Elaine "Lal" Waterson (15 February 1943 – 4 September 1998) was an English folksinger and songwriter. She sang with, among others,
The Watersons
The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies. They have been called the "most famous fam ...
, The Waterdaughters and
Blue Murder. She was born in
Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1998, she died suddenly in
Robin Hood's Bay
Robin Hood's Bay is a small Yorkshire coast fishery, fishing village and a bay located in the North York Moors National Park, south of Whitby and north of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Ba ...
, of cancer diagnosed only ten days before. "Lal Waterson's voice was stark but captivating, her songs lyrically ambitious and melodically powerful."
Lal Waterson was the sister of
Norma Waterson
Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included h ...
and
Mike Waterson
Michael Waterson (17 January 1941 – 22 June 2011) was an English writer, songwriter and folk singer.
Biography
Waterson was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. After being orphaned at an early age, he was brought up there, wit ...
, the aunt of
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.
Life and ca ...
, and the sister-in-law of
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...
. She was survived by her husband of 30 years, George Knight, and her two children,
Oliver Knight
Oliver Knight (born 1969) is a British singer-songwriter and sound engineer. He is son to folk singer-songwriter Lal Waterson and George Knight. He is brother and stage partner to folk musician Marry Waterson.
Early life
Oliver Knight was born i ...
and
Maria Gilhooley
Maria Gilhooley (née Knight), who records under the name Marry Waterson, is a singer, songwriter and visual artist. A member of the Waterson-Knight-Carthy family musical dynasty, Waterson is described as having "thrived on communal music making ...
, with both of whom she had recorded albums.
Biography
Lal, Norma, and Mike Waterson were orphans and brought up by their grandmother who was of part
gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
descent. Always very close, they began singing together, with cousin John Harrison, in the 1950s, with Lal 'singing unexpected harmonies.' Having opened their own folk club in a pub in the fishing port of Hull where they grew up, by the mid 1960s they had developed their own unaccompanied style singing harmony style re-workings of traditional English songs. In 1968 they stopped touring and became geographically separate for the first time – Norma went to
Montserrat
Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...
, and Lal to
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
where her husband George lived, while Mike stayed in Hull. Both Mike and Lal were writing songs and when Lal returned to Hull they began working together. When
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...
heard Lal's songs, he found them extraordinary. At this time Carthy was in the folk-rock band
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...
and he told the bass player
Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings, MBE, sometimes known in early years by his nickname, "Tyger" Hutchings (born 26 January 1945) is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of t ...
about Lal and Mike's songs and together they arranged to have them recorded, not unaccompanied, but with a backing band that included Carthy, Hutchings and
Richard Thompson. ''Bright Phoebus'' was released in 1972 and "caused a quiet sensation".
Her songs sometimes echoed traditional material but also involved a variety of other influences – 'some veered towards jazz and
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
, others like ''Winifer Odd'' had a quirky charm worthy of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, but with bleak lyrics added. Another favourite ''Fine Horseman'', made use of unexpected chords and structures.' Lyrics were as important to her as the music. The writer she admired most was the 19th century French poet
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...
.
[
In 1976 all three Waterson siblings moved to Kirk Moor on the edge of the ]North York Moors
The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...
and re-formed the group, with Martin Carthy taking over from John Harrison. In the 1980s Lal and George, and Norma and Martin, moved to Robin Hood's Bay and the sea and landscape of the area often became the inspiration for Lal's songs. She left The Watersons in 1990 for health reasons, staying at Robin Hood's Bay, still writing and painting, and recorded her songs at home with her son Oliver Knight, a producer, guitarist and songwriter. When ''Once in a Blue Moon'' was released however, she refused to sing the songs live – perhaps the result of a bad experience while singing with the Watersons. According to Martin Carthy: "She was a perfectionist.. she never sang solo after she forgot something on stage.. she couldn't bear the idea of it going wrong."
After Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
died from AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, ''Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' columnist Joe Haines made homophobic remarks. Lal Waterson responded to this with her song ''Reply to Joe Haines''. She never recorded it, but it appears on her sister Norma Waterson
Norma Christine Waterson (15 August 1939 – 30 January 2022) was an English singer and songwriter, best known as one of the original members of The Watersons, a celebrated English traditional folk group. Other members of the group included h ...
's album ''The Very Thought of You''.
Whilst recording ''Bed of Roses'' with Oliver Knight, she died of cancer; the album was released posthumously.
''Migrating Bird: The Songs of Lal Waterson'' (2007) is a tribute album, with contributions from James Yorkston
James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist ...
, Alasdair Roberts, Willard Grant Conspiracy
Willard Grant Conspiracy (WGC) was an alt-country band based originally in Boston, Massachusetts and later near Palmdale, California, U.S.. The band operated as a collective, with vocalist and songwriter Robert Fisher the only permanent member ...
, Vashti Bunyan
Vashti Bunyan (born Jennifer Vashti Bunyan, 1945) is an English singer-songwriter. Beginning her career in the mid-1960s, she released her debut album, ''Just Another Diamond Day'', in 1970. The album sold very few copies and Bunyan, discourage ...
, Victoria Williams
Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with multi ...
and others. Jo Freya
Jo Freya (born 4 December 1960) is an English saxophonist, clarinettist and singer.
She was born Jo Fraser, but changed her name to Jo Freya as a condition of joining the actors' union Equity, which does not allow two of its members to share the s ...
's album "Lal" (2007) is another tribute to her.
Her songs have been covered by a series of singers including June Tabor
June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband.
Early life
June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...
, Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...
, The Fatima Mansions
The Fatima Mansions were an Irish rock band formed in 1988 by Cork singer/keyboardist Cathal Coughlan, formerly of Microdisney.
Career
The original line-up consisted of Coughlan, Nick Allum, Jonathan Fell, Zac Woolhouse and Aindrias O'Gruama. ...
and The Unthanks
The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres."They may cal ...
. Rachel Unthank: " Her lyrics are so descriptive and evocative,... the melodies twist and turn in ways I wouldn't expect, and yet each line seems to melt into each other.."
''Bright Phoebus'', released in 1972 by Lal and Mike Waterson, was reissued in 2017 by Domino
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
. The reissue included previously-unheard home demo recordings, and was remastered from the original tapes.
Discography
*Lal and Mike Waterson – '' Bright Phoebus'' (1972)
*Lal and Norma Waterson – ''A True Hearted Girl'' (1977)
*Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight – ''Once in a Blue Moon'' (1996)
*Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight – ''A Bed of Roses'' (1999)
References
External links
Obituary – Bright Phoebus Dimmed
by John Pilgrim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterson, Lal
1943 births
1998 deaths
Musicians from Kingston upon Hull
English folk singers
20th-century English singers
20th-century English musicians
The Watersons members
Blue Murder (folk group) members
The Albion Band members
Topic Records artists
English people of Irish descent