Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthews Southern Comfort, which had a UK number one in 1970 with their cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock". In 1979, his recording of Terence Boylan's "Shake It" reached No. 13 on the US charts.
Born in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire, Matthews was known in the 1960s as Ian MacDonald. He changed his name to Ian Matthews (his mother's maiden name) in 1968 to avoid confusion with Ian McDonald of King Crimson. In 1989 he changed the spelling of his first name to Iain, and has been known as Iain Matthews ever since.
Influenced by both rock and roll and folk music, Matthews has performed solo and as a member of various bands. He was a member of Fairport Convention during the band's early period when they were heavily influenced by American folk rock and sang on their first three albums before leaving in 1969. He initially embarked upon a solo career before forming the bands Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong. Later in his career he was also a member of the bands Hi-Fi, No Grey Faith, and More Than a Song. In the 2000s he twice revived Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) and continues to tour regularly with the current version of MSC. A new MSC album, The New Mine, was released in March 2020, and a vinyl-only album Fake Tan, recorded with Norwegian band the Salmon Smokers, was released in September 2020.
In a career spanning over fifty years, Matthews has featured on over 100 albums. In 2018 he published an autobiography co-written with author and broadcaster Ian Clayton, Thro' My Eyes: A Memoir, about his life in the music industry.
Matthews' family moved to Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, when he was twelve years old. After leaving school at sixteen he worked as an apprentice signwriter for a local painting and decorating firm. During the British pop music explosion of the mid-1960s he sang with local bands in Scunthorpe. He moved to London in the spring of 1965 and took a job in a Carnaby Street shoe shop, Ravel. In 1966 he formed a trio, The Pyramid (later just 'Pyramid'), a short-lived English surf music band, with Al Jackson and Steve Hiett (born 1940, died 2018). Hiett later became a world-renowned fashion photographer. The Pyramid released one single, "Summer of Last Year", in January 1967 on Deram Records. A remaining song, "Me About You," surfaced on Matthews' Orphans & Outcasts Volume 3 compilation album in 1999.
In the winter of 1967 Matthews was recruited by Ashley Hutchings as a vocalist for Fairport Convention, where he sang with Judy Dyble on their self-titled first album Fairport Convention and with Sandy Denny on What We Did On Our Holidays. During the recording of Unhalfbricking in 1969, as Fairport increasingly drew their material from a traditional British folk repertoire, Matthews was not invited to a recording session. After a discussion with producer Joe Boyd and Hutchings, he left the band and departed on a musical direction of his own.
In 1969 Matthews recorded his debut solo album, Matthews' Southern Comfort, which was rooted in American country music and rockabilly. He made the album with ex-Fairport colleagues Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol and Ashley Hutchings, plus guitarist Mark Griffiths, drummers Ray Duffy and Gerry Conway, pedal steel guitarist Gordon Huntley, and keyboardists Dolly Collins and Roger Coulam. This was his first significant experience recording as a songwriter. The band also performed Neil Young and Ian and Sylvia covers. He formed a working band, Matthews Southern Comfort (using the name of his first album, but without the apostrophe), and released two more albums, Second Spring (1970 – UK #52) and Later That Same Year (1970).
The band went through several line-ups and toured extensively for the next two years. They had one commercial success with Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", which was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in October 1970. It received heavy airplay in Canada, reaching No. 5, as well as peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard singles charts in the United States in 1971. Matthews left Southern Comfort and the band released three albums of their own on Harvest Records.
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Iain Matthews
Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald, 16 June 1946) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. He was an original member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1969 before leaving to form his own band, Matthews Southern Comfort, which had a UK number one in 1970 with their cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock". In 1979, his recording of Terence Boylan's "Shake It" reached No. 13 on the US charts.
Born in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire, Matthews was known in the 1960s as Ian MacDonald. He changed his name to Ian Matthews (his mother's maiden name) in 1968 to avoid confusion with Ian McDonald of King Crimson. In 1989 he changed the spelling of his first name to Iain, and has been known as Iain Matthews ever since.
Influenced by both rock and roll and folk music, Matthews has performed solo and as a member of various bands. He was a member of Fairport Convention during the band's early period when they were heavily influenced by American folk rock and sang on their first three albums before leaving in 1969. He initially embarked upon a solo career before forming the bands Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong. Later in his career he was also a member of the bands Hi-Fi, No Grey Faith, and More Than a Song. In the 2000s he twice revived Plainsong and Matthews Southern Comfort (MSC) and continues to tour regularly with the current version of MSC. A new MSC album, The New Mine, was released in March 2020, and a vinyl-only album Fake Tan, recorded with Norwegian band the Salmon Smokers, was released in September 2020.
In a career spanning over fifty years, Matthews has featured on over 100 albums. In 2018 he published an autobiography co-written with author and broadcaster Ian Clayton, Thro' My Eyes: A Memoir, about his life in the music industry.
Matthews' family moved to Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, when he was twelve years old. After leaving school at sixteen he worked as an apprentice signwriter for a local painting and decorating firm. During the British pop music explosion of the mid-1960s he sang with local bands in Scunthorpe. He moved to London in the spring of 1965 and took a job in a Carnaby Street shoe shop, Ravel. In 1966 he formed a trio, The Pyramid (later just 'Pyramid'), a short-lived English surf music band, with Al Jackson and Steve Hiett (born 1940, died 2018). Hiett later became a world-renowned fashion photographer. The Pyramid released one single, "Summer of Last Year", in January 1967 on Deram Records. A remaining song, "Me About You," surfaced on Matthews' Orphans & Outcasts Volume 3 compilation album in 1999.
In the winter of 1967 Matthews was recruited by Ashley Hutchings as a vocalist for Fairport Convention, where he sang with Judy Dyble on their self-titled first album Fairport Convention and with Sandy Denny on What We Did On Our Holidays. During the recording of Unhalfbricking in 1969, as Fairport increasingly drew their material from a traditional British folk repertoire, Matthews was not invited to a recording session. After a discussion with producer Joe Boyd and Hutchings, he left the band and departed on a musical direction of his own.
In 1969 Matthews recorded his debut solo album, Matthews' Southern Comfort, which was rooted in American country music and rockabilly. He made the album with ex-Fairport colleagues Richard Thompson, Simon Nicol and Ashley Hutchings, plus guitarist Mark Griffiths, drummers Ray Duffy and Gerry Conway, pedal steel guitarist Gordon Huntley, and keyboardists Dolly Collins and Roger Coulam. This was his first significant experience recording as a songwriter. The band also performed Neil Young and Ian and Sylvia covers. He formed a working band, Matthews Southern Comfort (using the name of his first album, but without the apostrophe), and released two more albums, Second Spring (1970 – UK #52) and Later That Same Year (1970).
The band went through several line-ups and toured extensively for the next two years. They had one commercial success with Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", which was a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in October 1970. It received heavy airplay in Canada, reaching No. 5, as well as peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard singles charts in the United States in 1971. Matthews left Southern Comfort and the band released three albums of their own on Harvest Records.
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