> Folk Music > Records > The 2006 Radio Ballads

The 2006 Radio Ballads

In the late 1950s Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker produced a series of groundbreaking documentaries called the BBC Radio Ballads, broadcast on the BBC Home Service. They were masterpieces of radio, weaving the voices of rarely-heard communities with songs written from and about the recorded experiences of the interviewees.

In 2006 a second series was recorded, written and produced by John Leonard and John Tams and was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. This new series featured specially composed songs and interviews with those affected by a variety of current social and political issues.

Radio announcer: Alan Dedicoat;
Series interviews editor: Annie Grundy;
Series music producer/engineer: Andy Seward;
Series musical director: John Tams;
Series executive producer: John Leonard;
Music and archive research: Dorrene Ashcroft and Peter Hardy at the BBC Manchester record library, Melanie Peacock at BBC Sound Archive, London

> Folk Music > Records > The Song of Steel

The Song of Steel

The Song of Steel (Gott GOTTCD047)

The Song of Steel
Stories of the men and women who worked in the steel industry in the Don Valley
Volume 1 of the BBC Radio 2 2006 Radio Ballads documentary series

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 27 February 2006
Gott Disks GOTTCD047 (CD, UK, 2006)
Delphonic Music DELPH001 (CD, UK, 1 March 2010)

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Interviewees: Professor Mel Jones, Brian Dempsey, Barbara Dempsey, Eddie Grimes, John Heaps, Alan Senior, Bill Senior, Margaret Barraclough, Fred Parr, Dave Moffatt, Thelma Dransfield, Simon Pickvance, Ian Steel, Judith Parker, Jack Illingworth, Roger Stone, Bob Rae, Joyce Dodsworth, Norman Hanlon, Dave Fletcher, Ian Hanley, Bryan McMillan, Fred Roper, Graham Honeyman, Keith Cane, Alan Hopkins;
Interviewer: Vince Hunt;
Songwriters: John Tams, Ray Hearne, Julie Matthews;
Associate Musical Director: Graeme Taylor;
Brass arrangement: Goff Richards;
Singers: John Tams, Kate Rusby, Barry Coope, Julie Matthews, Lester Simpson, Chris While, Jim Boyes;
Musicians: John McCusker, cittern, fiddle; Andy Cutting, accordion; Graeme Taylor, guitar; Barry Coope, keyboards; John Tams, guitar, mouth organ; Andy Seward, bass

Tracks

  1. Vince Hunt: Introduction (0.21)
  2. John Tams: Valley of the Kings (1.58)
  3. Andy Cutting: The Rainbow Hornpipe (2.06)
  4. John Tams, Barry Coope: Steelos (5.31)
  5. Kate Rusby: It’s Curtains (3.21)
  6. John Tams: Mucky River (5.31)
  7. Barry Coope: The Price (5.21)
  8. Julie Matthews: Crane Driver (5.16)
  9. John Tams, Barry Coope: Fireland (6.36)
  10. Lester Simpson: Beer Notes (6.45)
  11. Don Valley Steelworkers: The Big Forge (2.10)
  12. Barry Coope: Vulcan and Lucifer (5.28)
  13. John Tams: Valley of the Kings Part II (3.58)
  14. John Tams, Julie Matthews, Coope Boyes & Simpson: Unity (2.31)

Tracks 2-4, 6-7, 9-10, 13, 14 John Tams;
Track 5 Ray Hearne;
Track 8 Julie Matthews;
Track 12 John Tams / trad. arr. G. Richards;

> Folk Music > Records > The Enemy That Lives Within

The Enemy That Lives Within

The Enemy That Lives Within (Gott GOTTCD048)

The Enemy That Lives Within
Stories of people living with HIV / AIDS
Volume 2 of the BBC Radio 2 2006 Radio Ballads documentary series

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 6 March 2006
Gott Disks GOTTCD048 (CD, UK, 2006)
Delphonic Music DELPH002 (CD, UK, 1 March 2010)

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Interviewees: Ann Marie, Betty, Cecelia, Lynn, Maxwell, Sophie;
Interviewer: Sara Parker;
Songwriters: John Tams, Karine Polwart, Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews;
Associate Musical Director: Graeme Taylor;
Singers and musicians: Karine Polwart, Julie Matthews, John Tams, Jez Lowe, Chris While, Bob Fox, John McCusker, Andy Cutting

Tracks

  1. Jez Lowe: Unprotected (1.27)
  2. Chris While: The Sum of What I Am (4.39)
  3. Karine Polwart: Hobo (3.44)
  4. Julie Matthews: Superman (5.21)
  5. John Tams: The Day (4.00)
  6. Julie Matthews: Sticks and Stones (8.07)
  7. Karine Polwart: Firethief (5.56)
  8. Chris While: Come the Hour (5.30)
  9. Karine Polwart: What Will I Tell? (8.16)
  10. Jez Lowe: Tablets (6.08)
  11. Jez Lowe: Unprotected Part II (3.43)

Tracks 1, 10-11 Jez Lowe;
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 8 Julie Matthews;
Tracks 3, 7, 9 Karine Polwart;
Track 5 John Tams

> Folk Music > Records > The Horn of the Hunter

The Horn of the Hunter

The Horn of the Hunter (Gott GOTTCD049)

The Horn of the Hunter
The end of hunting with hounds
Volume 3 of the BBC Radio 2 2006 Radio Ballads documentary series

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 13 March 2006
Gott Disks GOTTCD049 (CD, UK, 2006)
Delphonic Music DELPH003 (CD, UK, 1 March 2010)

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Interviewees: Members of: the Pennine Foxhounds; the Colne Valley Beagles; the Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn’s Foxhounds, Cheshire; the Forest & District Beagles, Macclesfield; the Holcombe Hunt; The Vale of Aylesbury with Garth and South Berks Hunt; the Hunt Saboteurs Association (North West);
Interviewer: Vince Hunt;
Additional interviews: Carmela di Clemente;
Songwriters: John Tams, Jez Lowe, Ian McMillan, Dave Burland;
Traditional songs: Dido, Bendigo, Hounds of the Meynall;
Associate Musical Director: Graeme Taylor;
Singers and musicians: John Tams, Jez Lowe, Bob Fox, Andy Seward, Graeme Taylor, John McCusker, Andy Cutting, Keith Kendrick, Chris While, Kellie While, Lester Simpson, Martin Simpson, Fi Fraser, Barry Coope, John Cocking, Ken Green;

Tracks

  1. Vince Hunt: The Echoing Horn (0.42)
  2. John Tams: Farewell Part I (2.34)
  3. Bob Fox: Here We Go a Hunting (4.02)
  4. John Tams: Farewell Part II (1.40)
  5. Keith Kendrick: Hounds of the Meynall (4.08)
  6. Kellie While: On Horseback (4.45)
  7. Lester Simpson: King George Hunt (5.02)
  8. Bob Fox: Good Dog and True (5.57)
  9. Fox Hunting Historian: The Hunt (2.04)
  10. Keith Kendrick: Dido, Bendigo (Roud 584; TYG 76) (5.55)
  11. Kellie While: The Fox (6.04)
  12. Jez Lowe: Saboteurs Song (5.01)
  13. Barry Coope: The House on the Hill (5.46)
  14. Martin Simpson: The Green Hare (1.36)
  15. John Tams: Farewell Part III (1.35)

Tracks 2, 4, 15 John Tams;
Tracks 3, 8 Bob Fox;
Tracks 5, 10 trad. arr. Keith Kendrick;
Tracks 6, 11-13 Jez Lowe;
Track 7 Dave Burland;
Track 14 trad. arr. Martin Simpson

> Folk Music > Records > Swings and Roundabouts

Swings and Roundabouts

Swings and Roundabouts (Gott GOTTCD050)

Swings and Roundabouts
Stories of the showmen and women who run Britain’s fairgrounds
Volume 4 of the BBC Radio 2 2006 Radio Ballads documentary series

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 20 March 2006
Gott Disks GOTTCD050 (CD, UK, 2006)
Delphonic Music DELPH004 (CD, UK, 1 March 2010)

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Interviewees: Kevin Whittle, Carol Whittle, Charlotte Whittle, Serena Whittle, Craig Freeman, James Mellors, Susan Peak, John Wesseldine, Rae Wilson, Jay Wilson, John Hatwell;
Interviewer: Sara Parker;
Songwriters: Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews, Karine Polwart, John Tams;
Associate Musical Director: Graeme Taylor;
Singers and musicians: Barry Coope, Andy Cutting, Bob Fox, Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews, John McCusker, Karine Polwart, Andy Seward, Lester Simpson, John Tams, Chris While

Tracks

  1. Vince Hunt: Introduction (0.25)
  2. John Tams: Fun of the Fair (4.41)
  3. Barry Coope: Building and Setting (5.14)
  4. Chris While: Tradition Never Dies (3.49)
  5. Karine Polwart: Luck Money (5.01)
  6. John Tams: Lily Gilders (4.52)
  7. Chris While, Julie Matthews: Roll Up (5.29)
  8. Jez Lowe: Bother At the Hoppings (4.23)
  9. Julie Matthews: Rich Is a Showman’s Life (4.52)
  10. Barry Coope: Scholars in Winter (6.00)
  11. Chris While: Show Ground Wife (We Keep the Circle Tied) (4.36)
  12. John Tams: Pulling Down Song (7.27)

Tracks 2, 6, 12 John Tams;
Tracks 3, 8, 10 Jez Lowe;
Tracks 4, 7, 9, 11 Julie Matthews;
Track 5 Karine Polwart

> Folk Music > Records > Thirty Years of Conflict

Thirty Years of Conflict

Thirty Years of Conflict (Gott GOTTCD051)

Thirty Years of Conflict
Stories from three decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland
Volume 5 of the BBC Radio 2 2006 Radio Ballads documentary series

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 27 March 2006
Gott Disks GOTTCD051 (CD, UK, 2006)
Delphonic Music DELPH005 (CD, UK, 1 March 2010)

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Interviewees: Tommy Sands, Gerry Anderson, Steve Travers, members of Different Drums of Ireland, men and women of the Protestant and Catholic communities of Northern Ireland;
Interviewers: Vince Hunt and Sara Parker;
Additional interviews: Tommy Sands;
Songwriters: Tommy Sands, Karine Polwart, Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews;
Associate Musical Director: Graeme Taylor;
Singers and musicians: Karine Polwart, Tommy Sands, Cara Dillon, Sam Lakeman, Colum Sands, Ben Sands, Chris While, John McCusker, Andy Seward, Mike McGoldrick, Andy Cutting;
Carry On finale:
    Radio Ballads choir: Aimie, Caoimhe, David, Gavin, Lauren and Paddy from Holy Cross Primary School and Kilbroney Integrated School
    Lambeg drummer: Richard Campbell from ’Different Drums’, Londonderry, arranged by Roy Arbuckle;
    Choir arrangement: Robbie Dinsmore, John Leonard
    Location recording: Mike Thornton
    Location producers: John Leonard and Vince Hunt

Tracks

  1. Karine Polwart: Daisy (1.38)
  2. Tommy Sands: Stone’s Throw (4.57)
  3. Colum Sands: Sing It All Over (5.58)
  4. Cara Dillon: Bloody Sunday (8.31)
  5. Bob Fox: Was It Somthing I Said? (5.05)
  6. Cara Dillon: Different Drums (5.21)
  7. Tommy Sands: Troubles (4.30)
  8. Jez Lowe: Miami (8.02)
  9. Cara Dillon: When the Music Starts to Play (5.54)
  10. Ben Sands, The Radio Ballads Choir: Carry On (6.51)

Track 1 Karine Polwart;
Tracks 2-4, 7, 9-10 Tommy Sands;
Tracks 5, 8 Jez Lowe;
Tracks 6 Julie Matthews

> Folk Music > Records > The Ballad of the Big Ships

The Ballad of the Big Ships

The Ballad of the Big Ships (Gott GOTTCD052)

The Ballad of the Big Ships
Stories from the shipbuilders of the Tyne and the Clyde
Volume 6 of the BBC Radio 2 2006 Radio Ballads documentary series

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 3 April 2006
Gott Disks GOTTCD052 (CD, UK, 2006)
Delphonic Music DELPH006 (CD, UK, 1 March 2010)

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Interviewees on the Tyne: Micky Blench, Bill Cockcroft, Edith Corby, Eddie Darke, Mel Davis, Jackie Green, Les Hodgson, John Hunter, Eddie Jackson, Jaap Kroese, Alan Mather, John Mitchell, Billy Palmer, Ian Rae, Ken Smith, Terry Telford, Billy Temple, Alan Tweed, Ged Wilson, Eddie Young; Margaret and June at the Coronation Club, Wallsend;
Interviewees on the Clyde: Bill Brotherton, Jimmy Cloughley, Davie Cooper, Roy Fitzsimmons, Tommy Gorman, Rab Griffin, Kenny Little, Jimmy Reid, Brian Whittingham;
Interviewer: Vince Hunt;
Songwriters: Jez Lowe, Karine Polwart, John Tams;
Associate Musical Director: Graeme Taylor;
Singers and musicians: Andy Cutting, Barry Coope, Bob Fox, Jez Lowe, John McCusker, Karine Polwart, Graeme Taylor

Tracks

  1. Howard Evans: The Coronation of the Virgin (1.33)
  2. Jez Lowe: Taking on Men (4.01)
  3. Jez Lowe: Black Trade (5.40)
  4. Brian Whittingham: The Apprentice (poem) (1.41)
  5. John Tams: Till the Spring Comes (4.45)
  6. Karine Polwart: Can’t Weld a Body (6.46)
  7. Jez Lowe: Monkey Dung Men (3.55)
  8. Brian Whittingham: The Dustman (poem) (1.39)
  9. Bob Fox: The Great Voltaire (7.39)
  10. Karine Polwart: Hold Back the Tide (3.27)
  11. Bob Fox: Caps and Cards (4.20)
  12. Jez Lowe: Old Hammerhead (4.49)
  13. Bob Fox: Taking on Men II (2.40)
  14. Bob Fox, The Radio Ballads Ensemble: Only Remembered (Roud 7557) (3.55)

Tracks 1, 5, 10, 14 John Tams;
Tracks 2-3, 7, 9, 11-13 Jez Lowe;
Tracks 4, 8 Brian Whittingham;
Track 6 Karine Polwart;

> Folk Music > Records > The Ballad of the Miners’ Strike

The Ballad of the Miners’ Strike

The Ballad of the Miners’ Strike (Delphonic DELPH007)

The Ballad of the Miners’ Strike
True stories from the picket lines of 1985-85

BBC Radio 2, first broadcast 2 March 2010
Delphonic Music DELPH007 (DL, UK, 28 August 2010)

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Produced by Andy Seward;
Songwriters: John Tams, Ray Hearne, Jez Lowe, Julie Matthews, Kay Sutcliffe;

Tracks

  1. Introduction (0.18)
  2. John Tams and Barry Coope: Remembrance Day (3.49)
  3. John Tams: Corton Wood (0.36)
  4. Bob Fox: It’ll All Be Over in a Fortnight (6.47)
  5. Sally Ward and Ruby Leonard: My Mother Said (0.14)
  6. Julie Matthews: Beyond the Picket Line (7.46)
  7. Jez Lowe: The Judas Bus (7.21)
  8. Ray Hearne: Ordinary Copper (7.59)
  9. John Tams: Orgreave (9.21)
  10. Jez Lowe: Arthur My Dear (6.30)
  11. Julie Matthews: Coal Not Dole (8.02)

> Folk Music > Records > The Songs of the Radio Ballads

The Songs of the Radio Ballads

The Songs of the Radio Ballads (Gott GOTTCD053)

The Songs of the Radio Ballads
Various Artists

Gott Disks GOTTCD053 (CD, UK, 22 January 2007)

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A compilation of songs from the above CDs

Tracks

  1. John Tams: Mucky River (5.31)
  2. Kate Rusby: It’s Curtains (3.21)
  3. Julie Matthews: Crane Driver (5.16)
  4. John Tams, Barry Coope: Fireland (6.36)
  5. Karine Polwart: Hobo (3.44)
  6. Jez Lowe: Unprotected (1.27)
  7. Chris While: Come the Hour (5.30)
  8. Lester Simpson: King George Hunt (5.02)
  9. Kellie While: On Horseback (4.45)
  10. Bob Fox: Good Dog and True (5.57)
  11. Chris While: Tradition Never Dies (3.49)
  12. John Tams: Lily Gilders (4.52)
  13. Barry Coope: Scholars in Winter (6.00)
  14. Cara Dillon: Different Drums (5.21)
  15. Tommy Sands: Troubles (4.30)
  16. Cara Dillon: When the Music Starts to Play (5.54)
  17. Jez Lowe: Old Hammerhead (4.49)
  18. Bob Fox: The Great Voltaire (7.39)
  19. Karine Polwart: Can’t Weld a Body (6.46)
  20. Bob Fox, The Radio Ballads Ensemble: Only Remembered (Roud 7557) (3.55)

Tracks 1, 4, 12, 20 John Tams;
Tracks 2 Ray Hearne;
Tracks 3, 7, 11, 14 Julie Matthews;
Tracks 5, 19 Karine Polwart;
Tracks 6, 9-10, 13, 17-18 Jez Lowe;
Track 8 words Dave Burland, music trad.;
Tracks 15-16 Tommy Sands