Working Songs
by Roy Palmer
Working Songs: Industrial Ballads and Poems from Britain and Ireland, 1780s- 1980s covers some two hundred years of working life in Britain from the Industrial Revolution to the Miners’ Strike of 1984-85. Child labour and death, conditions in factory and mine, pit disasters that affected whole communities, trade union struggles, strikes and lockouts depicting the struggle between bosses and workers, unemployment and leisure, are all seen through examples of songs and verse. In songs that were both bitter and powerful, to the sound of the strike of the hammer, the rattle of the looms, and the roar of the furnace, they provided a glimpse of life on the factory floor, in the weaving shed, or down the mine. Their songs were often their only legacy.
"This book is a fascinating work of reference… The tales of hardship, exploitation and courage are, however, timeless, and Roy Palmer should be congratulated for setting them down with such passion and scholarship." Brian Peters - ‘English Dance and Song’ Spring 2011
"Rich in illustration, anecdote and song, the book is the first major examination of industrial folk song for over forty years. As the country’s foremost writer on folk song and broadside ballads, Roy Palmer has written extensively on every aspect of traditional song and their importance in social history ever since his first book in 1974. ‘Roy’s forte is and always has been the academic exploration of the importance of song in social history; having said that, he undoubtedly possesses the ability to communicate masses of relevant information in a lively and readable way that’s anything but dry…." David Kidman - ‘Folk Roundabout’
ISBN: 9780954068257
Price: £24.99
Elliott's of Birtley
by Pete Wood
The Elliotts of Birtley have their feet rooted in coal, their backbone in politics and their hearts in their songs. In this book Pete Wood examines and identifies the unique nature of this family, which has had such an impact on folk music and on the Folk Revival for the last fifty years. He carried out extensive interviews with family members, founders of both the North East folk revival and the Birtley Club, as well as a host of other people who have been drawn by the Elliotts' incomparable magnetism.
"The Elliotts, those still with us and those who have passed on, have done an invaluable job. They have shared themselves and the rich tradition that came down to them." - Peggy Seeger
"I invite you to listen to the colliers singing choruses over their beer mugs in the Three Tuns pub in County Durham. You’d think the place was full of Cossacks." - Bert Lloyd
ISBN: 9780954068233
Price: £15.99
Bosun's Locker
by Stan Hugill
Stan Hugill will be remembered as sailor, artist, performer, but above all as England's last shantyman. His passion for collecting the many shanties and sea songs he heard first hand was anchored by his years afloat. Stan died in 1992. His column The Bosun's Locker ran from 1962-73 in SPIN magazine and they appear here collected together for the first time in print.
"I sailed with him on the brig 'Unicorn' in the Tall Ships Race in '76, and the first thing he did as he came aboard was to go aloft." - Louis Killen
"Stan Hugill, the last British shantyman afloat, amassed a huge collection of shanties from shipmates, friends and family and from published sources. In person, in print and in performance, he had a huge influence, which continues to this day." - Roy Palmer
ISBN: 9780954068240
Price: £15.99
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Boxing the Compass
by Roy Palmer
Boxing The Compass is a revised and updated edition of the classic work Oxford Book of Sea Songs, unavailable for many years. Drawn from a variety of sources, the collection ranges from the reign of Elizabeth I to the end of the Twentieth Century and includes many fine songs that do not appear anywhere else. This new edition includes additional songs and has been brought up to date with that combination of an academic's discipline and a singer's enthusiasm, that makes Roy's books so rewarding. Roy Palmer was awarded a Gold Badge by the English Folk Dance & Song Society in 2006.
"When you open this book you get the whiff of Stockholm tar and you can taste the brine. And reading it is like holding a sea shell to your ear." - Bob Copper
"This meticulously researched and annotated collection - in short indispensable." - Peter Bellamy
ISBN: 9780954068202
Price £16.99