When Fairport Convention re-formed in 1985 after a six-year absence, Mattacks was recruited as drummer. He had already been playing with them again during annual reunions at the fledgling Cropredy Festival. Mattacks remained with Fairport until 1997. He has rejoined them on occasion, such as at Cropredy in 2019, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of Liege & Lief.
Other works
He began as a trainee piano-tuner before taking up the drums. He played with several jazzbands before joining Fairport Convention.[4]
Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician and as a performing artist. Apart from playing the drums, he is also a proficient keyboard player and occasionally played the bass guitar on studio recordings.[5][6]
He also established himself as a touring drummer for Richard Thompson, playing on several of Thompson's studio albums.
In 1998, he moved to Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States, where he is a sought-after studio musician, record producer, and member of the band Super Genius, while still touring regularly with various acts in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia.
