Fotheringay was a short-lived British folk rock group, formed in 1970 by singer Sandy Denny on
her departure from Fairport Convention. The band drew its name from her
1968 composition "Fotheringay" about Fotheringhay Castle, in which
Mary, Queen of Scots had been imprisoned. The song originally appeared
on the 1969 Fairport Convention album, What We Did on Our Holidays,
Denny's first album with that group.
Two former members of Eclection, Trevor Lucas and Gerry Conway, and two former members of Poet and the One Man Band, Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson (bass),
completed the line-up responsible for what was long assumed to be the
quintet's only album. This folk-based set included several Denny
originals, notably "Nothing More", "The Sea" and "The Pond and The
Stream", as well as versions of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel" and
Bob Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing". Though, during the year of its
original release, the album featured in the UK's two music papers' Top
20 (Melody Maker and NME), it did not meet commercial expectations, and
pressures on Denny to undertake a solo career — she was voted Britain's
number 1 singer (two years consecutively) in Melody Maker's readers poll
— increased. The album peaked at No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart.
A Boxful of Treasures is a 2004 compilation box set of recordings by folk rock legend Sandy Denny and comprises solo material and recordings made during her time as a member of Fotheringay, Fairport Convention, and other groups. The fifth CD contains previously unreleased tracks, most of which are demos recorded at Denny's home.
