So… Who Am I?

I was born and raised in Liverpool and I started playing music when I was 14.

I used to borrow my sister’s guitar and I taught myself to play it. I started playing mandolin a couple of years later and then my uncle gave me his old fiddle and my love affair with the fiddle began.

There was always singing going on when I was a child, my mum and dad were both good singers. My mum sang when she washed, she sang when she ironed, she sang all the time and she could really tell a story, and I believed all the stories that she sang.

My mum’s dad was a good singer and at family parties he would sing. I liked his singing. He was a good storyteller too.

I wasn’t brought up with instrumental music, it was all singing. My dad had played the guitar when he was young and my granddad played the fiddle and mandolin when he was young, but I never heard either of them play.

It was singing and my dad’s insane humour that I remember.

I turned professional in May 1979 and did a season in Fort William at the famous McTavish’s Kitchen. In 1981 I moved to Edinburgh and joined the Shetland band Hom Bru as their fiddle player, singer and interpreter! I was useless when we toured abroad, no one could understand any of us!

In Edinburgh I hung out with Dick Gaughan and I learned a lot about guitar playing from watching him play.

I moved to London in 1983 and joined Shegui. I only lasted 10 months in London then I moved north to Sheffield. In London I played regularly with Jimmy Power and Reg Hall and I also played a lot with Danny Meehan.

After Shegui I started doing New Variety gigs. I did a lot of shows with the comedian Linda Smith and I developed my own act. I played my own songs and a few fiddle tunes and I did comedy.

I decided to stop doing comedy gigs when Warren Lakin, Linda’s partner, decided to wind down his agency. I did my last comedy gig in Derby, Jo Brand was top of the bill and I had a brilliant night.

I joined Pete Coe’s band, Red Shift in 1985, we made our official debut at Sidmouth Festival. I gigged with Steve Turner and also played in his band along with Bill Martin and Dave Walters. I was also gigging with Patrick Walker and I was teaching fiddle and working solo.

I made my first violin in 1987 and I signed to Harbourtown Records the same year and in 1988 my first solo album was released and it received critical acclaim. I became very busy.

I worked in professional theatre for Major Road Theatre Co. and I toured with them as Musician, Singer, Performer, Composer and Musical Director. I also played the live music for Adrian Henry’s rewritten epic, The Wakefield Mystery Plays, with Andy Roberts as musical director/composer.

In the early 90’s I joined the Tannahill Weavers as their fiddle player and toured Europe with them and played dates in the UK. I toured with them for about a year.

I had a trio with Dave Shaw and Bernard O’Neill, later expanded by the addition of Steve Tilston.

I did loads of festivals all over the UK and Europe and I wore myself out.

As the 90’s progressed my life was getting very difficult, I almost stopped gigging. I did the occasional solo gig and I played dances and did Red Shift gigs and then I left Red Shift. I started working part time for Steve Turner, repairing violins.

I had some big decisions to make and in 1997 I made the biggest decision of my life.

What remained of my music career crumbled away and I couldn’t get enough gigs to keep me so I went on the street busking. It was a very difficult period of my life and it was very hard at times.

Slowly I started to get my life back together and I started gigging with Tom Napper. Tom and I got Ciaran Boyle to join us and we did a lot of gigs together as Napper, Le Faux and Boyle. I left the trio and went back to my solo career and I did a couple of Christmas tours with the Folk Works “Wassail” show with John Kirkpatrick and we made an album.

I was the fiddle tutor at Folk South West’s Easter School workshop at Bath University with Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. I did the Easter School for 3 years running.

In 2001 I had some time off while I made a few adjustments… and then Folk South West commissioned me to write the linking music for their project “Fanfare For The South West”.

John Kirkpatrick arranged the songs and my tunes into a suite and we recorded it and performed it at Sidmouth Arena and also at the Cecil Sharp Festival in Hambridge, which was filmed for a TV documentary called “Sweet Was The Notes”. John and I were interviewed for the program, which was presented by Eliza Carthy.

I was getting busy again and I had started gigging in the USA in 2002. Things were going well until I got a problem with my left hand.

I had 3 Cortisone injections but they didn’t work and I was finding it hard to play the fiddle. I did a gig in the Firth Hall at Sheffield University and I was in so much pain I could hardly play. I limped through the gig but afterwards I was in a lot of pain. I had to cancel my USA tour and all the gigs I had on the books, another setback.

I thought that my musical career was over, so I tried to take myself away from anything musical. I had a lot of time on my hands and I used to be a trout fly fisher when I was young, so I started to go fly fishing again.

I was always good at it when I was young and I seemed to get the knack back very quickly, I won the ELFA National River Championship twice and was runner up twice, not bad for only four attempts. I fished the Commonwealth Championships for the ELFA England team. I also fished for England 2 in the European Championships in Norway in 2007.

During this period the gutter press printed a crass piece about me, it was a very hard and upsetting time and my friends rallied round me, my friends are brilliant.

I set up and ran the fiddle department at the Music Room in Cleckheaton. I ran the department for a few years until I left in 2008.

Up to the point where my hand got too bad to play regularly I ran regular fiddle workshops, which were very successful.

I made a Fiddle Tutor DVD for Folk Academy.

I retired from competition in 2008 but I still work as a river guide and casting instructor.

I rested my hand, only doing occasional gigs and dances and it started getting better. Fortunately, the problem turned out to be temporary and my hand is fine now and I’m gigging again.

Susie Stockton, an old friend and my manager when I was young, came to visit and I played her some demo recordings I had made of my songs. She loved the stuff and nearly 2 years later thanks to Susie, Cherri Graebe, Martin Simpson and Andy Seward, the album is ready.

 

5 Responses to 'So… Who Am I?'

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1. Hi Gina,
   I heard a track played by Mike Harding tonight from one of your CDs but of course can’t remember what it was called. All I know is it was amazing -a brilliant love song. What CD is it from -I’d like to buy it.
   Regards
   Alan

   

   Alan Dunne

   12 Aug 09 at 7:08 pm

    

2. Hi Gina,
   I’m really looking forward to seeing you and Swarb at Middlewich British Legion!
   Sue

   

   Sue Jones

   15 Jan 10 at 3:35 pm

    

3. Thanks Sue,
   I’m really looking forward to it too.
   Gina

   

   Gina Le Faux

   15 Jan 10 at 6:42 pm

    

4. You are brilliant! I am very proud to be your friend, keep up with your great work. xx

   

   Martha Thomson

   21 Feb 10 at 12:04 am

    

5. Thank you Martha. xx

   

   Gina Le Faux

   21 Feb 10 at 2:44 pm

    

 

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