Podcast appearances and mentions of Norma Waterson

For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

Enjoy this classic episode from August 2018Eliza Carthy inherited her love of English music from her famous folk singing parents, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. Norma had recently suffered a serious illness and Eliza moved back to the family home in the North Yorkshire fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay to look after her. Eliza takes Matthew on a walk along the cliffs near her home, reflecting on her family heritage and then on to the farm where the whole extended family used to live when she was a child. Martin, Norma and Eliza's aunt Ann and cousin Marry gather at the kitchen table for a rousing and emotional sing.---We rely on support from our listeners to keep this show on the road. If you like what we do please either...Become a member and get great rewards: patreon.com/folkonfootOr just buy us a coffee: ko-fi.com/folkonfootSign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.comFollow us on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot---Find out more about Eliza at https://eliza-carthy.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 24.  The second half of the conversation with Séamus Finneran about his adventures in music promotion. Discussion includes the merchant navy, getting a resident visa in Australia, setting up a tour, Seamus Eagan - Sufferin' Gales, Willie Creedan, Martin Hayes, Michael Flatley,  Helen Bommarito, Davy Spillane, San Francisco Celtic Festival, Eddie Stack, Peter O'Neill, The Plough & Stars, Randall Bays,  Port Fairy Folk Festival, The Brunswick Music Festival, The National Celtic Festival, The National Folk Festival, setting up a tour from the opposite side of the planet,  Green Linnet Records, the importance of reflecting after booking a tour, Eilish O'Connor, Kieran Halpin, Jackie Daley, Maura O'Keefe, The Three Weeds venue Sydney, Dennis Cahill, The Guinness Tour, John Nicholls, Donal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, Altan, Mary Black, The Irish Echo paper, promoting gigs, hiring publicists, booking a tour, booking jazz clubs, The Basement Sydney, Lúnasa, being the inspiration for putting Lúnasa together, booking their first gig which was headlining a festival, Trevor Hutchinson, Donogh Hennessey, Blue Mountains Folk Festival, Bob Charter, Gaynor Crawford,  Jaslyn Hall, The World Music Show, Triple J station, Sydney Morning Herald, Seamus Begley, Jim Murray, John Dunford, Fergus Lenahan, Sydney Recital Hall, The Masters Of Tradition, Dave Power, Steve Cooney, Máirtín O'Connor, Cathal Hayden, Seamie O'Dowd, selling out the Sydney Opera House twice, Jim Murray, Jack Maher, Maureen, Canice Mills, Alan Connor, Paul Brady, Shooglenifty, Andy M. Stewart, Gerry O'Beirne, Breaking Trad, Donall Murphy, Niall Murphy, Mike Gavin, The Rambling Boys, Sean Smith, David Munnelly, Alan Burke, Gino Lupari, Capercaillie, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Dick Gaughan, Mary Coughlan, Balfa Toujours, Paul Kelly, The Lyric Theatre Sydney, Bruce Giles, Chris Richards, Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald,  Paul Brady and his most emotional concert, Crowded House, Seabill Hotel, Neil Finn, Mary Coughlan, James Delaney, Big Pond's foray into streaming, Monday, Clare O'Meara, Paddy Keenan, Sean Tyrrell, Susan O'Neill, Mick Flannery, The Landsdowne Club, Shooglenifty and more!

Episode 23.  A conversation with Séamus Finneran about his adventures in music promotion. Discussion includes the merchant navy, getting a resident visa in Australia, setting up a tour, Seamus Eagan - Sufferin' Gales, Willie Creedan, Martin Hayes, Michael Flatley,  Helen Bommarito, Davy Spillane, San Francisco Celtic Festival, Eddie Stack, Peter O'Neill, The Plough & Stars, Randall Bays,  Port Fairy Folk Festival, The Brunswick Music Festival, The National Celtic Festival, The National Folk Festival, setting up a tour from the opposite side of the planet,  Green Linnet Records, the importance of reflecting after booking a tour, Eilish O'Connor, Kieran Halpin, Jackie Daley, Maura O'Keefe, The Three Weeds venue Sydney, Dennis Cahill, The Guinness Tour, John Nicholls, Donal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, Altan, Mary Black, The Irish Echo paper, promoting gigs, hiring publicists, booking a tour, booking jazz clubs, The Basement Sydney, Lúnasa, being the inspiration for putting Lúnasa together, booking their first gig which was headlining a festival, Trevor Hutchinson, Donogh Hennessey, Blue Mountains Folk Festival, Bob Charter, Gaynor Crawford,  Jaslyn Hall, The World Music Show, Triple J station, Sydney Morning Herald, Seamus Begley, Jim Murray, John Dunford, Fergus Lenahan, Sydney Recital Hall, The Masters Of Tradition, Dave Power, Steve Cooney, Máirtín O'Connor, Cathal Hayden, Seamie O'Dowd, selling out the Sydney Opera House twice, Jim Murray, Jack Maher, Maureen, Canice Mills, Alan Connor, Paul Brady, Shooglenifty, Andy M. Stewart, Gerry O'Beirne, Breaking Trad, Donall Murphy, Niall Murphy, Mike Gavin, The Rambling Boys, Sean Smith, David Munnelly, Alan Burke, Gino Lupari, Capercaillie, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Dick Gaughan, Mary Coughlan, Balfa Toujours, Paul Kelly, The Lyric Theatre Sydney, Bruce Giles, Chris Richards, Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald,  Paul Brady and his most emotional concert, Crowded House, Seabill Hotel, Neil Finn, Mary Coughlan, James Delaney, Big Pond's foray into streaming, Monday, Clare O'Meara, Paddy Keenan, Sean Tyrrell, Susan O'Neill, Mick Flannery, The Landsdowne Club, Shooglenifty and more!

Musician Eliza Carthy was born into an English folk dynasty. The daughter of acclaimed folk singers Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she joined the family business at a young age as a singer and violinist, playing with her parents as Waterson Carthy and with her mother, her aunt Lal and her cousin Marry as The Waterdaughters. As a solo artist and bandleader, Eliza has explored the roots of folk and expanded the repertoire. Awarded an MBE in 2014, she was twice nominated for the Mercury Prize for album of the year, and in 2021 became the president of the English Folk Dance and Music Society. She tells John Wilson about the first time she attended the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in 1989, aged 13. Standing on the main stage at sunset overlooking the mountains and sea was a defining moment at the start of her career. She also discusses the influence that singer Billy Bragg and Scottish folk rock band Shooglenifty had on her music. Eliza also talks about the impact of the pandemic on the folk music community and the personal loss of her mother. Producer: Edwina Pitman

Eliza Carthy is celebrating 30 years as a professional musician with a new album, Queen of the Whirl. She talks about this, the legacy of her musical family – as the daughter of Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy – the way traditional music develops, and her own song-writing, and performs live in the Front Row studio. Double Palme d'Or winning Swedish director Ruben Östlund tells Samira about his first English language film, Triangle of Sadness - a satire on the fashion industry, influencer culture, and the world of the super-rich. Plus the threat to brutalist architecture. Last year the Dorman Long Tower in Redcar was demolished, and now the Kirkgate Shopping centre in Birmingham is condemned too. Brutalist architecture provokes both love as well as hate, but around the country its buildings are in peril. Author John Grindrod and Duncan Wilson from Historic England discuss how much is being lost, and if it matters. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Julian May Photo: Eliza Carthy. Credit: Elodie Kowalski

'Shallow Brown' [Roud 2621] is a much-loved and rather mysterious traditional folk song. Collected on both coasts of the United States, as well as the South coast of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Canada, the most common versions of this mesmerising sea shanty hint at heart-breaking experiences of the transatlantic slave trade. In this, the fourth episode of the second series of The Old Songs Podcast, folk singers Angeline Morrison and Jon Wilks discuss the song's known history, the singers and collectors involved with it, and their own experiences of first hearing and performing the song. LinksOver the course of the episode, Angeline Morrison and Jon Wilks mention the following links:The English Folk Dance and Song Society‘Shallow Brown' [Roud 2621] on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library websiteThe Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du BoisShanties from the Seven Seas by Stan HugillTrack listing‘Shallow Brown', performed by Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith'Shallow Brown', performed by Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy & the Gift Band'Shallow Brown', performed by John Francis Flynn'Shallow Brown', performed by June Tabor'Shallow Brown', performed by Sting'Shallow Brown', performed by Angeline Morrison exclusively for The Old Songs PodcastFor more info on Angeline Morrison, head to angelinemorrisonmusic.bandcamp.com

On this episode of The Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I chat to an incredible folk musician who is celebrating her 30th career anniversary in 2022. Eliza Carthy MBE is, without doubt, an innovator and leading light of England's folk scene - an amazing solo artist, band member, singer, songwriter and fiddle player. Eliza rose to prominence in the mid-1990s both as a solo artist and a member of Waterson-Carthy, the group she formed with her parents, folk icons Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy (Martin himself played with Paul on the album True Meanings in 2018). She has covered Paul Weller's Wild Wood for her LP Angels and Cigarettes, played with him on Studio 150 and with The Imagined Village and has performed live on stage with Paul for a BBC4 session - so plenty of lovely stories to hear on this one. Find out more in the show notes for this podcast at paulwellerfanpodcast.com/episode-108-eliza-carthy If you enjoy this episode of the podcast - please share on your social media channels - and leave a review and if you want to support the podcast financially, you can buy me a virtual coffee at paulwellerfanpodcast.com/store  

The Crossing No.37 from RaidersBroadcast.com as aired in March 2022, featuring music from across the world, including music from the late, great Norma Waterson, and features from Africa and Iceland. TRACK LISTING: ; ; Dust My Broom - Taj Mahal; Drifting - Jimi Hendrix; Djiby - Amy Koita ; Te Quiero (de la Habana a Brazzaville) - Congolero; Hard Times Heart - Norma Waterson; Flowers of Knaresborough Forest - Norma Waterson; Pagan Poetry - Bjork; Illgresi - Sigur Ros; El Condor Pasa - Simon and Garfunkel; Dulce Retono - APU; Grace Darling - Norma Waterson; Black Buddy River - Norma Waterson; Sad Lisa - Cat Stevens; Gypsy - Suzanne Vega.

Favoritos de febrero + Territorios célticos y nórdicos February favorites + Celtic and Nordic lands Comenzamos con los favoritos de Mundofonías de febrero del 2022, con los discos que nos traen Choduraa Tumat, desde Tuvá, Vigüela, desde Castilla y Kreiz Breizh Akademi #8, desde Bretaña. Y por esas tierras célticas continuamos, por Bretaña y Escocia, para saltar también a Inglaterra, Bélgica, Suecia, Dinamarca y Noruega, con nuevas músicas que nos llegan de esos territorios y el homenaje a la gran Norma Waterson. We begin with the Mundofonías' February 2022 favorites, with the albums brought to us by Choduraa Tumat from Tuva, Vigüela, from Castile and Kreiz Breizh Akademi #8, from Brittany. And through these Celtic lands we continue, through Brittany and Scotland, to jump also to England, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, with new music coming from those territories and a tribute to the great Norma Waterson. Favoritos de febrero February favorites Choduraa Tumat - Törelderim kövei kövei (I have so many relatives) - Byzaanchy Vigüela - Sones para el baile a tres (Sones for the dance in trio) - A la manera artesana Kreiz Breizh Akademi #8 - La délaissée - Ba'n dañs Territorios célticos y nórdicos Celtic and Nordic lands Startijenn - Backpaker - Talm ur galon Rudolphe Burger & Erik Marchand - Nuit albanaise - Glück auf! Dlù - Anmoch - Moch Norma Waterson - Moving on song - The joy of life: A tribute to Ewan MacColl [V.A.] Annbjørg Lien - Prince purple - Janus (Kreiz Breizh Akademi #8 - J'ai fait un amant lanlire - Ba'n dañs)

This week we look at the situation in Ukraine, Canada, Covid, the Barrier Reef, the Sultan of Brunei, Colombia and abortion; Billionaire divorce settlement;  Bamber Gascogne; the bizarre reaction to the death of Christopher Stalford; Growing old in Japan;  the Bible in China; Jordan Peterson on Evil; and a beautiful old folk Gospel song from Norma Waterson.  

A special show to celebrate the life, music and influence of Norma Waterson (1939-2022) An archive or a live broadcast on Radio23.org.

                 Copperplate Time 388               Presented by Alan O'Leary  http;//www.copperplatemailorder.com                         1. Bothy Band: Green Groves of Erin/Flowers of Red Hill.   After Hours 2. Gerry Diver:  The Bath Set    Diversions 3. Dezi Donnelly & Mike McGoldrick:     Wheels of  the World/Paddy Murphy's Wife.   Dog in the Fog 4. Deanta:  Ready for the Storm.   Joyful Noise 5. Dan Brouder:  Old Maids of Galway/A Letter From Home/Mickey Rattley's.  The Lark's Air 6. Ben & Brian Lennon:           Miss McGuinness/Lucky in Love.               Within A Mile of Kilty 2 7.  Caoimhin O'Fearghaill:             May McMahon/Reel of Mullinavat.                     Uilleann Piping from Co Waterford 8.  Pat  McMahon & Ned Coleman:          Pat McMahon's Jigs.   Music from Galway 9.  Kevin Conniff/The Chieftains:    Changing Your Demeanour.   Long Black Veil 10. Moving Cloud: Chinese Polka/William Durette's Clog/Boys of the Lough.           Moving Cloud 1   11. Seamus Creagh:    In Praise of Mullingar.          It's No Secret 12. Creagh/Daly/Coffey:   Quinn's Polka/The Church Polka.  Island to Island 13. Seamus Quinn & Gary Hastings:            Maids of Castlebar/The Morning Star.              Slan le Lough Eirne 14. Tommy Reck: The Kilfrush/Trip to Durrow.             Fire Draw Near 15. Aggie Whyte: The Rookery/Gallaghers Frolics/Maid at the Spinning Wheel.                       Valuable Treasure 16. Kev Boyle:  Bon Cabbage.   Palestine Grove 17. Ben Lennon & Friends:            Return of Spring/The Mountain Pathway.           The Natural Bridge 18.  Christy Moore:            Clock Winds Downn.  Flying Into Mystery 19. Tommy Guihen: Darby's Farewell/Father O'Grady's Trip to Bocca/ Baltimore Salute.           The Torn Jacket 20. Norma Waterson:         Joseph Locke.  The Very Thought of You 21. Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill:               Bucks of Oranmore/Eileen Curran/Jimmy on the Moor.   Joyful Noise 22. Oysterband:   The Corner of the Room .             Read The Sky 23. Bothy Band:   Green Groves of Erin/Flowers of Red Hill.   After Hours

Plenty of new music today, from Africa, Tuva, Spain, Italy, Canada, USA, Scotland, and Ireland. Plus Part 3 of my homage to Norma Waterson, Rogue previews for Dalannah Gail Bowen and Gary Comeau's great bands, and a truly stunning anthem from Janis Ian

                  Copperplate Time 387                Presented by Alan O'Lear           www.copperplatemailorder.com 1. The Bothy Band:   Green Groves of Erin/Flowers of Red Hill.   After Hours 2. Danu:   The Highest Hill in Sligo Set.                   When All is Said & Done 3. Gerry O'Connor: Tom Billy's Jigs.             No Place like Home 4. The Baileys: The Star of the County Down.            A Song for Ireland 5. The Drunken Gaughers:     The Drunken Gauger/O'Sullivan's March/  Humours of Aylehouse.  The Drunken Gaugers 6. Michael Sheehy: The Worn Torn Petticoat/Scattery Island/The Kaiser.                The Cat's Rambles 7.  Gerry Harrington:            The Upperchurch Polkas.   At Home 8.  Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh/Danu:     Farewell Angelina.  When All is Said & Done 9.  Kathleen Loughnane:             Clancy's Pol Ha'penny.   Harp to Heart 10. Paddy O'Brien & Seamus Connolly:          The Arragh Mountains/Father Burke's.                  The Banks of the Shannon 11. Charlie Lennon: The Pride of Rathmore/The Ballinamore Reel.            Within A Mile of Kilty 2 12. Angelina Carberry & Dan Brouder:    The Night of Fun/The Spree/ Sir Roger de      Coverley.  Back in Time 13. Christy Moore:            Myra's Caboose.   Flying Into Mystery 14. Willie Clancy:    An Buachaillín Donn.        My True Love He Dwells on the Mountain 15. Kevin Burke & John Carthy:         Paddy Fahy's/The Foxhunters   Sligo Made 16. John Bowe & Mary Conroy:               The Drunken Sailor.  John Bowe 17. Gerry O'Beirne:           The Shades of Gloria.   Half Moon Bay 18. Micho Russell:  The Mason's Apron/Gan Ainm. The Man From Clare19. Seamus McGuire & Steve Cooney:                 Paddy Fahy's 18 & 8.  An Irish Viola 20.Norma Waterson:   The Flower of Sweet Strabane.  Bright Shiny Morning 21. Mick, Aoife O'Brien & Emer Mayock:  Reel 97/The Tinker's Frolic/Light Horse Reel.   Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts 22. The Bothy Band:   Green Groves of Erin/Flowers of Red Hill.   After Hours

Matthew Bannister on Bamber Gascoigne, the broadcaster and author best known as the long serving host of the TV quiz show 'University Challenge'. Norma Waterson, the revered singer who was part of the Waterson Carthy dynasty that played a leading role in the English folk revival. We have a personal tribute from her husband Martin Carthy and daughter Eliza Carthy. Claire Tomlinson, who broke down barriers to become one of the UK's best polo players. Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese-born Buddhist monk known as the 'father of mindfulness'. Producer: Neil George Interviewed guest: Christina Gascoigne Interviewed guest: Wasfi Kani Interviewed guest: Martin Carthy Interviewed guest: Eliza Carthy Interviewed guest: Mark Tomlinson Interviewed guest: Brother Phap Huu Interviewed guest: Jeff Wilson Archive clips used: BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs 01/11/1987; Granada TV, University Challenge 01/09/1987; BBC Two, The Young Ones - Bambi 08/05/1984; Granada TV, The Christians e03 The Birth of Europe 16/08/1977; BBC Radio 3, Music Matters 31/03/2018; BBC Radio 4, The King of Games 21/08/1984; BBC SOUND ARCHIVE, Hurlingham vs Scotland 02/09/1980; YouTube / Is Secret, Namo Avalokiteshvara Plum Village Chanting 13/08/2014; BBC Two, Arena: Stories My Country Told Me 14/07/1996.

46☆30☆84 Music and chat from the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland, with music from Norma Waterson, Tim Buckley, Esther Smith and more --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/46-30/support

It's catch-up time. This Invisible Folk Club radio show went out live to five community stations across England and Europe. Jon Bickley presents the show, Steve Yarwood is Producer. While preparing for our next radio show we received the sad news of Norma Waterson's passing. We immediately scrapped what we were doing and decided to run with a Waterson & Carthy special. The music will do the talking. https://invisiblefolkclub.com/ has a listening guide to our show Norma Waterson - Bright Shiny Morning Norma Waterson - Black Muddy River Norma & Lal Waterson - Betsy Belle Eliza Carthy - Worcester City Eliza & Martin Carthy - Waking Dreams (Awake,Awake) Martin Carthy - Scarborough Fair Norma Waterson - Movin' On Song Norma Waterson & Martin Carthy - Death and the Lady Watersons - Hal-An-Tow Mike Waterson - Rubber Band Lal Waterson - Fine Horseman Mike & Lal Waterson - Bright Phoebus Norma Waterson & Martin Carthy - Red Wine and Promises Brass Monkey - Fable of the Wings Watersons - Seven Virgins (The Leaves of Life) Watersons - The Plains of Mexico

Katie plays a track from Grace Cummings' stunning new album, pays tribute to the late, great English folk singer Norma Waterson, enjoys a new guitar piece from D.C Cross, blisses... LEARN MORE The post Never alone – Show #231 (part 2), 6 February 2022 appeared first on Miss Chatelaine.

In this episode we welcome the excellent Kate Mossman to our state-of-the-art recording suite and ask her about her writing career and musical passions. She talks about working with Mark Ellen at The Word and about her current employer the New Statesman, and Jasper quotes from a recent Statesman piece she wrote about her secret passion for jazz fusion.Kate's interview with "mean old daddy" Cary Raditz affords her the chance to talk about her beloved Joni Mitchell and the classic Blue song Raditz inspired. Joni's request to follow Neil Young's lead and have Blue and other albums removed from Spotify prompts discussion of the streaming platform's headaches in the wake of Joe Rogan's COVID disinformation.Another of Kate's Statesman pieces, about Lou Reed, gives her and co-hosts Mark & Barney the perfect excuse to riff on Reed's notoriously sadistic treatment of British interviewers — and the cue for Mark to talk about Martin Aston's 1989 audio interview with the ex-Velvets man. From there we turn to Lou's fellow contrarian Morrissey and the "severed alliance" between him and former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr. With the latter releasing a new album this month, Kate and the RBP crew reflect on the very different personalities (and values) of the two Mancunians.After noting the passing of folk matriarch Norma Waterson, Mark references recently-added library pieces about Sam Cooke, Todd Rundgren and the late Janice Long. Jasper then finishes things off with observations on pieces about Glass Animals and Adele.Many thanks to special guest Kate Mossman; find her writing in the New Statesman and on RBP.Pieces discussed: Jazz fusion, Carey Raditz, Lou Reed, Lou Reed audio, Johnny Marr, the Smiths, Morrissey, Norma Waterson, Sam Cooke, Scott Walker, Steve Paul, Nona Hendryx, Vicki Wickham, Black Sabbath, Todd Rundgren, Janice Long, Laura Barton's heckler's guide, Glass Animals and Adele.

In this episode we welcome the excellent Kate Mossman to our state-of-the-art recording suite and ask her about her writing career and musical passions. She talks about working with Mark Ellen at The Word and about her current employer the New Statesman, and Jasper quotes from a recent Statesman piece she wrote about her secret passion for jazz fusion. Kate's interview with "mean old daddy" Cary Raditz affords her the chance to talk about her beloved Joni Mitchell and the classic Blue song Raditz inspired. Joni's request to follow Neil Young's lead and have Blue and other albums removed from Spotify prompts discussion of the streaming platform's headaches in the wake of Joe Rogan's COVID disinformation. Another of Kate's Statesman pieces, about Lou Reed, gives her and co-hosts Mark & Barney the perfect excuse to riff on Reed's notoriously sadistic treatment of British interviewers — and the cue for Mark to talk about Martin Aston's 1989 audio interview with the ex-Velvets man. From there we turn to Lou's fellow contrarian Morrissey and the "severed alliance" between him and former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr. With the latter releasing a new album this month, Kate and the RBP crew reflect on the very different personalities (and values) of the two Mancunians. After noting the passing of folk matriarch Norma Waterson, Mark references recently-added library pieces about Sam Cooke, Todd Rundgren and the late Janice Long. Jasper then finishes things off with observations on pieces about Glass Animals and Adele. Many thanks to special guest Kate Mossman; find her writing in the New Statesman and on RBP. Pieces discussed: Jazz fusion, Carey Raditz, Lou Reed, Lou Reed audio, Johnny Marr, the Smiths, Morrissey, Norma Waterson, Sam Cooke, Scott Walker, Steve Paul, Nona Hendryx, Vicki Wickham, Black Sabbath, Todd Rundgren, Janice Long, Laura Barton's heckler's guide, Glass Animals and Adele. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we welcome the excellent Kate Mossman to our state-of-the-art recording suite and ask her about her writing career and musical passions. She talks about working with Mark Ellen at The Word and about her current employer the New Statesman, and Jasper quotes from a recent Statesman piece she wrote about her secret passion for jazz fusion.Kate's interview with "mean old daddy" Cary Raditz affords her the chance to talk about her beloved Joni Mitchell and the classic Blue song Raditz inspired. Joni's request to follow Neil Young's lead and have Blue and other albums removed from Spotify prompts discussion of the streaming platform's headaches in the wake of Joe Rogan's COVID disinformation.Another of Kate's Statesman pieces, about Lou Reed, gives her and co-hosts Mark & Barney the perfect excuse to riff on Reed's notoriously sadistic treatment of British interviewers — and the cue for Mark to talk about Martin Aston's 1989 audio interview with the ex-Velvets man. From there we turn to Lou's fellow contrarian Morrissey and the "severed alliance" between him and former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr. With the latter releasing a new album this month, Kate and the RBP crew reflect on the very different personalities (and values) of the two Mancunians.After noting the passing of folk matriarch Norma Waterson, Mark references recently-added library pieces about Sam Cooke, Todd Rundgren and the late Janice Long. Jasper then finishes things off with observations on pieces about Glass Animals and Adele.Many thanks to special guest Kate Mossman; find her writing in the New Statesman and on RBP.Pieces discussed: Jazz fusion, Carey Raditz, Lou Reed, Lou Reed audio, Johnny Marr, the Smiths, Morrissey, Norma Waterson, Sam Cooke, Scott Walker, Steve Paul, Nona Hendryx, Vicki Wickham, Black Sabbath, Todd Rundgren, Janice Long, Laura Barton's heckler's guide, Glass Animals and Adele.

In this episode we welcome the excellent Kate Mossman to our state-of-the-art recording suite and ask her about her writing career and musical passions. She talks about working with Mark Ellen at The Word and about her current employer the New Statesman, and Jasper quotes from a recent Statesman piece she wrote about her secret passion for jazz fusion. Kate's interview with "mean old daddy" Cary Raditz affords her the chance to talk about her beloved Joni Mitchell and the classic Blue song Raditz inspired. Joni's request to follow Neil Young's lead and have Blue and other albums removed from Spotify prompts discussion of the streaming platform's headaches in the wake of Joe Rogan's COVID disinformation. Another of Kate's Statesman pieces, about Lou Reed, gives her and co-hosts Mark & Barney the perfect excuse to riff on Reed's notoriously sadistic treatment of British interviewers — and the cue for Mark to talk about Martin Aston's 1989 audio interview with the ex-Velvets man. From there we turn to Lou's fellow contrarian Morrissey and the "severed alliance" between him and former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr. With the latter releasing a new album this month, Kate and the RBP crew reflect on the very different personalities (and values) of the two Mancunians. After noting the passing of folk matriarch Norma Waterson, Mark references recently-added library pieces about Sam Cooke, Todd Rundgren and the late Janice Long. Jasper then finishes things off with observations on pieces about Glass Animals and Adele. Many thanks to special guest Kate Mossman; find her writing in the New Statesman and on RBP. Pieces discussed: Jazz fusion, Carey Raditz, Lou Reed, Lou Reed audio, Johnny Marr, the Smiths, Morrissey, Norma Waterson, Sam Cooke, Scott Walker, Steve Paul, Nona Hendryx, Vicki Wickham, Black Sabbath, Todd Rundgren, Janice Long, Laura Barton's heckler's guide, Glass Animals and Adele.

Remembering English folk singer Norma Waterson, looking to the future with Deutsche Grammophon President Clemens Trautmann, and a spacious electroacoustic album from drummer Maria Moles.

A bumper 4 1/2 hour program with some hot new releases, some of my all-time favourites, some concert previews and a bunch of anecdotes about my own personal history in radio, and the thoughts of a few other CiTR DJs as we celebrate 85 years on the air! That's 15 more than a certain monarch! Speaking of queens, the "queen of English folk music", Norma Waterson, passed away this week. I am absolutely mortified at her passing. She was like a mother to everyone who presented or played folk music. So, a few of my favourite Norma Waterson vocal tracks - and I'll have a big feature on her next week.

Wir ehren die englische Folksängerin Norma Waterson, entdecken jüdische Musik aus Marokko, Siebenbürgen und Moldova, Bluesschätze aus Texas, Afrobeat, Karibisches und ein polnisches Wiegenlied, Grit Friedrich moderiert.

For my last mix for this year, I have selected 14 songs from some of the albums I have most listened to during this year. I hope it makes sense to you as it does to me. PLAYLIST DECEMBER MIX 2021 1- JOAQUIN PASCUAL Y LA ORQUESTA DESCACHARRADA - Diligencia UFO (from the album “La Frontera Scores”; 2018 Grabaenelmar) 2- TURZI - Cygne (from the album “C”; 2014 Record Makers) 3- SHAWN LEE'S PING PONG ORCHESTRA - The Message PT. 3 (from the album “Strings & Things”; 2006 Ubiquity) 4- the new ROTARY CONNECTION - Song for Everyman (from the album “Hey Love”; 1971 Cadet Concept Records) 5- NORMA WATERSON - Rags and Old Iron (from the album “Norma Waterson”; 1996 Hannibal, Rykodisc) 6- WOODS - Love Is Love (from the mini album “Love is Love”; 2017 Woodsist Records) 7- YO LA TENGO - All your secrets (from the album “Stuff Like that there”; 2015 Matador Records). 8- BENJAMIN BIOLAY - Little Darlin' (from the album “Négatif”; 2003 Virgin) 9- BIGOTT - New York S'eveille (from the album “Fín”; 2014 Grabaenelmar) 10- JACQUES BREL - La Chanson de Jacky (from the compilation album “BREL Infiniment 40 Chansons”; 2003 Barclay) 11- AURELIO - Nando (from the compilation album “Straight from the Decks 2 - GUTS finest selection from his famous DJ sets; 2021, Pura Vida Sounds, Heavenly Sweetnesss) 12- SHOUKICHI KINA - Jing Jing (from the compilation album “Peppermint Tea House: The Best of Shoukichi Kina” 1994, Luaka Bop) 13- DENGUE FEVER - Cement Slippers (from the album “Cannibal Courtship”, 2011 Concord Music) 14- ARTHUR VEROCAI - Caboclo (from the album “Arthur Verocai” 1972 Continental reissue by Mr Bongo) 15- THE RONETTES - Sleigh Ride (from the album “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector; originally released in 1963 by Philles Records; Legacy 2012 Sony Music)

A finger style guitarist with a uniquely impassioned vocal style, Jim Ghedi was born and brought up in the Crookes area of Sheffield. He takes Matthew Bannister to his Nan and Grandad’s terraced house where he spent his early childhood. There was always music in the house, much of it Irish and often the Dubliners. Jim rejected folk music at first, but found his way back to it as a teenager. Now he’s steeped in the tradition, citing the guitar playing of Bert Jansch and the singing of Norma Waterson as influences. At a beautiful vantage point at the top of one of Sheffield’s seven hills, we are joined by his friends dbh (on fiddle) and Neil Heppleston (on double bass). And when we head for the Moss Valley on the outskirts of the city, dbh and Neil come too, creating a first for Folk on Foot – the joy of lifting a double bass over a stile. We discuss the importance of the right to roam and the pioneers who staged mass trespasses to secure it. There’s also time to share our love of the film “Kes” and for Jim to explain that the true inspiration for his songs can sometimes reveal itself to him months after he has written them.   Access four exclusive films of Jim performing along our walk, along with over 100 other performances from dozens of artists, by signing up to Folk On Foot On Film: https://www.folkonfoot.com/watch We rely entirely on support from our listeners to make Folk on Foot. So please consider becoming a patron. You’ll make a small monthly contribution and get great rewards. Find out more at www.patreon.com/folkonfoot. Sign up for our newsletter at www.folkonfoot.com Follow us on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram: @folkonfoot

Sitting on the porch of his Long Island lockdown hideaway, serenaded by a local bird, Loudon Wainwright III reminds us that he was proclaimed “the first of the new Bob Dylans”. It helped me get a record deal but then it got to be a pain in the ass”. He still has a “reservoir of respect, admiration and awe” for the man and his work. “I dream about Dylan a lot. He is on, in and under my mind: the Muhammad Ali of songwriters.”Loudon has seen Dylan in concert and been visited by him backstage after his own concerts. “I was headlining at Max's Kansas City. He came with Doug Sahm. They were both wearing cowboy hats. Bob said, “I really like that ‘Dead Skunk' song”. He has worked with everyone from producer Bob Johnston and Nashville cats Kenny Buttrey, Ron Cornelius and Hargus “Pig” Robbins to David Mansfield, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and good buddy Christopher Guest (“he does a great Bob Dylan impression”). Despite his admiration, he stopped listening for many years after John Wesley Harding. “I was too threatened by his greatness”.Meet the man who happily called himself - along with Bruce Springsteen, John Prine and Steve Forbert - one of Bob Dylan's “dumbass kid brothers”.After two previous nominations, singer/songwriter/actor Loudon Wainwright III won a Grammy for 2009's High, Wide And Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. His songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, Big Star, Norma Waterson and his son Rufus Wainwright. Loudon's many albums include Attempted Mustache, Fame and Wealth, I'm Alright, Therapy, History, Grown Man, Little Ship, Last Man On Earth, So Damn Happy, Recovery, Strange Weirdos, Older Than My Old Man Now, Haven't Got The Blues (Yet) and Years In The The Making. His latest album, backed by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, is I'd Rather Lead A Band.Loudon's film acting credits include Knocked Up (for which he also wrote the soundtrack), The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Scorsese's The Aviator. TV acting credits include a recurring role in M*A*S*H, as well as his Netflix Special Surviving Twin.WebsiteTwitterTrailerSpotify playlistListeners: please subscribe and/or leave a review and a rating.Twitter @isitrollingpodRecorded 8th July 2020This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Sitting on the porch of his Long Island lockdown hideaway, serenaded by a local bird, Loudon Wainwright III reminds us that he was proclaimed “the first of the new Bob Dylans”. It helped me get a record deal but then it got to be a pain in the ass”. He still has a “reservoir of respect, admiration and awe” for the man and his work. “I dream about Dylan a lot. He is on, in and under my mind: the Muhammad Ali of songwriters.” Loudon has seen Dylan in concert and been visited by him backstage after his own concerts. “I was headlining at Max’s Kansas City. He came with Doug Sahm. They were both wearing cowboy hats. Bob said, “I really like that ‘Dead Skunk’ song”. He has worked with everyone from producer Bob Johnston and Nashville cats Kenny Buttrey, Ron Cornelius and Hargus “Pig” Robbins to David Mansfield, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and good buddy Christopher Guest (“he does a great Bob Dylan impression”). Despite his admiration, he stopped listening for many years after John Wesley Harding. “I was too threatened by his greatness”. Meet the man who happily called himself - along with Bruce Springsteen, John Prine and Steve Forbert - one of Bob Dylan’s “dumbass kid brothers”. After two previous nominations, singer/songwriter/actor Loudon Wainwright III won a Grammy for 2009’s High, Wide And Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. His songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, Big Star, Norma Waterson and his son Rufus Wainwright. Loudon’s many albums include Attempted Mustache, Fame and Wealth, I’m Alright, Therapy, History, Grown Man, Little Ship, Last Man On Earth, So Damn Happy, Recovery, Strange Weirdos, Older Than My Old Man Now, Haven’t Got The Blues (Yet) and Years In The The Making. His latest album, backed by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, is I’d Rather Lead A Band. Loudon’s film acting credits include Knocked Up (for which he also wrote the soundtrack), The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Scorsese’s The Aviator. TV acting credits include a recurring role in M*A*S*H, as well as his Netflix Special Surviving Twin. Website Twitter Trailer Spotify playlist Listeners: please subscribe and/or leave a review and a rating. Twitter @isitrollingpod Recorded 8th July 2020 This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Sitting on the porch of his Long Island lockdown hideaway, serenaded by a local bird, Loudon Wainwright III reminds us that he was proclaimed “the first of the new Bob Dylans”. It helped me get a record deal but then it got to be a pain in the ass”. He still has a “reservoir of respect, admiration and awe” for the man and his work. “I dream about Dylan a lot. He is on, in and under my mind: the Muhammad Ali of songwriters.”Loudon has seen Dylan in concert and been visited by him backstage after his own concerts. “I was headlining at Max's Kansas City. He came with Doug Sahm. They were both wearing cowboy hats. Bob said, “I really like that ‘Dead Skunk' song”. He has worked with everyone from producer Bob Johnston and Nashville cats Kenny Buttrey, Ron Cornelius and Hargus “Pig” Robbins to David Mansfield, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and good buddy Christopher Guest (“he does a great Bob Dylan impression”). Despite his admiration, he stopped listening for many years after John Wesley Harding. “I was too threatened by his greatness”.Meet the man who happily called himself - along with Bruce Springsteen, John Prine and Steve Forbert - one of Bob Dylan's “dumbass kid brothers”.After two previous nominations, singer/songwriter/actor Loudon Wainwright III won a Grammy for 2009's High, Wide And Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. His songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, Big Star, Norma Waterson and his son Rufus Wainwright. Loudon's many albums include Attempted Mustache, Fame and Wealth, I'm Alright, Therapy, History, Grown Man, Little Ship, Last Man On Earth, So Damn Happy, Recovery, Strange Weirdos, Older Than My Old Man Now, Haven't Got The Blues (Yet) and Years In The The Making. His latest album, backed by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, is I'd Rather Lead A Band.Loudon's film acting credits include Knocked Up (for which he also wrote the soundtrack), The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Scorsese's The Aviator. TV acting credits include a recurring role in M*A*S*H, as well as his Netflix Special Surviving Twin.WebsiteTwitterTrailerEpisode playlist on AppleEpisode playlist on SpotifyListeners: please subscribe and/or leave a review and a rating.Twitter @isitrollingpodRecorded 8th July 2020This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

Sitting on the porch of his Long Island lockdown hideaway, serenaded by a local bird, Loudon Wainwright III reminds us that he was proclaimed “the first of the new Bob Dylans”. It helped me get a record deal but then it got to be a pain in the ass”. He still has a “reservoir of respect, admiration and awe” for the man and his work. “I dream about Dylan a lot. He is on, in and under my mind: the Muhammad Ali of songwriters.” Loudon has seen Dylan in concert and been visited by him backstage after his own concerts. “I was headlining at Max’s Kansas City. He came with Doug Sahm. They were both wearing cowboy hats. Bob said, “I really like that ‘Dead Skunk’ song”. He has worked with everyone from producer Bob Johnston and Nashville cats Kenny Buttrey, Ron Cornelius and Hargus “Pig” Robbins to David Mansfield, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and good buddy Christopher Guest (“he does a great Bob Dylan impression”). Despite his admiration, he stopped listening for many years after John Wesley Harding. “I was too threatened by his greatness”. Meet the man who happily called himself - along with Bruce Springsteen, John Prine and Steve Forbert - one of Bob Dylan’s “dumbass kid brothers”. After two previous nominations, singer/songwriter/actor Loudon Wainwright III won a Grammy for 2009’s High, Wide And Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. His songs have been covered by Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Mose Allison, Big Star, Norma Waterson and his son Rufus Wainwright. Loudon’s many albums include Attempted Mustache, Fame and Wealth, I’m Alright, Therapy, History, Grown Man, Little Ship, Last Man On Earth, So Damn Happy, Recovery, Strange Weirdos, Older Than My Old Man Now, Haven’t Got The Blues (Yet) and Years In The The Making. His latest album, backed by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, is I’d Rather Lead A Band. Loudon’s film acting credits include Knocked Up (for which he also wrote the soundtrack), The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Scorsese’s The Aviator. TV acting credits include a recurring role in M*A*S*H, as well as his Netflix Special Surviving Twin. Website Twitter Trailer Spotify playlist Listeners: please subscribe and/or leave a review and a rating. Twitter @isitrollingpod Recorded 8th July 2020 This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.

William Dart takes a brief jaunt through a number of tracks with duetting singers before settling on the album, Anchor, from the partnership of mother and daughter Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy.

Singer and fiddle player Eliza Carthy, daughter of folk doyens Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy, is known as a folk musician but, while being steeped in traditional music, she has wide musical horizons. Her new album Through that Sound (My Secret was Made Known) is a collection of her own songs. It’s a collaboration with musician and producer Ben Seal, who provides arrangements for string quartet, bass clarinet and keys. Eliza and her band were all rehearsed and ready to tour this month, but that is of course cancelled. She joins Front Row live from the Waterson Carthy household in Robin Hood's Bay, to talk about being a single mother, part-time carer and professional musician, to play and sing, and offer some tips to people for whom self-isolation offers the opportunity to write songs. As all galleries in the UK are ordered to close by the government as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus we consider the financial impact, how much can realistically move online and if the government and arts bodies are doing enough to support galleries. Kirsty is joined by director of the National Gallery, Gabriele Finaldi, Director of Spike Island in Bristol, Robert Leckie and art critic Louisa Buck to give us the picture across the UK. Novelist Armstead Maupin, author of the Tales of the City series, pays tribute to playwright Terrence McNally who has died of Coronavirus complications aged 81. The four-time Tony winner, was known for his thoughtful chronicles of gay life, homophobia, love and AIDS. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Simon Richardson Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant Image: Eliza Carthy

PODCAST: 30 Sep 2018 01 I'll Be Rested When The Roll Is Called – Ry Cooder – The Prodigal Son 02 South Australia – High Time – Sunda 03 The Elfin Knight – Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy Feat. The Gift Band – Anchor 04 Happy To Meet–Sorry To Part/The Stolen Purse/Maude Millar's – Mike McGoldrick & Dezi Donnelly – Dog In The Fog  05 Jesse Was A Bootlegger – Pigeon Kings – Pigeon Kings 06 Old–Fashioned Waltz – Daria Kulesh – Summer Delights 07 Maple Leaf Rag – Duck Baker – Les Blues Du Richmond: Demos & Outtakes, 1973–1979 08 May Song – Lisa Knapp – The Summer Draws Near 09 Endless Sleep – Duck Soup – Everything And... 10 Frankie & Albert – Woody Guthrie / Lead Belly – WNYC Radio, New York, 12th December 1940 11 Three Cries – Mishaped Pearls – Shivelight 12 Kelvin's Purling Stream – The Friel Sisters – Before The Sun 13 Cannonball Blues – Jody Kruskal – Train On The Island 14 I Wish I Was In England – Gwendolyn Snowden – Three Strand Braid 15 Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith – Poacher’s Fate – Many A Thousand  16 My Boots Are Made Of Spanish – Jackie Oates – The Joy Of Living 17 The Maid Of Malham Moor – Kevin McSherry – You Know Me 18 Ladies' Pleasure & Constant Billy – Bryony Griffith – Hover 19 Bury Me Beneath The Willow – Oliver The Crow – Oliver The Crow 20 Galway Farewell – Frankie Gavin/Martin Murray/Emma Corbett/ Carl Hession – By Heck 21 Drink 'Til I'm Dry – Seth Lakeman – The Well Worn Path 22 Cousinage Et Penchant Pour Ti–Jean – Yves Lambert Trio – Tentation 23 Lovely Joan – Simon Swarbrick – Oyster Girl 24 An Cailín Rua – The High Seas –The High Seas 25 The Eagle – Inge Thompson and Jenny Sturgeon – Northern Flyway 26 Lullabye – Maartin Allcock – Serving Suggestion

Eliza Carthy is one of the most influential figures in the UK folk scene. With her exuberant stage presence, she re-interprets the folk tradition for a new generation. She inherited her love of English music from her famous parents. Her Dad Martin Carthy was a key figure in the first folk revival of the 1960s and 70s. He taught Paul Simon the traditional song “Scarborough Fair” and also influenced Bob Dylan. Eliza’s Mum, Norma Waterson, was part of the pioneering family harmony singing group The Watersons. Norma recently suffered a serious illness and Eliza moved back to the family home in the North Yorkshire fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay to look after her. In this episode of Folk on Foot, Eliza takes Matthew on a walk along the cliffs near her home, reflecting on her family heritage and taking him to the farm where the whole extended family used to live when she was a child. Martin, Norma and Eliza’s aunt Ann and cousin Marry gather at the kitchen table for a rousing and emotional sing.

With Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson for parents, Eliza Carthy was unlikely to do anything else, but her enthusiasm, research and skill in arranging, writing and performing along with 2 Mercury Music Prize nominations has enabled her to fly the flag for folk music in England. She'll be playing live in the studio to Aasmah Mir and Shaun Keaveny and talking about her latest album with her mother. Radio 4 Listener and architect Toby Carr has set himself the challenge of sea kayaking to all the locations in the shipping forecast. We ask him how, why and what has led him to such a complicated challenge! We're also joined by Martyn Waites, ex actor and stand-up comedian, now a crime-writer who has written under his own name and also the female pseudonym of Tania Carver. Susannah Walker is a design historian who has written a book about her mother's hoarding, the extent of which was discovered after her death. She joins us to talk about the significance of 'things' and the stories behind them. JP Devlin meets Brian Blessed and talks mainly about his beard. Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden chooses his Inheritance Tracks: Child in Time by Deep Purple and Fire by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy's album is called Anchor Martyn Waites' book The Old Religion is out on 14th June Brian Blessed's book is called The Panther In My Kitchen: My Wild Life With Animals Susannah Walker's book is Life of Stuff.

Following the casting of Tilda Swinton as a character originally identified as Tibetan in the recent film Dr Strange, and the furore surrounding the casting of a new production of Howard Barker's play, In The Depths of Dead Love - Kumiko Mendl, Artistic Director of Yellow Earth Theatre, and Deborah Williams, Executive Director of Creative Diversity Network join Samira to discuss the issue of 'Yellowface' - the practice of non-Asian actors playing Asian roles. Sarah Crompton reviews the film Jackie, directed by Pablo Lorrain and starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, which focuses on the immediate aftermath of JFK's assassination in 1963. The Transports is a ballad opera telling the true story of two convicts who fell in love in prison as they were waiting to be sent on the First Fleet to Australia. They had a child, were cruelly separated, but thanks to a kind gaoler, were eventually united. It was recorded in 1977 by giants of the folk world - June Tabor, Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson. 40 years on a new generation of folk stars - Nancy Kerr, Faustus, the Young'Uns - are touring their new production. Samira meets them as they rehearse and finds The Transports has plenty to say about exile and migration today.Britain's most prestigious award for poetry, the TS Eliot Award, is announced this evening. The prize is for the best collection of poems published in 2016, and Front Row will have the first interview with the winner. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Rebecca Armstrong.

This episode features some of the more ancient and obscure midwinter traditions that have endured alongside Christmas, as well as some lesser-known carols of this festival, many of which are pagan in origin. Content warning for animal sacrifice and general heathen revelry. Music: Intro theme - "Forest March" by Sylvia Woods "Christmas Is Now Drawing Near at Hand" by Norma Waterson "Bonny At Morn / Hunting the Cutty Wren" by Clive Williams & Mark Prescott "Nou Is Yole Comen" by Shira Kammen "The Boar's Head Carol" by The Young Tradition, Shirley Collins & Dolly Collins "Wexford Mummer's Song" by Mary O'Hara "Gloomy Winter" by Bonnie Rideout "The Cutty Wren" by Royston Wood & Heather Wood "Dryw Bach" by Carreg Lafar "Hela'r Dryw" by Fernhill "The Hern" by John Fleagle "Down in Yon Forest" by Shirley Collins "Apple Tree Wassail" by Doug Eunson & Sarah Matthews "Malpas Wassail" by the Watersons "Gower Wassail" by Kerfuffle "Green Grow'th the Holly" by Coope, Simpson, Fraser & Freya "Nay Ivy Nay" by Sue Brown & Lorraine Irwing "The Ditchling Carol" by Waterson : Carthy

PODCAST: 10 May 2015    01 - 52 Vincent Black Lightning – Robert Earl Keane – Happy Prisoner 02 - Billy O’Shea – Michael Black – Michael Black 03 - The Trooper and The Maid - The Duhks - Your Daughters and Your Sons 04 - Brendan Begley’s Polkas – Jon Sanders – Twigs Of The Neem Tree 05 - Raglan Road – Paul Carroll – The Road You Take 06 - Fir-Hammag Yioogh – Barrule – Manannan’s Cloak 07 - The Gypsies – Michele Burke – Step Into My Parlour 08 - Vlad The Inhaler – Sheelanagig – Cirque Insomnia 09 - The Lone Pilgrim – Socks In The Frying Pan – Return Of The Giant Sock Monsters From Outer Space 10 - Under The Chicken Tree – The Carolina Jug Stompers – Rooster On A Limb 11 - Murphy Can Never Go Home – Donie Carroll – Down The Slippery Gap 12 - Pig Foot Clinch – North Atlantic Trio –  Some Part Of Something 13 - God Loves A Drunk - Norma Waterson – Norma Waterson 14 - Wheel Of Fortune – Alan Taylor – Colour To The Moon 15 - Bonnie Woodall – Robyn Stapleton – Fickle Fortune 16 - Cajun Queen – Kent Duchaine and Leadbessie – Broke and Lonely Hungry and Homeless But Still Smiling  

John Wilson continues with the second series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances. Programme 4 (the B-side). Having discussed the making of Eliza's award winning 2004 album, "Anglicana" (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 17th June and available online), Eliza Carthy and her father Martin Carthy respond to questions from the audience and perform live versions of some of the songs from the album, as well as discussing their work together with Norma Waterson as Waterson:Carthy. Producer: Helen Lennard.

John Wilson continues with the second series of Mastertapes, in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances. Programme 1, A-side. "Anglicana" with Eliza Carthy and her father Martin Carthy. Together Eliza Carthy and her parents Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson have consistently breathed new life and vitality into English folk music. Martin Carthy MBE has influenced the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon with his interpretations of the traditional music of these shores. His guitar playing continues to inspire artists in all genres and he continues to tour and record on his own, and when working with wife Norma Waterson and daughter Eliza Carthy as Waterson:Carthy. Eliza Carthy has continued to expand the legacy of her parents work, reinterpreting and reinvigorating English folk in her own unique style. Her fiddle playing is in a class of its own and throughout her career she has experimented with unusual musical collaborations, including the hugely successful Imagined Village project. "Anglicana" was released in 2002 and gained Eliza her second Mercury nomination. It features both Martin Carthy and her mother Norma Waterson and was hailed as a new definition of what it means to be English in the 21st Century. Eliza and Martin Carthy, came to the BBC Maida Vale studios to discuss the making of "Anglicana", their constantly evolving interpretations of traditional folk songs and their work together with Norma Waterson as Waterson:Carthy. . The B-side of the programme, where it's the turn of the audience to ask the questions, can be heard tomorrow at 3.30pm Complete versions of the songs performed in the programme (and others) can be heard on the 'Mastertapes' pages on the Radio 4 website, where the programmes can also be downloaded and other musical goodies accessed. Producer: Helen Lennard.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Martin Carthy.A highly influential figure in the world of traditional music, about fifty years ago he was at the forefront of the English folk revival - inspiring not just his fellow countrymen, but Bob Dylan and Paul Simon too.Now he's part of a folk dynasty. His wife is the celebrated singer Norma Waterson and their daughter Eliza is as renowned for her fiddle playing, as she is her voice.Martin, on the other hand, was brought up in an atmosphere that encouraged him to rise above his station - there was music in his Anglo-Irish background, but it wasn't encouraged and rarely if ever talked about.He says, "In my opinion there is no such thing as bad music. There may be bad players or bad singers but I don't like the idea of inferior music".The producer was Isabel Sargent.

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Martin Carthy. A highly influential figure in the world of traditional music, about fifty years ago he was at the forefront of the English folk revival - inspiring not just his fellow countrymen, but Bob Dylan and Paul Simon too. Now he's part of a folk dynasty. His wife is the celebrated singer Norma Waterson and their daughter Eliza is as renowned for her fiddle playing, as she is her voice. Martin, on the other hand, was brought up in an atmosphere that encouraged him to rise above his station - there was music in his Anglo-Irish background, but it wasn't encouraged and rarely if ever talked about. He says, "In my opinion there is no such thing as bad music. There may be bad players or bad singers but I don't like the idea of inferior music". The producer was Isabel Sargent.

A short introduction to this album

A short introduction to this album

Norma Waterson performs the song 'the flowers of knaresborough forest'.

Norma Waterson performs the song 'Green Goes the Laurels'.

Norma Waterson remembers her childhood and reveals how she became a traditional English folk singer.

Norma Waterson performs the song 'Bright shiny morning'.

Norma Waterson performs the song 'the flowers of knaresborough forest'.

Norma Waterson performs the song 'Green Goes the Laurels'.

Norma Waterson remembers her childhood and reveals how she became a traditional English folk singer.

Norma Waterson performs the song 'Bright shiny morning'.