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. The band's original members were Norma, Mike, and Elaine known as Lal Waterson, with their cousin John Harrison from Kingston High School. They had a skiffle band in the early 1960s but moved on to playing more traditional material. They were briefly known as "the Folksons".
Their first album was Frost and Fire 1965 (awarded the Melody Maker Album of the Year, a rarity for a debut album) followed by The Watersons and A Yorkshire Garland in 1966. The Watersons split up in 1968, when Norma went to work as a disc jockey on a radio station on Montserrat.
The group reformed in 1972, with John Harrison briefly replaced by Bernie Vickers. In that year they performed and arranged the music for the Alan Plater TV Play for Today, "The Land of Green Ginger", set and filmed in Hull, and appeared in a scene filmed in the Bluebell Folk Club.
Vickers was replaced the same year by Norma's husband, Martin Carthy. This line-up recorded For Pence and Spicy Ale (1975), Sound, Sound Your Instruments of Joy (1977), and Green Fields (1981).
Links to Peel[]
Peel first played tracks by the Watersons on his Night Ride programmes of 1969. By then the group had broken up, but their albums on the Topic label were still available and were influential on other traditional folk groups, such as the Young Tradition who had done sessions for Peel's shows.
When the group reformed in 1972, Peel paid some attention to them, especially as Martin Carthy had now joined. He continued to listen to to other acts associated with the group in later years, including acts such as Brass Monkey as well as the solo work of Martin Carthy, his wife Norma, and their daughter Eliza, although they tended to receive more airplay on Andy Kershaw's shows. In 1999, when filming the series Sounds Of The Suburbs, Peel visited Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy at their home near Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire, and interviewed them for the episode on North-East England. His comments during the interview showed the high regard he had for their music.
Shows Played[]
- 09 April 1969: The Yorkshire Tup (album - A Yorkshire Garland) Topic 2T167
- 23 April 1969: Willy Went To Westerdale (album - A Yorkshire Garland) Topic 2T167
- 1975
- 28 August 1975: Adieu, Adieu (The Flash Lad) (album - For Pence And Spicy Ale) Topic
- 01 October 1975: Country Life (LP - For Pence And Spicy Ale) Topic
- 2004
- 23 December 2004 (Rob Da Bank): Here We Come A Wassailin (LP - Frost And Fire) (Topic)