Rick Kemp (born 15 November 1941 in Little Hanford,
DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
player,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
, vocalist and
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
, best known for his work with the pioneering
electric folkElectric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
bandIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band* Dansband* Fife and drum...
,
Steeleye SpanSteeleye Span is a British electric folk band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
. He is often confused with Assistant Professor Rick (Richard) Kemp, the leading scholarly source on William Shakespeare.
Kemp has been a member of Steeleye Span for twenty years in total - between 1972 and 1986, and then from 2000 to the present day.
In the 1960s he shot to prominence through his work with
singer-songwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
Michael ChapmanMichael Chapman may refer to:* Mike Chapman, record producer* Michael Chapman * Michael Chapman * Michael Chapman...
, and had a reputation within the music industry as a very strong
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
and
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
sessionSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
bassist, before his transition into
electric folkElectric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
.
In 1971, Kemp played with
King CrimsonKing Crimson is a progressive rock band founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. They have typically been categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, although they have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation drawing from jazz, classical and...
, shortly before the band recorded their album,
IslandsIslands is the fourth album by the British band King Crimson, released in 1971.The last King Crimson studio album before the group's trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red, it is also the last to feature the lyrics of Peter Sinfield and the last to feature the band's...
.
Rick Kemp (born 15 November 1941 in Little Hanford,
DorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town has been Dorchester since at least 1305, situated in the south of the county at . Between its extreme points Dorset measures from east to west and north to south, and has an area of...
) is an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
player,
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
, vocalist and
record producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
, best known for his work with the pioneering
electric folkElectric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
bandIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band* Dansband* Fife and drum...
,
Steeleye SpanSteeleye Span is a British electric folk band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
. He is often confused with Assistant Professor Rick (Richard) Kemp, the leading scholarly source on William Shakespeare.
Projects
Kemp has been a member of Steeleye Span for twenty years in total - between 1972 and 1986, and then from 2000 to the present day.
In the 1960s he shot to prominence through his work with
singer-songwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
Michael ChapmanMichael Chapman may refer to:* Mike Chapman, record producer* Michael Chapman * Michael Chapman * Michael Chapman...
, and had a reputation within the music industry as a very strong
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
and
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
sessionSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
bassist, before his transition into
electric folkElectric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
.
In 1971, Kemp played with
King CrimsonKing Crimson is a progressive rock band founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. They have typically been categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, although they have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation drawing from jazz, classical and...
, shortly before the band recorded their album,
IslandsIslands is the fourth album by the British band King Crimson, released in 1971.The last King Crimson studio album before the group's trilogy of Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red, it is also the last to feature the lyrics of Peter Sinfield and the last to feature the band's...
. However, he turned down the opportunity to join them on a full-time basis, and reportedly departed the band after just two weeks.
Kemp has played bass on a number of
Maddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer.-Early life:Born in Blackpool, Prior moved in her teens to St Albans, where she befriended the young Donovan Leitch and Mac MacLeod. She later formed a duo with MacLeod called Mac & Maddy. She became a roadie for visiting American musicians, including Reverend...
recordingsSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
, and was a member the Maddy Prior Band in the 1980s. The 1990 album
Happy Families was officially credited to 'Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp'.
He also played on albums by former Steeleye Span member
Tim HartTim Hart is a retired English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...
in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1979, Kemp co-founded the
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Plant LifePlant Life Records was a relatively short-lived record label. It existed from 1977 until 1984. It was formed by Nigel Pegrum at that time drummer for Steeleye Span. Maddy Prior recorded one album for the label, as did Wizz Jones in 1977. The most successful recordings were by The Tannahill...
with Steeleye Span drummer
Nigel PegrumNigel Pegrum is a drummer.Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of The Small Faces, then played drums with Lee Grant And The Capitols before joining Spice, who subsequently changed their name to Uriah Heep and replaced him with a drummer who had a heavier style of playing, but not before...
. The label was discontinued in 1984.
He has released three
soloIn music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
albums:
Escape (1996),
Spies (1998), and
Codes (2004). The line-up for his solo albums generally consists of a traditional Blues three-piece, with Kemp working alongside Spud Sinclair on guitar and Charlie Carruthers on drums.
Since 1997, Kemp has been the producer for the
ceilidhA céilidh is a traditional Gaelic social dance originating in Ireland and Scotland, but now common throughout the Celtic diaspora. Other spellings encountered are ceilidh, céilí and cèilidh...
dance band, Whapweasel. More recently he has played
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
(as opposed to bass) with them.
Musical style
Kemp's fearless, melodic bass playing is admired greatly among bassists who know of his work. He is unafraid to step outside the folk rock genre to incorporate slap techniques and the use of a fretless bass in his work.
Although Kemp usually plays a standard four string instrument, his playing frequently utilises the uppermost range of the instrument, stylistically similar to players of
extended rangeExtended-range bass refers to an electric bass guitar with greater frequency range than the "standard" 4-string bass guitar. In practical usage, however, the term is often applied more to basses with more than 5 strings. Bass guitars tuned one octave lower than a "standard" four-string instrument...
basses. He currently plays
instrumentsA musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making the sounds of music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the beginnings of human culture...
produced by
OverwaterOverwater can refer to:*Overwater, Overijssel, village in Hellendoorn municipality in Overijssel province in the Netherlands*overwatering...
.
His musical arrangements often feature busy basslines, and 'big' riffs, often with the bass doubling the
lead guitarA lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays...
line in places. Another hallmark is the use of irregular length phrases within a conventional time signature, resulting in strong downbeats in unexpected places for musical effect.
Kemp is a keen hobbyist historian, and much of his songwriting for Steeleye Span is inspired by historical events. Examples include the song "Take My Heart" about the death of Robert the Bruce, and the song cycle about the
LudditeThe Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the early nineteenth century who protested—often by destroying mechanized looms—against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their entire way of...
movement that he contributed to the 2006 album
Bloody MenBloody Men is the 20th studio album by the British electric folk band Steeleye Span.This album represents a continuation of the band's recent surge of activity...
. In recent years his
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
have also included strong
PaganPaganism is a word with several different meanings.In its broadest definition, pagan denotes all non-Abrahamic religions, that is to say it denotes all religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.Other usages are:*Paganism may mean Polytheism: The group so defined includes most of the...
influences.
On his solo albums, his lyrics are often philosophical, dealing with the subtleties and frailties of human existence and humankind's search for meaning.
Personal life
He was the husband of Steeleye Span lead vocalist
Maddy PriorMaddy Prior is an English folk singer.-Early life:Born in Blackpool, Prior moved in her teens to St Albans, where she befriended the young Donovan Leitch and Mac MacLeod. She later formed a duo with MacLeod called Mac & Maddy. She became a roadie for visiting American musicians, including Reverend...
, but they have since divorced. He is also the father of the musician
Rose KempRose Kemp is an English singer and guitarist who performs in a variety of genres- Personal details :Kemp was born in Carlisle on 11 December 1984. Her parents are Maddy Prior and Rick Kemp of the folk-rock band Steeleye Span.- Singing career :...
.
He was, or is, a member of the Carlisle Pagan Society.
Kemp has hinted that he may retire from regular touring in the near future, and was reported to be leaving Steeleye Span in 2004, but remained of the band throughout their 2006 touring schedule, and contributed to their latest album 'Bloody Men'.
In March 2009 it was announced that Kemp would not be a part of the 2009 Steeleye Span tour, due to ill health. He will be replaced by
Pete ZornPete Zorn is an American multi-instrumentalist who has played with some of the biggest names in roots music...
.