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Hark! The Village Wait
''Hark! The Village Wait'' is the debut album by the British folk rock band Steeleye Span, first released in 1970. It is the only album to feature the original lineup of the band, as they broke up and reformed with an altered membership immediately after its release, without ever having performed live. Therefore, it is one of only two Steeleye Span studio albums to feature two female vocalists (Maddy Prior and Gay Woods), the other being ''Time'' (1996). A similar sound was apparent years later when Prior teamed up with June Tabor to form Silly Sisters. Overall, the album's sound is essentially folk music with rock drumming and bass guitar added to some of the songs. The banjo features prominently on several tracks, including " Blackleg Miner", "Lowlands of Holland" and "One Night as I Lay on My Bed". The album's title refers not to the act of waiting, but to a '' wait'', a small body of wind instrumentalists employed by a town at public charge from Tudor times until the earl ...
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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 were commercially successful in that period, with four Top 40 albums and two hit singles: " Gaudete" and " All Around My Hat". Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes, with Maddy Prior being the only remaining original member of the band. Their musical repertoire consists of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions. History Early years Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hu ...
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Christmas Waits
From medieval times up to the early 19th century, every British town and city of any note had a band of waites (modern spelling waits or waitts). Their duties varied from time to time and place to place, but included playing their instruments through the town at night, waking the townsfolk on dark winter mornings by playing under their windows, welcoming royal visitors by playing at the town gates, and leading the mayor's procession on civic occasions. These musical bands were often attired in colourful liveries and in some cases wore silver chains. Most continental European countries had their equivalents of waits. In Holland they were called ''stadspijpers'', in Germany '' Stadtpfeifer'' and in Italy ''pifferi'' (see Alta cappella). History Town waits or city waits were in former times in England and Scotland the watchmen who patrolled during the night, using a musical instrument to show they were on duty and to mark the hours. This simple task later developed as the waits a ...
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Blacksmith (song)
"Blacksmith", also known as "A Blacksmith Courted Me", is a traditional English folk song listed as number 816 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Traditional versions The song was noted down by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1909 from a Mrs Ellen Powell of Westhope near Weobley, Herefordshire; his transcription is available online from the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. On that occasion it was sung to the tune "Monk's Gate", better known as the tune of "To be a pilgrim", the hymn by John Bunyan. The same tune is sometimes used for the song "Our Captain Cried", which can be considered a version of the same song. George Butterworth (a friend of Vaughan Williams and Cecil Sharp) collected another version of the song with a similar tune from a Mrs. Verrall of Horsham, Sussex in 1909, and included a setting of the song in his 1912 collection Folk Songs from Sussex. Several traditional singers from the south of England have recorded versions of the song, such as the travellers Phoebe Smit ...
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Terry Woods
Terence Woods (born 4 December 1947) is an Irish folk musician, songwriter/singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his membership in such folk and folk- rock groups as the Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, the Bucks, Dr. Strangely Strange and the short-lived Orphanage, with Phil Lynott. Woods also played with his wife Gay, billed initially as the Woods Band and later as Gay and Terry Woods. Woods is most associated with the mandolin and cittern, but also plays acoustic and electric guitars, mandola, five-string banjo and concertina. Career Woods was once a member of the band Steeleye Span. As a member of the Pogues, he was known for playing instruments including the mandolin and the concertina. He wrote and sang the vocals for the first section of their song " Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six", with vocalist Shane MacGowan writing and singing the second section. Discography Albums With Sweeney's Men *'' Sweeney's Men'' *'' The Tracks of Sweeney'' ...
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Singing
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singing as the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. Other common definitions include "the utterance of words or sounds in tuneful succession" or "the production of musical tones by means of the human voice". A person whose profession is singing is called a singer or a vocalist (in jazz or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung accompaniment, with or a cappella, without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble (music), ensemble of musicians, such as a choir. Singers may perform as Soloist (music), soloists or accompanied by anything from a single instrument (as in art songs or some Jazz, jazz styles) up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Many styles o ...
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Ashley Hutchings
Ashley Stephen Hutchings (born 26 January 1945), MBE, sometimes known in early years as "Tyger" Hutchings, is an English bassist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founding member of three noteworthy English folk-rock bands: Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band. Hutchings has overseen numerous other projects, including records and live theatre, and has collaborated on film and television projects. History Early career Hutchings was born in Southgate, London, England, but moved to Muswell Hill while still a child. As a teenager he became involved in the skiffle and blues movements and formed several groups, including 'Dr K's Blues Band' in 1964. He met guitarist Simon Nicol in 1966 when they both played in the 'Ethnic Shuffle Orchestra'. They rehearsed on the floor above Nicol's father's medical practice in a house called "Fairport" that lent its name to the group they formed together as Fairport Convention in 1967 with ...
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British Folk Music
Throughout the history of the British Isles, the land that is now the United Kingdom has been a major music producer, drawing inspiration from church music and traditional folk music, using instruments from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has its own diverse and distinctive folk music forms, which flourished until the era of industrialisation when they began to be replaced by new forms of popular music, including music hall and brass bands. Many British musicians have influenced modern music on a global scale, and the UK has one of the world's largest music industry, music industries. English folk music, English, Scottish folk music, Scottish, Irish folk music, Irish, and Welsh folk music as well as other British styles of music heavily influenced Music of the United States, American music such as American folk music, American march music, old-time music, old-time, ragtime, blues, country music, country, and Blue ...
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Cobham, Kent
Cobham () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. The village is located south-east of Gravesend, and just south of Watling Street, the Roman road from Dover to London. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Sole Street, covers an area of and had a population of 1,469 at the 2011 census, increasing from 1,328 at the 2001 census. Since 1970 the village has been in a conservation area which aims to preserve the historic character and appearance of the area. Cobham is twinned with Baturyn in northern Ukraine, Ukraine. The twinning agreement was signed in a virtual ceremony on 11th March 2025. History Cobham parish has had several manors; one of which, Henhurst, was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and in the Textus Roffensis as being part of the Rochester Bridge charter of c.975, so there has been a settlement in the parish since at least the 10th century. The largest and most notable of the manors is Cobh ...
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Newcastleton
Newcastleton, also called Copshaw Holm, is a village in Liddesdale, the Scottish Borders, a few miles from the border with England, on the Liddel Water. It is within the Counties of Scotland, county of Roxburghshire. It is the site of Hermitage Castle. Newcastleton is east of Langholm, south of Hawick, north of Carlisle and south of Edinburgh. History Newcastleton was built as a result of the land clearances in the 1790s when people were forced to move from Old Castleton village. There has been a folk festival at Newcastleton since 1970. "Copshaw Holm" (another name for the village) is celebrated in the song "Copshawholm Fair", written by David Anderson in 1830, as sung by Willie Scott among others. In 2020, the local community purchased 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) of Langholm Moor for £3.8m from Buccleuch Estates. Amenities A community-owned unmanned Filling station, fuel station opened after much community fund raising in 2018. The former Townfoot Church (erected i ...
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Tim Hart
Tim Hart (9 January 1948 – 24 December 2009) was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Early years Tim Hart was born in Lincoln, England, but moved to St Albans in Hertfordshire at a relatively young age: his father, the Rev. Canon Dennis Hart, was successively perpetual curate then vicar of St Saviour's church in Sandpit Lane, St Albans from 1955 to 1992. Hart began his life as a musician performing with the Rattfinks, St Albans School's second band, the first being The Zombies. In 1966, he began performing with Blackpool-born folk singer Maddy Prior, touring English folk clubs. In 1968 and 1969 the duo recorded two albums: ''Folk Songs of Olde England'', Volumes One and Two. Steeleye Span From 1970 to 1982, Hart and Prior were the backbone of Steeleye Span. Hart's contribution to the band demonstrated his musical abilities on a wide range of instruments, some electric, including: acousti ...
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Twa Corbies
"The Three Ravens" () is an English folk ballad, printed in the songbook ''Melismata'' compiled by Thomas Ravenscroft and published in 1611, but the song is possibly older than that. Newer versions (with different music) were recorded up through the 19th century. Francis James Child recorded several versions in his Child Ballads (catalogued as number 26). The ballad centers three scavenger birds conversing about where and what they should eat. One tells the others of a newly slain knight, but they find he is guarded by his loyal hawks and hounds. Furthermore, a "fallow doe", a metaphor for the knight's pregnant ("as great with young as she might go") lover or mistress (see " leman") comes to his body, kisses his wounds, bears him away, and buries him, leaving the ravens without a meal. The narrative ends with "God send euery gentleman / Such haukes, such hounds, and such a Leman". Text of the ballad These lyrics to "The Three Ravens" are transcribed using 1611 orthography. The ...
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Time (Steeleye Span Album)
''Time'' is the fourteenth studio album by Steeleye Span. The album was released in 1996, after a seven-year hiatus, and was their first on the Park Records label. The impetus for the album was a 25th anniversary reunion tour the year before, during which most of the former members of the band performed together. Maddy Prior was experiencing voice problems so she spoke to Gay Woods, a founding member who had left the band after the first album, to rejoin. Woods initially resisted this move, since she had not performed publicly for some time, but Prior eventually prevailed and Woods returned to the band. The result was only the second Steeleye Span album to feature two female singers, which was used on the ironic "Old Maid in the Garrett" and to a lesser extent on "The Prickly Bush" and "The Cutty Wren". Both Prior and Woods provide lead vocals on different songs. Prior's voice troubles are reflected in her musical choices on this album; she generally sings less powerfully an ...
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