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The Young Tradition were an English
folk group 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 ...
of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices.


Biography

The Young Tradition was formed on 18 April 1965 by Peter Bellamy (8 September 1944, Bournemouth,
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
– 19 September 1991), Royston Wood (1935 – 8 April 1990) and Heather Wood (born Arielle Heather Wood, 31 March 1945,
Attercliffe Attercliffe is an industrial suburb of northeast Sheffield, England on the south bank of the River Don. The suburb falls in the Darnall ward of Sheffield City Council. History The name Attercliffe can be traced back as far as an entry i ...
,
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, England) (who was unrelated to Royston Wood). Most of their repertoire was traditional British folk music, sung without instrumental accompaniment, and was drawn especially from the music of the Copper Family from Sussex, who had a strong oral musical tradition. They augmented the pure folk music with some composed songs which were strongly rooted in the English folk tradition, such as sea shanties written by
Cyril Tawney Cyril Tawney (12 October 1930 – 21 April 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and a proponent of the traditional songs of the West of England, as well as traditional and modern maritime songs. Biography and notable works Tawney was born in ...
, of which "Chicken on a Raft" was the most notable. In the late 1960s,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
became the centre of the English folk music revival and The Young Tradition moved there, sharing a house with
John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...
,
Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...
and
Anne Briggs Anne Patricia Briggs (born 29 September 1944) is an English folk singer. Although she travelled widely in the 1960s and early 1970s, appearing at folk clubs and venues in England and Ireland, she never aspired to commercial success or to achie ...
. They recorded three albums as well as an EP on the
Transatlantic Records Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. The company was established in 1961, primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom ...
label. Allegedly, the group also had an uncredited cameo appearance singing the ''Marat, We're Poor'' chorus on Judy Collins' 1966
In My Life "In My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It appeared on their 1965 album '' Rubber Soul''. Its lyrics were written primarily by John Lennon, credited to Lennon–McCartney. George Martin contributed the piano solo bridge. ...
album. They also collaborated with
Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on ...
on an album recorded in 1969 called '' The Holly Bears the Crown''. A single of ''The Boar's Head Carol'' was released from these sessions in 1974 (by Argo Records), but owing in part to the band's 1969 break up, the full album was not released until 1995 (by Fledg'ling Records). Transatlantic also released a compilation record in 1969: ''The Young Tradition Sampler''. Their later work became more influenced by mediaeval music. "Galleries", their last album released during the life of the band, was musically augmented by
Dolly Collins Dorothy Ann Collins (6 March 1933 – 22 September 1995), was an English folk musician, arranger and composer. She was the older sister of Shirley Collins. Born in Hastings, Sussex (now East Sussex), she grew up in an artistic, socialist ...
,
Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...
,
David Munrow David John Munrow (12 August 194215 May 1976) was a British musician and early music historian. Early life and education Munrow was born in Birmingham where both his parents taught at the University of Birmingham. His mother, Hilda Ivy (né ...
and The
Early Music Consort The Early Music Consort of London was a British music ensemble in the late 1960s and 1970s which specialised in historically informed performance of Medieval and Renaissance music. It was founded in 1967 by music academics Christopher Hogwood ...
. It included a version of "
Agincourt Carol The Agincourt Carol (sometimes known as the ''Agincourt Song'', the ''Agincourt Hymn'', or by its chorus and central words, ''Deo gratias Anglia'') is an English folk song written some time in the early 15th century. It recounts the 1415 Battle ...
". In 1969, the group split up on account of their different musical preferences, with Bellamy wanting to pursue pure traditional music. Their final concert was at Cecil Sharp House, home of the
English Folk Dance and Song Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...
, in October 1969. Royston and Heather Wood continued to work together after the split with Peter Bellamy in 1969, but they did not record again until 1977 when they released ''No Relation'', an album which included Peter Bellamy as guest singer on three tracks and also appearances by guitarists Pete Kirtley and Simon Nicol and bass guitarist Ashley Hutchings. Royston Wood sang briefly with Swan Arcade and died after a car accident in 1990, and Peter Bellamy died by suicide in 1991. Heather Wood has lived in New York City since 1977.


Discography

* ''The Young Tradition'' - 1965 * ''So Cheerfully Round'' - 1966 * ''Chicken on a Raft'' - 1968 ( EP) * ''Galleries'' - 1969 * ''The Young Tradition Sampler'' - 1969 * ''Galleries Revisited'' - 1973 (Reissue of Galleries with additional sleeve notes by Heather Wood) * '' The Holly Bears the Crown'' - recorded 1969, released 1995 * ''Royston Wood & Heather Wood - No Relation'' - 1977 * ''Galleries/No Relation'' - 1997 (Reissue of Galleries and the EP with additional tracks by Royston & Heather Wood on a single CD) * ''The Young Tradition/So Cheerfully Round''- 1999 (Reissue of first 2 albums on a single CD) * ''Oberlin 1968'' - 2013 release of a live performance at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, United States, on 17 November 1968. Fledg'ling FLED3094


References


Bibliography

* Bob Copper, ''A Song for Every Season: 100 Years in the Life of a Sussex Farming Family'', Heinemann, 1971.


External links


Peter Bellamy tribute site
(no longer active
Internet Archive link



Heather Wood's home page

The Copper Family website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young Tradition, The English folk musical groups