''Silent June'' is the first album by

O'Hooley & Tidow O'Hooley & Tidow are an English folk music duo from Yorkshire. Singer-songwriter Heidi Tidow (pronounced ''Tee-doe'' or ''Tee-dov'') performs and records with her wife, singer-songwriter and pianist Belinda O'Hooley, who was formerly a member of ...

. Recorded between August and November 2009 at their home in

Golcar Golcar (pronounced 'Go Car' or 'Golker') is a village on a hillside crest above the Colne Valley in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield, and just north of the River Colne and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. The 2021 population censu ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

, it was released on 22 February 2010 on the

No Masters No Masters is a British record label, based in the north of England, specialising in folk with a political edge. The label was founded in 1990 by John Tams and Jim Boyes. Originally working as singer, John Tams is now famous as an actor in the ...

label, distributed by

Proper Records Proper Records is an English record label founded by Proper Music Group Chairman - Malcolm Mills and Paul Riley. Commencing with a handful of releases, including the Balham Alligators and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, the label grew in s ...

. The album, which was mixed and mastered by Neil Ferguson of

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

, also featured Anna Esslemont and Cormac Byrne (both from

Uiscedwr Uiscedwr (pronounced "ish-ka-dooer") is a former musical group whose members came from various parts of the British Isles and played British folk music influenced by world music. The group started off as a trio and was originally based in Manc ...

Jackie Oates Jackie Oates is an English folk singer and fiddle player. Life Oates was born in Congleton in Cheshire in 1983 but grew up in Staffordshire. At the age of 18, she moved to Devon to study English literature at Exeter University and was based in ...

and the Solo Players

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

. It was critically acclaimed and received a four-starred review in the ''Financial Times''.

Songs

The title of the album refers to the words of one of the songs on the album, "Que Sera", about the

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

of the British nurse

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...

. Belinda O'Hooley says that "Que Sera" seeks to portray "the horrors of war from a woman's perspective" and "explores the feelings, sounds and senses that Edith Cavell may have felt as she stood before a firing squad". The album also includes a version of the song "

Spancil Hill ''Spancil Hill'', or in original spelling Spancilhill, is a traditional Irish folk ballad composed by Michael Considine (1850–73), who was born in Spancil Hill and migrated to the US. It bemoans the plight of the Irish emigrants who so longed ...

" and a new song "Too Old to Dream" incorporating a segment of "

When I Grow Too Old to Dream "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" is a popular song with music by Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, published in 1934. The song was introduced by Evelyn Laye and Ramon Novarro in the film ''The Night Is Young'' (1935). It has sin ...

", a popular song with music by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moon'' (1928). Earl ...

and lyrics by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

, published in 1934 and recorded by many artists, most notably

Gracie Fields Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...

Reception

Colin Irwin, for ''

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

'', said: "Too Old to Dream is a sentimental, yet still intensely moving picture of faded memories, melded into the old Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein II standard and a recording of a Dewsbury care home resident....One More Xmas might also one day be recognised as a classic. Thoughtful, provocative, yearning and deeply poignant, it’ll resonate with anyone who's lost a loved one or wilts under grown-up responsibilities, and may just be the best seasonal song written since Fairytale of New York."

Neil Spencer Neil Spencer is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and astrologer who lives in north London. He edited the ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') from 1978 to 1985 and was a founding editor of the men's magazine ''Arena'' and of the jazz/art ma ...

, writing in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', said: "The spare, dramatic piano parts that Belinda O'Hooley formerly brought to the Unthanks have grown into rippling, neo-classical arrangements on this first album with fellow singer and songwriter Heidi Tidow... A bold, unsettling debut." David Honigmann, reviewing the album for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', gave it four stars, and said "the deceptively light 'Shelter Me' is a memorably off-beat love song...O’Hooley unfolds a gorgeous piano melody." Peter Culshaw of ''

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

'' described ''Silent June'' as a "low-key but intensely beautiful and poetic album...the piano, adventurous bracing strings and vocals give it a semi-classical feel." It was one of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' magazine's Top 10

Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

Albums of 2010 and won "Best Debut" in the Spiral Awards, organised by Spiral Earth.

Track listing

# "Flight of the Petrel" (O'Hooley/Tidow) (6:38) # "All Stand in Line" (O'Hooley) (4:59) # "Shelter Me" (O'Hooley/Tidow) (3:42) # "Banjololo" (Traditional, arranged by O'Hooley/Tidow) (0:35) # "Spancil Hill" (Traditional, arranged by O'Hooley/Tidow/Dumbelton/Oates) (4:20) # "Too Old to Dream" (O'Hooley/Tidow/Romberg/Hammerstein II) (7:44) # "Hidden from the Sun" (O'Hooley/Tidow) (7:33) # "Que Sera" (O'Hooley/Tidow) (6:12) # "Beautiful Danger" (O'Hooley) (3:54) # "One More Xmas" (O'Hooley) (5:19) # "Cold and Stiff" (O'Hooley) (2:14)

Personnel

O'Hooley & Tidow

Belinda O'Hooley Belinda O'Hooley (born 18 July 1971) is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Yorkshire, England. Formerly a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset (now The Unthanks), she now records and performs as O'Hooley & Tidow with her wife Heidi Tido ...

– vocals, piano, dampened piano, piano chimes, hand claps * Heidi Tidow – vocals, hand claps

Other musicians

* Anna Esslemont – violin, hand claps * Cormac Byrne – bodhran, cajon, percussion, hand claps * James Dumbelton – guitar *

– octave fiddle * James Budden – bass * Nia Bevan, Raymond Lester, Jayne Coyle, Damion Browne –

* Irene Rourke from Barking Banks Care Home,

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

– vocals at intro to "Too Old to Dream"

Production

The album (except for the string quartet, which was recorded at Hill Top Studios,

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 ...

) was recorded at West End Studios, Golcar by Belinda O'Hooley from August to November 2009. It was produced by Belinda O'Hooley & Heidi Tidow.

Cover artwork

The album's cover, designed by Boff Whalley, incorporated photographs by Casey Orr.

References and footnotes

External links

Official website: O'Hooley & Tidow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silent June 2010 debut albums O'Hooley & Tidow albums