Classic Folk with Mike Norris
Classic Folk is unique.
It mines a rich seam of wonderful folk and roots music and song from around 75 years of recordings.
From the great source singers to the legends of folk rock, the travellers to the protesters, the ballads to the blues, from the far north to the deep south and all around the English speaking world, the songs live again.
And, not forgetting the pick of the new releases and a few cracking tunes, it’s like having a folk festival in the comfort of your own home!
Former English Folk Dance and Song Society Chairman (2006–2011) and long-standing member Mike Norris hosts our weekly folk radio programme.
Mike explores a wide range of folk and acoustic music from the UK and abroad – from rarely heard archive and field recordings to the very latest releases.
Listen now
Monday 29 May 2023
This week’s music
1. Ballad Of The Sad Young Men / Davy Graham
2. Jack Frost / Peggy Seeger
3. Red Robber / Sara Grey and Kieron Means
4. Time Ashore / Kirsty Bromley
5. Rounding the Horn / Cyril Tawney
6. The Humpback Whale / Nic Jones
7. The Outlandish Knight / James Raynard
8. Eppie Morrie / Karan Casey
9. Dance Of Dawn / Chris Newman
10. Wayfarin' Stranger / Maria McKee
11. The Bay of Biscay / Emily Portman & Rob Harbron
12. Fair Annie / Lindsay Straw
13. Vincent / Don McLean
14. Catch The Wind / Donovan
15. Where Do You Go To My Lovely / Peter Sarstedt
16. The Grey Cock / Jez Lowe
17. The Bulldog Breed / Jez Lowe
18. The Luck Penny / Ciaran Algar
19. The Minstrel's Song / Johnny Collins
20. Mandalay / Jeff Warner
21. Lord Inchiquin / Simon Mayor
22. The Well Below The Valley / Green Ribbons
23. The Broomfield Wager / Pentangle
24. Geordie / The Green House Band
The presenter: Mike Norris
Mike’s passion for folk music spans decades; from first learning to play the melodeon and singing shanties at school, to running folk festivals and gigs.
A teenager during the 1960s, Mike was heavily influenced by protest song and folk-rock popularity (Bob Dylan, the Copper Family, Joan Baez, Fairport Convention etc), as well as the tail end of the folk-song revival shaped by The Watersons, Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger, Shirley Collins, Woody Guthrie and many more.
Interesting fact: The hospital where Mike was born, in Portsmouth, grew out of the workhouse where George Gardiner collected more than 100 songs in the early 1900s.
