Today, I'm talking to broadside ballads singer, Jennifer Reid. Although Jenn has been involved in researching and singing these songs for a decade, I'm ashamed to say that she only turned up on my radar when she appeared as the ballad-singing bar owner, Barb, in the recent BBC adaptation of The Gallows Pole. I've since discovered that she's a force to be reckoned with - one of the most passionate proponents of old songs that I've so far had the good fortune to meet. In this conversation, we discuss her background with broadsides, their history, what a ballad hawker might have been, who might have been singing these songs and why, and how Jenn ended up singing unaccompanied traditional songs to a Pulp audience at the behest of Jarvis cocker. Along the way, we chat a little about one of her favourite ballads, 'The Bury New Loom' [Roud V9197]. Pull your ear goggles on and let's get underway.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? But, like buses, you wait ages for an Old Songs Podcast episode and then two come along in quick succession. Because this edition is the first in a two-part thing. Today, we’re chatting to Jim Moray about passing the two-decade mark as a professional musician, about one of my favourite of his traditional arrangements, the ballad 'Lord Douglas' [Roud 23], about a new album coming soon, and about an upcoming festival in his name. The second part to this podcast is going to be recorded live, in front of an audience - possibly even you, dear listener - at the Jim Moray festival on Jun 17th at Cecil Sharp House in Camden, North London, where we’ll be joined by Jim, Nick Hart and a number of other guests. I’ll stick the tickets link on the page accompanying this episode. 

We’re focusing this episode loosely around the song, 'Lord Douglas', which Jim originally released 10 years ago, winning Best Traditional Track at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in the process. We’re also using it as an opportunity to talk to Jim about his career so far. Listen out for tales about the time Amy Winehouse mistook him for a photographer’s assistant, his relationship with folk music and gadgetry, and his theories on how arranging traditional ballads is like writing a week’s worth of Eastenders.  

And, as an extra special treat, listen out for the final track in the podcast - usually an unaccompanied ballad, but this time an exclusive - a recording of 'Lord Douglas' from the Abbey Road sessions that make up his new album. 

Once again, our thanks to the English Folk Dance and Song Society for their ongoing support, and we hope to see some of you at JimFest on June 17th. 

Tickets for the Jim Moray Festival are available now from this link. 

The Old Songs Podcast is supported by the English Folk Dance and Song Society.


‘Lord Douglas’ podcast notes

This article is accompanied by a partial transcript of the sections that discuss Jim’s career. You can find that in our Jim Moray interview.

Links

• The English Folk Dance and Song Society
• The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
• The Jim Moray Festival

Track listing

• ‘Lord Douglas’, Jim Moray, taken from the album Skulk (2012)
• ‘Lucy Wan’, Frankie Archer, taken from the single Lucy Wan (2022)
• ‘Earl Brand’, Gigspanner, taken from the album Natural Invention (2020)
• ‘The Douglas Tragedy’, Ewan MacColl, taken from the album The English & Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Vol​.​5 (1956)
• ‘Lord Douglas’, Moonaroon, taken from the EP Seeds<

Episode 8 of the second series of The Old Songs Podcast, supported, so very kindly, by the English Folk Dance and Song Society, is an unusual one as it focuses on an old tune rather than an old song. Prepare yourself to delve into the background of one of the most well-known Morris dancing tunes, 'Princess Royal'. 

Joining Jon Wilks to discuss the tune is one of the country’s finest melodeon players, John Spiers, or "Squeezy" as he’s fondly known as on the English folk scene. Many of you will know Squeezy as a founding member of Bellowhead, not to mention a myriad of other bands he steps in and out of when the road calls. 

Over the course of an hour or so, the pair look at the history of 'Princess Royal' tune. Did it start life as an accompaniment to English Morris dancing, or does it stretch further back and over greater distances than that? 

Squeezy tells us a bit about growing up, somewhat hesitantly, in the Morris tradition, and talks about the difference between being a musician performing this tune on stage and a musician playing for a Morris side. He explains what a jig is, what a reel might be, how to recognise a slow, and who’s wearing the trunkles in this relationship? 

Squeezy mentions video clips and different versions throughout, which we have listed and embedded below.

Links

Over the course of the episode, John Spiers and Jon Wilks mention the following things:

• The English Folk Dance and Song Society
• The story of Cecil Sharp and Headington Quarry Morris
• Mat Green (Magpie Lane) playing and dancing 'Princess Royal' on Youtube

Track listing

• John Spiers playing the Abingdon version on the Spiers and Boden album, Bellow, 2003
• Spiers & Boden playing the Bampton version on their album, Vagabond, 2008
• Magpie Lane playing 'Princess Royal' on their 2006 album, The Oxford Ramble
• Clannad playing 'Mrs McDermott' on their 1973 album, Clannad
• Mat Green of Bampton Lane, performing the tune while dancing a jig (see above)
• The Unthanks singing 'The Scarecrow Knows' from the soundtrack to the TV series, Worzel Gummidge, released in December 2022
• Jim Moray singing ‘Gypsies’ from his 2003 album, Sweet England
• 'Princess Royal' from Morris On, released in 1972
• A snippet of Eliza Carthy and Nancy Kerr performing the B part on their 1995 album, The Shape of Scrape
• John Spiers performing an exclusive version of the North Leigh version, spoken about in an earlier part of the conversation

For more info on John Spiers, head to johnspiers.co.uk.