Angel Delight was written about the period in 1970-1971, when Fairport were living communally at a former pub (The Angel) in the village of Little Hadham, near Ware in Hertfordshire. Most of the band members, their manager and producer are name-checked in the song. "John the Wood" was John Wood, producer, sound engineer and owner of Sound Techniques studios in London, where many of the band's classic albums were recorded. "Dave the Drum" was Dave Mattacks, the band's drummer, "Simon" was founder-member Simon Nicol, rhythm guitarist, after whose father's house the band was named, and "Pegg on the Bass" was Dave Pegg, "new boy" (at the time) and the band's long-serving bassist. "The Mighty Glydd" was Robin Gee who was managing the band at the time (see John Wood's sleeve notes to the "History of" album for confirmation). The identity of "the peacock" is obscure, but it might be Richard Thompson, who was still living with the band at the time, although no longer a member. The song was sung by fiddle maestro Dave Swarbrick, and some of the lyrics are written from his point of view (e.g. the verse beginning "I quite like a breast of chicken...") The line "there's a hole in the wall where a lorry came in" refers to the accident which terminated Fairport's occupancy of The Angel, when an out-of-control lorry crashed into the building one morning, demolishing one wall and narrowly avoiding killing Swarb.