Judith Aileen Dyble (13 February 1949 – 12 July 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, most notable for being a vocalist and a founding member of Fairport Convention and Trader Horne. In addition, she and Ian McDonald joined and recorded several tracks with Giles, Giles and Fripp, who later became King Crimson.
Dyble's first band was Judy and The Folkmen (which existed between 1964 and 1966). She then became the original vocalist with Fairport Convention from 1967 to 1968. In November 1966 Ashley 'Tyger' Hutchings asked her to sing and play with himself, Richard Thompson, and Simon Nicol. This became the nucleus of Fairport Convention, initially with Shaun Frater as a drummer and later Martin Lamble. The group recorded their first album with her, their repertoire at the time consisting of American singer-songwriter works, plus originals. The first single was a cover of a 1930s American song, "If I Had a Ribbon Bow". The band covered and re-worked numerous American recordings with the band members choosing some tracks to work with from manager Joe Boyd's record collection. The band also picked up on the works of Joni Mitchell before she was known in the UK, and covered two of her songs on their first album, Fairport Convention.
Fairport's early live shows in London in the late 1960s saw Dyble share stages with acts such as Jimi Hendrix, and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. She guested on The Incredible String Band's 1968 album The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (on "The Minotaur's Song"), and on G. F. Fitz-Gerald's 1970 album Mouseproof (on "Ashes of an Empire"). After her stint with Fairport Convention, Dyble joined the English pop band Giles, Giles and Fripp by advertising in Melody Maker. Dyble contributed to demo recordings for the group. Giles, Giles, and Fripp would later evolve into the foundation progressive rock band King Crimson.
Dyble would go on to become one half of the duo Trader Horne, with ex-Them member Jackie McAuley. The duo signed to Dawn (a subsidiary of Pye Records) releasing one album, Morning Way, in 1969, and two highly prized, collectible vinyl singles. Dyble wrote the title track, "Morning Way" and co-wrote "Velvet to Atone" with Martin Quittenton for the album. She also worked with Lol Coxhill, Phil Miller and his brother Steve in a group called DC & the MBs (Dyble, Coxhill and the Miller Brothers) or Penguin Dust.
At the 1981 Fairport Convention Annual Reunion (held that year at Broughton Castle), Dyble appeared on stage as a surprise guest: backed by Fairport's Full House lineup, she sang Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, Now" and the Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved". She also appeared as a guest in 1982 (A Week-End in The Country), 1997 (30th anniversary), 2002 (35th anniversary) and 2007 (40th anniversary). Dyble died on 12 July 2020 at the age of 71 due to lung cancer.
