Maddy Prior talks to Hannah Worrall about 22nd studio album Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett, hot water bottles and festivals.

What can audiences can expect from your 2015 tour?

A mixture of new and old. The set list hasn’t been finalised, but we are working on a new album and perhaps there will be something from that. We have a large back catalogue and of course there will be music from the Wintersmith album, which was written in collaboration with Sir Terry Pratchett.

What do you enjoy most about touring?

The playing and the music. The whole point to being on the road is to do the gig. It has its good bits and bad bits – terrific highs and some fairly boring times as well.

Which home comforts do you take with you on the road?

A hot water bottle.

What’s the most embarrassing or problematic thing that’s happened on stage during a Steeleye Span concert?

The ceiling falling in on a gig somewhere up north. At the Hammersmith Odeon, the safety curtain had to be dropped halfway through the gig. It had got hooked onto the lighting rig. The show was delayed for an hour and half, and nothing was said to the audience.

What would you attribute the band’s longevity to?

The material has held the band together, and traditional music. It has a rationale to exist.

How did the collaboration with Sir Terry Pratchett come about?

At his 60th birthday party, he suggested looking at his book Wintersmith and it went from there. In effect, he just said one or two things. He guided us and then he heard it and was thrilled. One of our tracks was his Desert Island Disc – Thomas The Rhymer.

What do you think of the current folk rock scene?

There is a massive raft of young players coming up who are very good. They were brought up through folk festivals.

How would you describe the Steeleye Span journey from the 1960s to 2015?

It’s been a lifetime. It’s like all of life – great highs with big stadiums in America with Jethro Tull, doing Top of the Pops when it was the only music show on TV. The success in the pop world was fun but we are an album band and that is where our interests lie. How would you convince a non-folk fan to get into folk? Go to a festival for a weekend and open your ears to it. There are all kinds of folk music. Traditional music has many interesting stories. If you take away the transport system and the clothes, people behave much the same as they have always done.

Would the band ever consider showering their audience with money like they did at a 1976 gig in London?

Can’t afford it!

  • Steeleye Span play the Beck Theatre, Grange Road, Hayes on Tuesday, February 17 at 7.30pm. Details: 020 8561 8371, becktheatre.org.uk