Long standing Bass player Rick joined with Bob Johnson in 1972 to form the 'Classic' line-up bringing their rock backgrounds to the sound of the group. Rick had previously worked with Michael Chapman for 3 years and nine (!) albums. It was Chapman who introduced him to Steeleye's music and they were one of the few bands Rick would consider joining at the time as he was happy as a session musician. Rick had only seen Steeleye play once live - 2 weeks before he joined. He confessed later that he only really wanted to join at the time to work with Carthy and turned up at the first rehearsal with Peter, Tim and Maddy not knowing Carthy was leaving.
As well as playing Bass, Rick sang lead occasionally and contributed to the bands famous harmonies. Rick arranged and wrote the melody for the song 'London' (1976), the lead single from the album 'Rocket Cottage' which was the follow up to All Around My Hat. From the 80's onwards Rick became an important songwriter for the band as they moved to a mix of both traditional and original material.
Rick left in 1986 after a reported shoulder injury (although Rick has since suggested the stress of touring had played a major part) but continued to work with Maddy on a number of her albums, including 'Happy Families' which was released under both their names in 1990. The duo toured frequently during the late 80's early 90's. He was also a key part of the 'Maddy Prior Band' which released 2 albums in the early 80's and he has released five solo albums over the last 20 years (see below). Rick was a prolific songwriter at this time and one of his sogs 'Somewhere Along the Road' has been covered a number of times.
Rick returned to Steeleye in 2000, initially to help out on tour after Bob Johnson left, with Tim Harries moving from Bass to lead guitar. He joined the band permanently again with most of the 'Classic' line up in 2002. He was involved in a further 5 studio albums, contributing original songs to all of them. In 2016 he retired from Steeleye and now does the occasional solo gig.
