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Sample MP3's from the album |
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1. The Manchester Rambler |
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2. My Old Man |
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3. Kids Songs | |
4. We are the Young Ones | |
5. Dirty Old Town |
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6. Bonnie Shepherd Lad | |
7. Moses of the Mail |
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8. Row Bullies Row | |
9. Hardcase |
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10. That Bomb has Got to Go |
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11. Black and White | |
12. Ballad of the Big Cigar | |
13. Disc of Sun |
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14. Shoals of Herring |
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15. Blantyre Explosion | |
16. Champion at keepin 'em Rolling |
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17. Sweet Thames Flow Softly | |
18. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face |
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18. The Manchester Rambler part re-prise | |
19. Joy of Living | |
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CD Background
In 1999 I was commissioned
by Salford City Council to
perform a concert of songs
to celebrate the unveiling of
a plaque to honour EWAN
McCOLL who like me was a
son of Salford.
I put together
an evening of songs made by
and/or collected by him.
I also included songs I had
learned over my years with
THE SPINNERS that had
been inspired by
conversations with him about
the importance of linking the
traditional with the
contemporary.
This CD contains a cross section of
the songs I used in the show.
It seemed appropriate to
start with one of his earliest
and most famous songs, now
known to many as a folksong
THE MANCHESTER RAMBLER.
A song written for the
occasion of a mass trespass
over Kinder Scout in the year
of my birth 1936.
I then begin his story with
the major influences on his |
early life in Salford. First
and foremost there was
William Miller of Stirling,
who to Ewan, was MY OLD
MAN. Next came his
childhood on the streets,
KIDS SONGS, and school,
where he did not have a
great experience hence,
WE ARE THE YOUNG ONES
(written by Peggy Seeger.)
DIRTY OLD TOWN follows:
- one of his early songs
written for a drama
"Landscape With Chimneys",
when he was one of Britain’s
brightest young playwrights.
It was all about Salford as he
and I remembered it. Since
then Salford has taken a big
sharp axe to the dirty bits
and now thrives with a
stunning new arts centre, The
Lowry Centre.
Ewan’s mum
Betsy and dad Will gave him a
life long love of the "muckle
sangs" and so BONNIE
SHEPHERD LAD. This led him
into collecting songs and
producing ‘Shuttle and Cage’.
A book that became an early |
bible of the burgeoning folk
movement in the late fifties.
From this I learned MOSES
OF THE MAIL, which I sang at
an EFDSS song festival in
1958 and thus became a
"certified" singer of
unaccompanied English
songs! This small book began
a collaboration with Bert
Lloyd, which led to several
albums on the Topic label
including ROW BULLIES ROW.
Ewan never shied from the
hard political issues and his
songs reflected this, from
HARDCASE, about the prison
system, THAT BOMB HAS GOT
TO GO, the H-Bomb, BLACK
AND WHITE, against
apartheid, Cuba in the
BALLAD OF THE BIG CIGAR,
and Vietnam with DISC
OF SUN.
Another big chunk of his
life was taken up with the
Radio Ballads he made with
Peggy Seeger and BBC
producer Charles Parker, from
these I have plucked: SHOALS
OF HERRING, (Singing the |
Fishing, winner of the Prix
d’Italia), BLANTYRE
EXPLOSION, (The Big
Hewer), and CHAMPION AT
KEEPIN’’EM ROLLING (Song
of the Road).
He later returned to the
theatre with a group of
young people, The Critics
Group which gave rise to
SWEET THAMES FLOW
SOFTLY.
The vast majority of his life
in song was spent with his
wife Peggy Seeger, who was
his musical collaborator and
ideas sounding board. His
love for Peggy was revealed
to the world when he wrote
THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW
YOUR FACE.
Finally we come full circle
to his love of the mountains
with reprise of MANCHESTER
RAMBLER and one of his last
songs, written when he
realised his mountain
climbing days were over, the
beautiful JOY OF LIVING. |
All tracks words & music Ewan MacColl except:-
Track 4. Words & music Peggy Seeger
Track 7. Trad. Arr. Ewan MacColl
Tracks 3, 6, 8, 15 Trad. Arr. Mick Groves
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Musicians
Phil Beer - Fiddle, guitars, others & vocals
'Count' John McCormick - String bass
Mick Burch - Harmonica & vocals
Alan Howlett - Mandolin, melodeons
John Philips - Banjo & vocals
Graham Butterfield - Vocals
Cliff Jones - Vocals
CD Credits
My Thanks to all who assisted me in
making this CD, especially to Phil Beer for
his unfailing kindness to an old 'folkie',
and his considerable skills both musically
and technically. Also to my old mate
Johnny Mac for making the long journey to
the West Country from his Liverpool home.
Produced by Phil Beer
at River side Studios, Exeter.
Mastering Alisdair Bevan.
Design by Gemini Publishing & Design.
Photography by: Jim Maginn (Ewan MacColl),
John Ffoulkes (Mick Groves).
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