Gay Woods

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Gay Woods (b September 1948) is an Irish singer. She was one of the original members of Steeleye Span.

Early years

Gabriel Corcoran was born in Dublin, a neighbour of her future husband Terry Woods (b 1947). Her elder brothers shared Woods' love of hillbilly music and blues. Corcoran and Woods performed together in 1963 at Dublin's Neptune Rowing club and got married in May 1968. Performing as a duo, they sang Carter Family songs and occasionally Irish songs. Terry Woods became a member of Sweeney's Men, who played English and American folk music, plus their own compositions. That summer the band performed at Cambridge Folk Festival. Gay Woods was not in the band. The following summer, the couple went to Keele folk festival where Woods met up with Ashley Hutchings who was then still with Fairport Convention. Terry Woods and Hutchings had an instant rapport.

Steeleye Span, 1969-1970

The first tentative rehearsal for the new band which was to become Steeleye Span took place in early November 1969. Johnny Moynihan, the Woods, Andy Irvine (back from his travels in the Balkans) and Hutchings met at the Prince of Wales pub in Highgate. The following day, Moynihan said he wouldn't be joining Steeleye because of his dislike of Terry Woods. Irvine also dropped out, resuming his solo career prior to meeting Dónal Lunny, with whom he would soon form a duo. To replace them, Hutchings then asked Bob and Carol Pegg, then the Dransfield brothers, and finally Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, who accepted. Hutchings' departure from Fairport Convention became public in the NME on 22 November 1969.