In a world where bands come and go in the blink of an eye, the enduring success of Steeleye Span is one of the great stories in rock music. 2009 will see them celebrate an incredible forty years together, an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that the band has seldom been more active in its career.The current line-up of Maddy Prior, Peter Knight, Rick Kemp, Liam Genockey and Ken Nicol has in fact become the longest serving of any across the years.At a period in their career when most bands are happy to settle down to rehashing past glories, Steeleye Span have pushed on with a succession of acclaimed albums, each seeing them re-define their classic sound. Their fortieth anniversary year will be spent in much the same way as every other; they will play live (two UK tours, plus visits to Australia and USA) and make music, releasing a new album that will typically see them buck their own trend and go back to their roots, the interpretation of traditional song. This though, has always been the Steeleye way. Tied not to the past, the present or the future - simply timeless.