Category: Radio 2
Date: 05.02.2006
Printable version
The audience at the 大象传媒 Radio 2 Folk Awards (Monday 6 February) is to get a sneak preview of two new radio ballads - the first to be produced for the 大象传媒 since the Fifties.
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Radio ballads are a blend of speech illustrated by song.
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The 2006 Radio Ballads have been commissioned by 大象传媒 Radio 2 and take inspiration from the ground-breaking radio ballads produced by Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and Peggy Seeger in the late Fifties and broadcast on the 大象传媒 Home Service.
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The six one-hour documentaries explore aspects of modern British society, featuring frank and deeply personal interviews and specially written songs about those experiences.
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They are broadcast on Monday nights for six weeks starting 27 February at 9.00pm.
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The 2006 Radio Ballads explore the decline of the steel industry; living with the HIV/Aids virus; the effect of banning hunting with hounds; the lives of travelling fairground show men and women; the Troubles of Northern Ireland; and shipbuilding.
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Lesley Douglas, Controller, Radio 2 says: "The 2006 ballads promise to offer a fascinating insight into the issues of our time.
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"Following the principles set by Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker and Peggy Seeger, executive producer John Leonard and musical director John Tams have assembled a team of gifted musicians to translate memories into music, producing a series which delivers hard-hitting personal recollections, compelling stories, beautiful music and poignant songs."
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John Tams showcases two of the songs at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, which will be broadcast on Wednesday 8 February at 7.00pm.
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A year in the making, the 2006 ballads feature interviews gathered by documentary maker Sara Parker - daughter of Charles Parker - and news reporter Vince Hunt who works for Smooth Operations, the production company behind The Radio Ballads 2006.
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Acclaimed songwriters John Tams, Karine Polwart, Tommy Sands, Ian McMillan, Julie Matthews, Ray Hearne and Jez Lowe have written new songs based on the interviews.
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These songs are performed by the likes of John, Julie and Karine, Kate Rusby, John McCusker, Cara Dillon, Chris While, Graeme Taylor, Andy Seward, Andy Cutting, Barry Coope, Lester Simpson and Bob Fox.
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Charles Parker, who produced the original series, described a radio ballad as "a form of narrative documentary in which the story is told entirely in the words of the actual participants themselves as recorded in real life; in sound effects which are also recorded on the spot, and in songs which are based upon these recordings, and which utilise traditional or 'folk-song' modes of expression."
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Monday 27 February at 9.00pm - The Song of Steel
Looking at the decline of the steel industry in Sheffield and Rotherham.
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Monday 6 March at 9.00pm - The Enemy That Lives Within
Modern stories of people who are living with the HIV/Aids virus.
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Monday 13 March 13 at 9.00pm - The Horn of the Hunter
With the end of hunting with hounds, The Horn of the Hunter features both sides of the argument.
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Monday 20 March 20 at 9.00pm - Swings and Roundabouts
Focusing on the travelling show men and women who run Britain's fairgrounds.
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Monday 27 March at 9.00pm - Thirty Years of Conflict
During 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland, musicians have helped provide a common link, often at great personal cost. This radio ballad tells their story.
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Monday 3 April at 9.00pm - The Ballad of the Big Ships
Featuring stories from the men and women who worked in the shipyards of Tyne and Wear and the Clyde.
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The Radio Ballads website features extracts from the original radio ballads and information both on the history behind this groundbreaking series and on each of the original ballads.
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There is also background information about each new programme, plus pictures of interviewees, video of musicians recording songs in the studio, behind-the-scenes photographs and lyrics to some of the songs featured in each programme.
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The site is updated each week during transmission.
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Radio 2 Publicity
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