70-4 Winter 2008

Shirley Collins MBE is on the front cover to mark her election as the new President of the EFDSS.

A theme of this issue is the singer, folklorist, broadcaster and writer A.L. (Bert) Lloyd in the centenary year of his birth.

Bert Lloyd was well-known as a great mentor and encourager of younger singers, often re-working songs from the manuscripts and books for performance.

In this spirit, the Singer, Song and Source article features Brian Peters whose recent CD of ballads includes several songs that have been newly adapted. The song is Brian’s re-write of ‘Six Nights Drunk’, a song that Bert recorded in an Australian version, ‘Shickered as he could be’: it is thought that Bert did his own re-write of this particular song to give it more of a ‘Aussie Bush’ feel to it. Brian also contributes an article on his approach to working with the ballads, with a number of references to Bert Lloyd.

Continuing the Bert Lloyd theme, there’s a personal memoir by film-maker Barrie Gavin who worked on several projects with Bert, and a report on the Tribute to Bert event held in mid-November.

Gordon Philips has written about his project teaching molly dancing in Fenland schools and there’s a report on October’s Big National Ceilidh.

There’s a feature on an intriguing mummer’s costume, possibly from Bellerby, that has turned up in New York, and Robbie Thomas writes about some new style dance events, Sets in the City.

There’s a report of the RVW event held at Cecil Sharp House in October.

Reviews –

including Alistair Anderson, Rachel & Lillias, The Maerlock, Climax Ceilidh Band, Megson, The Threlfalls, Mick Ryan & Paul Downes, Jo Freya, Tony Rose, Rubus, Tom & Barbara Brown, Fotheringay, The Demon Barbers, Dampier’s Round, The Shee, Folkus Pocus, Robbie Hannan, Peter Bellamy, The Coppers, Ceilidhography, Lau, Kris Drever, Coope Boyes and Simpson, English concertina players and Norfolk singers. DVD reviews for Alan Lomax and Chorley Sparks, and book reviews for The Elliotts of Birtley and accordion tutors.

Regular Features:

Branching Out (the new on-line Wiltshire song resource); Festive Round-Up; Lives Remembered (including Ronnie Drew, the singer of The Dubliners’ version of ‘Seven Drunken Nights’); News; The Winter Dancing Season (list of dance events); and EFDSS Matters.

Music credits

Sound files that complement the features are included here:

Six Nights Drunk by Brian Peters from his CD Songs of Trial and Triumph. Many thanks to Brian for permission to use it here.

Shickered as He Could Be by A.L. (Bert) Lloyd from his Topic LP First Person, with kind permission of Topic Records