Gay & Terry Woods

"Backwoods" 1975

















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.