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 16 May 2022
This week’s music
1. Mary and The Soldier / Danu
2. Lord Exmouth / Ninebarrow
3. Sweet William And Fair Ellen / Meg Baird
4. St James Infirmary Blues / The Other Band
5. Crazy Man Michael / Fairport Convention
6. Angel From Montgomery / Martin Simpson
7. Blooming Heather / Kate Rusby
8. Horn Fair / Joshua Burnell
9. The Rockmills Hornpipe / Freddy Kimmel's Hornpipe / Matt Cranitch & Jackie Daly
10. Three Fishes / Fara
11. Molly May / Farran
12. My Father's Serving Boy / Mick McAlinden
13. The Sheep Shearing Song / Fran Foote, Belinda Kempster
14. Paul's Steeple / Les Witches
15. Hind Horn / Spiers & Boden
16. Mad Maudlin / Strawhead
17. The Rovin' Dies Hard / Brian McNeill
18. River Days / Johnny Collins
19. The Shipyard Apprentice / Ed Miller
20. Trimdon Grange Explosion / The Unthanks
21. The King's Horses / Olivia Chaney
22. The Rigs O' Rye / Robin Dransfield
23. Walking On A Wire / Richard & Linda Thompson
24. Banks Of Green Willow / Granny's Attic
25. The Star of the County Down / Loreena McKennitt
26. The Keys of Canterbury / Show Of Hands
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.
