Radio-ballad
Encyclopedia
The radio ballad is an audio documentary
format created by Ewan MacColl
, Peggy Seeger
, and Charles Parker in 1958. It combines four elements of sound: songs, instrumental music, sound effects, and, most importantly, the recorded voices of those who are the subjects of the documentary. The latter element was revolutionary; previous radio documentaries had used either professional voice actors or prepared scripts.
. MacColl wrote a variety of songs especially for them, many of which have become folk classics. The trio together made eight radio ballads between 1958 and 1964. They were: The Ballad of John Axon
(1958), about an engine driver who died trying to stop a runaway freight train, Song of a Road (1959), about the men who built the London-Yorkshire motorway, the M1
, Singing the Fishing (1960), about the men and women of the herring
fishing fleets of East Anglia
and Northeast Scotland, The Big Hewer (1961), about the miners of the Northumberland
, Durham
, South Wales
and East Midlands
coalfields, The Body Blow (1962), about people suffering from polio, On the Edge (1963), about teenagers in Britain, The Fight Game (1963), about boxers
, and The Travelling People (1964), about the nomadic peoples of Britain.
All eight radio ballads were released on LP, by Argo Records
, and later on CD. They are also available via Listen Again on
the BBC Radio 2 website.
A book about the making of the radio ballads was published on the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of John Axon. Set into Song: Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and the Radio Ballads was written and researched by Peter Cox, published by Labatie Books ISBN 978-095518771-1 and has an extensive website which carries the first two pages of each chapter, the complete transcripts and cast lists for each programme, bibliography, footnotes and reviews.
, and contributions from Karine Polwart
, Jez Lowe
and Cara Dillon
among others.
The following ballads were broadcast between February and April 2006: The Song of Steel on the decline of the Sheffield
and Rotherham
Steel
Industry (27 February); The Enemy That Lives Within, on HIV
/AIDS
(6 March); The Horn of the Hunter, on Foxhunting (13 March); Swings and Roundabouts, on Travellers who run fairgrounds
(20 March) Thirty Years of Conflict; on the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland
(27 March); and The Ballad of the Big Ships, on the shipyards of the Tyne
and the Clyde
, (3 April).
All were later released on CD, and a separate CD was also released containing a selection of the songs drawn from across the series.
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
format created by Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
, Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger
Margaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
, and Charles Parker in 1958. It combines four elements of sound: songs, instrumental music, sound effects, and, most importantly, the recorded voices of those who are the subjects of the documentary. The latter element was revolutionary; previous radio documentaries had used either professional voice actors or prepared scripts.
Original radio ballads
The original radio ballads were recorded for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. MacColl wrote a variety of songs especially for them, many of which have become folk classics. The trio together made eight radio ballads between 1958 and 1964. They were: The Ballad of John Axon
John Axon
John Axon GC was an English train driver from Stockport who died while trying to stop a runaway freight train on a 1 in 58 gradient near Buxton in Derbyshire after a brake failure. The train consisted of an ex-LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No...
(1958), about an engine driver who died trying to stop a runaway freight train, Song of a Road (1959), about the men who built the London-Yorkshire motorway, the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
, Singing the Fishing (1960), about the men and women of the herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
fishing fleets of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and Northeast Scotland, The Big Hewer (1961), about the miners of the Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
and East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
coalfields, The Body Blow (1962), about people suffering from polio, On the Edge (1963), about teenagers in Britain, The Fight Game (1963), about boxers
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, and The Travelling People (1964), about the nomadic peoples of Britain.
All eight radio ballads were released on LP, by Argo Records
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
, and later on CD. They are also available via Listen Again on
the BBC Radio 2 website.
A book about the making of the radio ballads was published on the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of John Axon. Set into Song: Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and the Radio Ballads was written and researched by Peter Cox, published by Labatie Books ISBN 978-095518771-1 and has an extensive website which carries the first two pages of each chapter, the complete transcripts and cast lists for each programme, bibliography, footnotes and reviews.
Transmission dates
- The Ballad of John Axon - 2 July 1958
- Song Of A Road - 5 November 1959
- Singing The Fishing - 16 August 1960
- The Big Hewer - 18 August 1961
- The Body Blow - 27 March 1962
- On The Edge - 13 February 1963
- The Fight Game - 3 July 1963
- The Travelling People - 17 April 1964
2006 radio ballads
In 2006, BBC Radio 2 broadcast six new radio ballads using the same format, with musical direction by John TamsJohn Tams
John Tams is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician.- Folk musician :John Tams was a member of Derbyshire folk group Muckram Wakes in the 1970s, then worked with Ashley Hutchings as singer and melodeon-player on albums including Son of Morris On, and as a member of the...
, and contributions from Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide...
, Jez Lowe
Jez Lowe
Jez Lowe is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a coal mining family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, particularly in his hometown of Easington Colliery. He performs both as a...
and Cara Dillon
Cara Dillon
Cara Dillon is an Irish folk singer. In 2001, she launched her career as a solo artist in the UK with the eponymous Cara Dillon album...
among others.
The following ballads were broadcast between February and April 2006: The Song of Steel on the decline of the Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
Steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
Industry (27 February); The Enemy That Lives Within, on HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
(6 March); The Horn of the Hunter, on Foxhunting (13 March); Swings and Roundabouts, on Travellers who run fairgrounds
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
(20 March) Thirty Years of Conflict; on the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
(27 March); and The Ballad of the Big Ships, on the shipyards of the Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
and the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, (3 April).
All were later released on CD, and a separate CD was also released containing a selection of the songs drawn from across the series.