St Agnes Fountain

(Chris Leslie, Chris While, Julie Matthews)  

Affectionately known as ‘The Aggies’ and ‘The Christmas Band’. The beloved ‘St Agnes Fountain’ have toured every December since 2001 bar one, and we all know which one that was! 

Now they are ready to tread the tinsel boards once more this December, bringing Christmas (and a new C.D) to the nation. 

Christmas, as they say, starts with St. Agnes Fountain. Presenting carols with a curve. 

Since their first get together, to record the eponymous St Agnes Fountain album in 2001, the quartet; David Hughes, Fairport Convention’s Chris Leslie and multi award winning duo Chris While and Julie Matthews, have brought musical invention and laughter to the star-dust atmosphere of the season. 

In 2020, David decided to leave the band and very sadly died last year. 

There will never been another quite like him, he was simply a one off. His vision to create traditional Christmas carols with a curve led to the creation of St Agnes Fountain, he was our founding father but he was so much more than that. His unique style of rhythm, of hearing and playing a groove, his satirical wit and sartorial style, his dead pan presence on stage, his beautiful turn of a lyrical phrase. 

One thing we can say without any doubt is that David wouldn’t have wanted to rest in peace, he would want to be putting on his fedora, tapping his foot out to some insane syncopated rhythm and leading us all in a celebration of a life of love, laughter and mirth. 

Chris, Chris and Julie intend to do just that, keeping the Christmas Aggie spirit alive and touring as a trio celebrating 23 years together with some new material, those old Aggie classics and a doff of the fedora to David. 

​Although the albums accompany the putting up of a thousand Christmas trees throughout Britain and around the globe as their reputation reaches further afield, it is, without question, their magical live performances that have endeared them to an ever-growing audience (tickets were again being sold for this year’s tour as the curtain fell last year).