Basic Folk 109 – Steve Tilston

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If you do a web search for Steve Tilston, most of the results will be about John Lennon. Lennon wrote a letter to a young Steve offering him advice, but Steve did not know about the letter until decades later. His story would eventually become the 2015 film Danny Collins starring Al Pacino. Steve’s talked about this subject probably one thousand times and it might be the biggest thing that defines his career. However, there is so much more to talk about with Steve! He’s worked with folk legends Fairport Convention, Bert Jansch, Maggie Boyle, Chris Smither and many more. His latest album, Such Times, has incredible energy and his signature British folk guitar playing.

Steve talks about his partnership with the late Maggie Boyle and how she was instrumental in deepening his interest and knowledge of Irish music. He reflects on how his children’s interest in music has kept him engaged and involved. This is the 50th anniversary of Steve starting up in the music business! We talk about all this…. and yes, we talk about the Lennon letter, too.

‘Crying Shame’ taped live:

Steve’s latest album: