Gay & Terry Woods - In Concert (1995)

The husband-and-wife duo of Gay and Terry Woods got their beginning in 1969, when Terry Woods was still a member of Sweeney's Men. At that point, negotiations were underway for Sweeney's Men plus Gay Woods to join Fairport Convention bassist Ashley Hutchings in a new band, to be called Steeleye Span. When Sweeney's Men members Irvine and Moynihan decided it wasn't what they wanted, another duo, England's Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, went in with Woods and Hutchings. The Woods lasted for just one album before striking out on their own as the Woods Band, releasing an eponymous debut in 1971, where they mixed traditional and original material. After touring extensively throughout Europe, the band fell apart and Gay and Terry returned to Ireland. Settled again, they signed with Polydor, for whom they recorded Backwoods in 1975. Composed mostly of original material just as their subsequent releases would be, they became more experimental on their two 1976 records, The Time Is Right and Renowned. Given their small niche, that proved to be the end of their major-label association and their final album together, Tenderhooks, appeared on the tiny Mulligan label out of Dublin, an Irish folky roots rock swansong (selections from their final two years can be found on Gay and Terry Woods in Concert). At that point, Gay joined prog band Auto Da Fe and Terry Woods briefly revived the Woods Band before abandoning music for a few years. He resurfaced in 1986 as a member of the Pogues, whose music was a direct descendent of his work with Sweeney's Men. Though Gay Woods, too, retired from music, she did emerge into the spotlight again in the late '90s, rejoining Steeleye Span and becoming their sole vocalist after the departure of Maddy Prior. ~ Chris Nickson