Show 25 – Shirley Collins

Last week Quietus co-editor Luke Turner had the great pleasure of travelling down to the ancient town of Lewes, East Sussex to speak to the great Shirley Collins for a Quietus Hour Special. We visited Shirley’s cottage to have a brew (she makes an excellent brew) and discuss and listen to nine songs of her choosing. In her front room, recently used to record 2016-highlight album Lodestar, we talked about that record and her return to song, why Morris dancing and the English folk tradition are derided and neglected at our peril, her friendship with Lodestar-collaborators Cyclobe and some of the musicians she’s picked, the racism she encountered in the American south while collecting music with Alan Lomax and her fears for the future.

We also talked about the wonderful landscape of the Sussex Downs and the uncanny presence that lurks within its folds, the great Sussex folk hero Bob Copper, and why songs are always good when sung by a handsome man.