BBC Channel 4 2006-10-14
Folk Britannia, London, UK
Set 1
Ballads And Blues:
In the early 20th century, a new breed of folk-song collectors, led by Cecil Sharp, worked to preserve and promote the traditional folk music that would bolster national pride during turbulent times.
In post-war Britain, this tradition was assimilated into a revolutionary soundtrack by the left-wing artists Ewan MacColl and Bert Lloyd. MacColl founded Britain's first modern folk club - The Ballad and Blues Club - and his groundbreaking Radio Ballads, which championed the working-class hero, were broadcast to unanimous acclaim.
But by the mid-1950s skiffle had captured the imagination of the nation's youth. Songs by American artists like Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie filled the airwaves while a growing bohemian movement in Greenwich Village, New York, began to wrest folk music from the communists.
In the early 20th century, a new breed of folk-song collectors, led by Cecil Sharp, worked to preserve and promote the traditional folk music that would bolster national pride during turbulent times.
In post-war Britain, this tradition was assimilated into a revolutionary soundtrack by the left-wing artists Ewan MacColl and Bert Lloyd. MacColl founded Britain's first modern folk club - The Ballad and Blues Club - and his groundbreaking Radio Ballads, which championed the working-class hero, were broadcast to unanimous acclaim.
But by the mid-1950s skiffle had captured the imagination of the nation's youth. Songs by American artists like Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie filled the airwaves while a growing bohemian movement in Greenwich Village, New York, began to wrest folk music from the communists.
Set 2
Folk Routes, New Routes:
A new breed of virtuoso travelling guitarists like Davy Graham and Bert Jansch become the heroes of the movement as folk clubs, run by young people for young people, sprang up all over the country.
In 1965, Britain produced its first folk pop star in the form of Donovan who embraced bohemia and turned his back on society, "challenging hypocrisy and greed". Later the same year, Dylan polarized folk fans by going electric but there was a mood for experimentation.
In Scotland, the Incredible String Band fused folk with psychedelia while Pentangle explored the possibilities of jazz-folk. Fairport Convention invented folk-rock, and Steeleye Span and Lindisfarne brought the genre into the mainstream - but by the mid-Seventies folk-rock had become a parody of itself.
A new breed of virtuoso travelling guitarists like Davy Graham and Bert Jansch become the heroes of the movement as folk clubs, run by young people for young people, sprang up all over the country.
In 1965, Britain produced its first folk pop star in the form of Donovan who embraced bohemia and turned his back on society, "challenging hypocrisy and greed". Later the same year, Dylan polarized folk fans by going electric but there was a mood for experimentation.
In Scotland, the Incredible String Band fused folk with psychedelia while Pentangle explored the possibilities of jazz-folk. Fairport Convention invented folk-rock, and Steeleye Span and Lindisfarne brought the genre into the mainstream - but by the mid-Seventies folk-rock had become a parody of itself.
Set 3
Between The Wars:
Since its low point in the late Seventies, folk music has continually reinvented itself to appeal to new audiences.
Politicised folk enjoyed a renaissance in the war between the miners and Thatcherism and punks like Billy Bragg, and artists from the crustie traveller scene which followed, re-engaged in social and political protest.
In the Nineties second generation folkies, like Eliza Carthy, emerged to take on the mantle of the folk traditionalists and the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards were launched to celebrate industry achievements.
The story is brought right up to date with the two, very different, folk scenes flourishing today. The first is at home in the traditional folk clubs, whilst artists like Devendra Banhart and King Creosote belong to a neo-folk scene which harks back to some of the most exciting neo-psychedelic and pastoral folk albums of the Sixties.
Since its low point in the late Seventies, folk music has continually reinvented itself to appeal to new audiences.
Politicised folk enjoyed a renaissance in the war between the miners and Thatcherism and punks like Billy Bragg, and artists from the crustie traveller scene which followed, re-engaged in social and political protest.
In the Nineties second generation folkies, like Eliza Carthy, emerged to take on the mantle of the folk traditionalists and the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards were launched to celebrate industry achievements.
The story is brought right up to date with the two, very different, folk scenes flourishing today. The first is at home in the traditional folk clubs, whilst artists like Devendra Banhart and King Creosote belong to a neo-folk scene which harks back to some of the most exciting neo-psychedelic and pastoral folk albums of the Sixties.
Comment
Folk Britannia is a three-part documentary series tracing the evolution of British folk music from the end of the Second World War right up to its latter-day revival.
The story is told by those who lived and shaped it - a stellar cast from every era that includes Bert Jansch, Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, Donovan, Davy Graham, Richard Thompson, Maddy Prior, Billy Bragg, Shane MacGowan, Beth Orton and Seth Lakeman.
The story is told by those who lived and shaped it - a stellar cast from every era that includes Bert Jansch, Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, Donovan, Davy Graham, Richard Thompson, Maddy Prior, Billy Bragg, Shane MacGowan, Beth Orton and Seth Lakeman.
Sources
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Created At
Mon Nov 06 2006 23:11:22 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Updated At
Mon Nov 06 2006 23:11:22 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
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