Editing Tim Hart

{{Short description|Artist}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Tim Hart
| image = 
| alt =
| caption =
| image_size = 250px
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1948|01|9}}
| birth_place =[[Lincoln, Lincolnshire]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2009|12|24|1948|01|9}}
| death_place =[[La Gomera]], [[Canary Islands]], Spain
| instrument = Acoustic guitars, dulcimer, organ, five string banjo, mandolin, bells, tabor, spoons
| genre = [[British folk rock]]
| occupation = Musician, singer, writer, photographer
| years_active = 1966–88, 1995, 2008
| past_member_of = [[Steeleye Span]]}}

'''Tim Hart''' (9 January 1948<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1098}}</ref> – 24 December 2009)<ref name="Obit"/> was an English [[folk music|folk singer]] and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of [[British folk rock]] band [[Steeleye Span]].

==Early years==
Tim Hart was born in [[Lincoln, England]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/> but moved to [[St Albans]] in [[Hertfordshire]] at a relatively young age: his father, the Rev. Canon Dennis Hart, was successively [[perpetual curate]] then [[vicar]] of St Saviour's church in Sandpit Lane, St Albans from 1955 to 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/1-january/gazette/deaths/deaths-1|title=Deaths 01 January 2016|website=churchtimes.co.uk|accessdate=6 October 2021}}</ref> Hart began his life as a musician performing with the Rattfinks, [[St Albans School (Hertfordshire)|St Albans School]]'s second band, the first being [[The Zombies]]. In 1966, he began performing with [[Blackpool]]-born folk singer [[Maddy Prior]], touring English folk clubs. In 1968 and 1969 the [[duet (music)|duo]] recorded two albums: ''Folk Songs of Olde England'', Volumes One and Two.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

==Steeleye Span==
From 1970 to 1982, Hart and [[Maddy Prior|Prior]] were the backbone of [[Steeleye Span]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Hart's contribution to the band demonstrated his musical abilities on a wide range of instruments, some electric, including: acoustic guitars, [[Appalachian dulcimer|lap dulcimer]], organ, five string banjo, mandolin, bells, tabor and spoons as well as vocals.<ref>Album covers for first six vinyl recordings with Steeleye Span.</ref>

In 1971, as well as recording two albums as part of [[Steeleye Span]], they recorded ''[[Summer Solstice (album)|Summer Solstice]]'' – a much more professional recording than their first two albums, including a string arrangement by [[Robert Kirby (musician)|Robert Kirby]], better known for his work with [[Nick Drake]]. Almost every song that Hart sang was traditional. [[Steeleye Span]]'s commercial success peaked in 1975. They toured in the United States and Australia and used electric instruments more frequently. However, further hits eluded them. They announced that their 1978 tour of the United Kingdom would be their farewell, although they reformed and were still active as both a live and a recorded act in 2024.

==Fragmentation==
Hart took this opportunity to release a solo album, ''Tim Hart'', in 1979.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Steeleye Span members Maddy Prior, [[Rick Kemp]], and [[Nigel Pegrum]] contributed vocals, bass, drums, and percussion.<ref>''Tim Hart'', Chrysalis Records Limited, London, UK 1979.</ref> [[Bob Johnson (musician)|Bob Johnson]] and [[Peter Knight (folk musician)|Peter Knight]] recorded a narrative project in 1977, ''[[The King of Elfland's Daughter (album)|The King of Elfland's Daughter]]''. Prior produced two solo albums in 1978, ''Woman in the Wings'' and ''Changing Winds'', that included her own compositions. Hart appeared on one more Steeleye Span record, ''[[Sails of Silver]]'', before resigning in 1982. His last gig was at the [[Theatre Royal, Norwich]].

In 1981, Hart released two albums of [[nursery rhyme]]s originally written for his own children on the [[Music for Pleasure (record label)|Music for Pleasure]] label. He used most of Steeleye Span, and other musicians who had small children and could take the project seriously. In a bold move, he became a record producer for a [[musical ensemble#Rock and pop bands|rock band]], [[The Monochrome Set]]. Their album ''Eligible Bachelors'' was a whimsical cynical view of relations between the sexes.

Hart's health seriously declined, and in 1988 he emigrated to [[La Gomera]], a small island in the [[Canary Islands]]. Abandoning music altogether, he became a full-time writer and photographer, married again, built himself a house on the side of a mountain, and restored his health. As there was no guidebook to La Gomera available in English, Hart wrote, and took most of the photographs for, ''La Gomera: A Guide to the Unspoiled Canary Island'' (2004).

==''The Journey''==
In 1995, Hart was persuaded to return to the United Kingdom for a five-hour marathon performance. It was a concert in aid of the charity [[War Child (charity)|War Child]], and featured almost every member of Steeleye Span. A recording of the concert, ''The Journey'' did not appear until 1999. Hart also appeared occasionally as a support act on Steeleye Span tours, opening the show with a solo set and typically joining the band on stage for the encore.

For many years he did not perform outside of La Gomera. However, Hart performed with Maddy Prior as part of the [[BBC Electric Proms]] on 23 October 2008.<ref>[http://www.parkrecords.com/tourdates.php Maddy Prior Plays BBC Electric Proms] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907194735/http://parkrecords.com/tourdates.php |date=7 September 2008 }}</ref>

==Illness and death==
In December 2008, Hart was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, and returned to England with his wife Conny to seek continuing medical treatment.<ref>[http://www.blog.still-dancing.com/2009/05/tim-hart Photo] by [[Oliver Weber]] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609113620/http://www.blog.still-dancing.com/2009/05/tim-hart/ |date=9 June 2009 }}</ref> It was announced during Steeleye Span's 2009 winter tour that [[Park Records]] would be reissuing Hart's recordings of nursery rhymes to support him through his illness. He and his wife returned to their home in La Gomera in early December 2009, where he died peacefully in the early morning of 24 December 2009, aged 61.<ref name="Obit">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8435839.stm|title=Steeleye Span's Hart dies aged 61|date=31 December 2009|accessdate=12 May 2019|website=News.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> He was cremated at a private ceremony with half of his ashes being scattered over La Gomera, and the other half being returned to his family plot in [[St Albans]].

==Discography==
'''Tim Hart and Maddy Prior'''
*''Folk Songs of Olde England Vol. 1'' (1968)
*''Folk Songs of Olde England Vol. 2'' (1968)
*''[[Summer Solstice (album)|Summer Solstice]]'' (1971)
The above three albums were reissued in 2003 as "Heydays" a double CD

'''Tim Hart'''
*''Tim Hart'' (1979) Chrysalis CHR 1218

'''Tim Hart and Friends'''
*''[[My Very Favourite Nursery Rhymes|My Very Favourite Nursery Rhyme Record]]'' (1981)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.softshoe-slim.com/lists/h/hart.html#5|title=Tim Hart Albums|website=Softshoe-slim.com|accessdate=12 May 2019|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030124147/http://www.softshoe-slim.com/lists/h/hart.html#5|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*''The Drunken Sailor and other Kids Songs'' (1983)
The above two albums were reissued twice, as:
*''Favourite Childrens Songs'' – two vinyl discs held in a single sleeve <ref>EMI/MFP serial no. DL 41 1076 3</ref>
*''My Very Favourite Nursery Rhyme Record'' - a double CD in 2010

==Books==
*''Throbs'' (1978)
*''La Gomera: A Guide to the Unspoiled Canary Island'' (2004)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Steeleye Span}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Tim}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Tim Hart albums|*]]
[[Category:Appalachian dulcimer players]]
[[Category:British mandolinists]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Spain]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Spain]]
[[Category:English folk singers]]
[[Category:English folk guitarists]]
[[Category:English male guitarists]]
[[Category:English male singers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Lincoln, England]]
[[Category:Steeleye Span members]]
[[Category:People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:British folk rock musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English singers]]
[[Category:20th-century British guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century British male singers]]