Editing Fairport Convention (section)

===1986–1997: Stability===
The new band began a hectic schedule of performing in Britain and the world and prepared material for a new album. The result was the all-instrumental ''[[Expletive Delighted!]]'' (1986). This showcased the virtuosity of Sanders and Allcock, but perhaps inevitably was not popular with all fans. This was followed by the recording ''[[In Real Time: Live '87]]'' which managed to capture the energy and power of the new Fairport on stage, despite the fact that it was recorded in the studio with audience reactions dubbed on.{{sfn|Redwood|Woodward|1995|pp=34–35}}

In this period the band were playing to larger and larger audiences, both on tour and at Cropredy, and it was very productive in terms of recording. Fairport had the considerable composing and arranging skills of Allcock and, to fill the gap created by a lack of a songwriter in the band, they turned to some of the most talented available in the contemporary folk scene. The results were ''[[Red & Gold]]'' (1989) ''[[The Five Seasons]]'' (1990) and ''[[Jewel in the Crown (album)|Jewel in the Crown]]'' (1995), the last of which was judged "their bestselling and undoubtedly finest album in years."<ref>[https://www.nme.com/artists/fairport-convention NME online retrieved on 13 January 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202123834/http://www.nme.com/artists/fairport-convention |date=2 February 2009}}.</ref>

At this point, with Mattacks busy with other projects, the band shifted to an acoustic format for touring and released the [[acoustic music|unplugged]] ''[[Old New Borrowed Blue]]'' as "Fairport Acoustic Convention" in 1996. For a while the four-piece acoustic line-up ran in parallel with the electric format. When Allcock left the band, he was replaced by [[Chris Leslie (folk musician)|Chris Leslie]] on vocals, [[mandolin]] and fiddle, who formerly worked with Swarbrick in Whippersnapper, and had a one-off stint with the band replacing Ric Sanders for 1992 Cropredy Festival. This meant that for the first time since reforming, the band had a recognized songwriter who contributed significantly to the band's output on the next album [[Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (Fairport Convention album)|''Who Knows Where the Time Goes?'']] (1997), particularly the rousing "John Gaudie". By the time of the 30th anniversary Festival at Cropredy in 1997, the new Fairport had been in existence for over a decade and contributed a significant chapter to the history of the band.<ref>As commemorated in ''[[The Cropredy Box]]'' triple-CD set (1998).</ref>