The Young Tradition were a British folk group of the 1960s.... The Young Tradition was formed on 18 April 1965 by Peter Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 19 September 1991), Royston Wood (born 1935, died 8 April 1990) and Heather Wood (born Arielle Heather Wood, 31 March 1945, Attercliffe, Sheffield, Yorkshire) (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 recorded three albums and an EP, on the Transatlantic Records label. (Read more at Wikipedia)
Links to Peel[]
Byker Hill - The Young Tradition (1965)
In the late 1960s, folk music on John Peel's shows was usually modern and "contemporary"; at that time traditional folk music was associated with an older generation of folk performers who didn't appeal to the folk fans who listened to Peel's shows, or attended the more musically adventurous folk clubs, like London's Les Cousins. There were a few exceptions to this rule, however, and among them were the Young Tradition, who dressed in a dandyish style which combined 1960s Swinging London and Victorian period clothes. In her notes to the 1973 reissue of their LP Galleires, Heather Wood wrote: "...we were a trio of heads who happened to dig traditional folk music. Really, it all stemmed from that; the way we dressed, the way we acted and the way we sang...." They mixed with contemporary folk stylists such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, for a time sharing a house with the two singer-guitarists and, like them, recording for the Transatlantic label. In her Sixties memoir Promise Of A Dream, the feminist and historian Sheila Rowbotham mentions meeting them (p.119):
- The Young Tradition lived in extreme poverty on a peculiar diet of cornflakes and treacle, with beds divided by hanging bedspreads. Into the household, the well-known singer Donovan had introduced his big influence, the by now very wheezy Derroll Adams...
Peel would have known of them from reading Melody Maker, as their albums often featured in that paper's Folk Top Ten with So Cheefully Round being chosen as the Folk LP of 1967, and they received write-ups on its folk page. He praised their LP Galleries In his Disc & Music Echo column ("John Peel's ABC of Beauty") of 2 November 1968 ("....has everything. Humour, traditional things and contemporary things. Hear it."[1]) Eventually they were booked for two Night Ride sessions, but broke up soon after the second one was broadcast, in September 1969. After their split, Peel played solo tracks by Peter Bellamy; Royston Wood sang with the Albion Country Band on the first of their five Peel sessions in 1972 and appeared on the first Peel session by another folk vocal group he admired, Swan Arcade, in 1973.
The Young Tradition made guest appearances on albums by Judy Collins and Shirley and Dolly Collins, which were played by Peel, while Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention's Dave Swarbrick and Dolly Collins were among the guests on their Galleries LP. They were also a major influence on Peel favourites Forest.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None
Sessions[]
- Two sessions.
1. Recorded: 1969-01-29. First broadcast: 12 February 1969. Repeated:
- John Barleycorn / Wondrous Love / Banks Of The Nile / 3 Traditional Airs / 5 Cuts Jig / En Vrai Amour / Bright Morning Star / The Rolling Of The Stones / What If A Day
2. Recorded: 1969-08-12. First broadcast: 27 August 1969. Repeated:
- My Dancing Day / The Husband Man And The Serving Man / Bright Morning Stars Are Rising / The Shepherd's Hymn / Claudy Banks
Other Shows Played[]
- Young Tradition
- 11 September 1968: Ratcliff Highway (album - Galleries)
- 18 September 1968: The Brisk Young Widow (LP - Galleries) Transatlantic
- 15 January 1969: The Barley Straw (LP - Galleries) Transatlantic
- 04 October 1969: Dancing Day (Repeat of 27/08/69 session?)
- 16 December 1975: Lyke-Wake Dirge (v/a album - Electric Muse: The Story Of Folk Into Rock) Transatlantic / Island FOLK 1001
- Peter Bellamy solo
- 07 November 1970: Frankie’s Trade (LP - Oak Ash and Thorn) Argo
- 14 November 1970: The Brookland Road (LP - Oak Ash And Thorn) Argo