| Maggie Holland | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Date: | 19 December 1949 |
| Birth Place: | Alton, Hampshire, England |
| Genre: | Folk music |
| Years Active: | Late 1960s–present |
| Associated Acts: | Ian A. Anderson, Hot Vultures, English Country Blues Band, Tiger Moth, Orchestre Super Moth, Maggie's Farm, Robb Johnson |
Maggie Holland (born 19 December 1949)[1] is an English singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Alton, Hampshire, England, and became involved in the local folk club scene in the late 1960s.[1] She has played in a number of bands and formed a number of collaborations with other artists, but has become well known in recent times as a solo artist and songwriter. She enjoys singing songs with meaningful words and has named her major influences as Bob Dylan, Al Stewart, Dave Evans, Leon Rosselson, Billy Bragg, Bruce Cockburn and Robb Johnson. Several of her own songs have entered the repertoires of notable artists, such as Martin Carthy and June Tabor and, in 2000, Holland received the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Song of 1999" for her song "A Place Called England".[2] Colin Irwin wrote of her in fRoots magazine: "The proof that outstanding contemporary songs are still being written”. She now lives in Leith, Scotland.
Her first work as a professional musician was as bassist and, later, singer in Hot Vultures, alongside Ian A. Anderson.[1] By this time she had moved to Farnham, Surrey. Hot Vultures toured and recorded from 1973 to 1979.[1]
Hot Vultures became the English Country Blues Band (ECBB) when Holland and Anderson were joined by Rod Stradling and Sue Harris (Sue Harris later being replaced by Chris Coe).[1] [3]
The ECBB expanded to become Tiger Moth, an electric country dance band, which lasted from 1984 until 1989.[1]
This was a further expansion of the Tiger Moth line-up, including occasional musicians from around the world, and represented a move away from purely English and American traditions to become one of the first "crossover" world music bands. Alongside Holland and the other Tiger Moth members, line-ups have included such respected international musicians as Flaco Jimenez, Dembo Konte, Kausu Kuyateh, Hijaz Mustapha and Abdul Tee-Jay.
From 1980, Holland, whilst continuing as a member of the ECBB and its successor Tiger Moth, began performing occasionally as a solo artist, singing and accompanying herself on guitar or banjo, performing a mix of modern and traditional British and American songs. She released her first solo album, Still Pause, in 1983.[1] She also occasionally performed as a duo with Chris Coe, including a tour of the far east in 1985.[3] Also in 1985 she was the female lead singer in the National Theatre's three-month run of Tony Harrison's Mysteries trilogy.[1] Holland moved from Farnham to Oxford in 1986.
Holland continued to punctuate her solo career with collaborations with other artists whose work she admired.
In 1987, Holland began to write her first songs, encouraged by Jon Moore, one of her colleagues from Tiger Moth, with whom she had made an EP.
The song was covered by VALVE on their 2023 album Tiny Pilots.[4]
With Moore and Kevin Mason she formed Maggie's Farm in 1986.[1] The band's name is a reference to the Bob Dylan song of that name, Dylan being one of Holland's favourite songwriters. Maggie's Farm toured Bangladesh for the British Council in 1988.[1]
In 1989, she began to play bass in Robb Johnson's band. Holland much admires Johnson's songwriting and has recorded a number of his works.
During 2010, Holland participated in a project featuring the music of Derroll Adams, arranged and directed by Wiet Van Der Liest. The ensemble included seven female singers including Holland who also played five-string banjo, a 13 piece chamber orchestra, guitarist Roland Van Campenhout and Wiet van de Leest on violin. They performed the programme at the Brosella, Gent and Dranouter festivals in 2010.