June Tabor
Encyclopedia
June Tabor is an English
folk singer
.
' EP Hazards of Love in 1965.
Her earliest public performances were at the Heart of England Folk Club, in the Fox and Vivian pub in Leamington Spa
in the mid 1960s.
She attended St Hugh's College, Oxford
University and appeared on University Challenge
in 1968, as captain of the college team. She joined the Heritage Society at Oxford University and sang with a group called Mistral. An appearance at Sidmouth Folk Festival led to folk club bookings and she contributed to various records. One of her earliest recordings was in 1972 on an anthology called Stagfolk Live. She also featured on Rosie Hardman's Firebird (1972) and The First Folk Review Record (1974). At the time she was singing purely traditional unaccompanied material but in 1976 she collaborated with Maddy Prior on the Silly Sisters
album and tour, with a full band that included Nic Jones
. It provided the launching pad that same year (1976) for her first album in her own right, Airs and Graces. She later joined again with Prior, this time using the name Silly Sisters
for their duo. Starting in 1977 Martin Simpson
joined her in the recording studio for three albums before he moved to America in 1987. (Simpson has returned from America to be a guest guitarist on albums in the 2000s.) After his departure, she started working closely with pianist Huw Warren
.
Tabor stopped performing professionally for a time after working for decades as a singer. During this time, she worked as a librarian
and, with her then-husband David Taylor, ran a restaurant called "Passepartout" in Penrith, Cumbria
, England before returning to music professionally in the 1990s.
label published a limited-run promotional live album the following year. Many of her current fans first discovered her through this tour and album with the Oyster Band. In 1992 Elvis Costello
wrote "All This Useless Beauty" specifically for Tabor, and she recorded it on Angel Tiger. Costello didn't record it himself until 1996, on his album
of the same title.
In 1983 the BBC TV series "Spyship" was broadcast, with June singing the title song. In 1997 she appeared on Ken Russell's "In Search of English Folk Song" broadcast of Channel 4. Tim Winton
, author of the 2001 novel "Dirt Music
" which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, made a selection of music to echo the themes of the novel. The CD "Dirt Music" (2001) includes "He Fades Away" by June Tabor, a painful tale of the slow death of a miner. (The song originally appeared on her 1994 CD "Against the Streams.") In 2002 the "Passchendale Peace Concert" in Flanders had June sharing the stage with Coope Boyes and Simpson
. On 30th June 2006 BBC Radio 3 broadcast "Night Waves" to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It was broadcast live, with World War I songs sung by June Tabor, and a discussion with Michael Morpurgo
and Kate Adie
.
Over the years she has worked in various genres including jazz
and art song
, but generally with a sparse and sombre tone to it. Her 2003 album An Echo of Hooves
marked a return to the traditional ballad
form after concentrating on other styles for several years, and was highly acclaimed. Allmusic said of this album "A stunning jewel in a remarkable career, and one of the best things Tabor’s ever released." Always (2005) is a boxed set of four CDs, spanning her whole career and containing rare recordings.
. Tabor is frequently experimental but avoids modernism. For example, she frequently sings traditional songs with a piano accompaniment. On the album Singing The Storm (2000) she sings to the accompaniment of Savourna Stevenson
's harp, and Danny Thompson
's bass. In May 2004 she performed as part of "The Big Session" and sang an adaptation of Love Will Tear Us Apart
as a duet with John Jones of The Oyster Band. In 1992, The Wire
voted "Queen Among the Heather" one of the "Top 50 Rhythms of all Time".
The lighter side of her character can be seen in her work with Les Barker
's The Mrs Ackroyd Band
which performs his comic work. So far Tabor has performed on three of their albums, the 1990 Oranges and Lemmings (singing "The Trains of Waterloo", a parody of the folk song "The Plains of Waterloo" in a duet with Martin Carthy), the 1994 Gnus and Roses (singing "The January June", a send up of her perceived sombre character) and the 2003 Yelp! (singing "There's a Hole in my Bodhran", to the tune of "There's a Hole in my Bucket"). She sang two songs on Beat The Retreat, a tribute to Richard Thompson.
Solo albums
Collaboration with The Oyster Band
Collaboration with Flowers and Frolics
Collaborations with The Mrs Ackroyd Band
Anthologies
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
folk singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
.
Early years
June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne BriggsAnne Briggs
Anne Briggs is an English folk singer. Although she traveled widely in the 1960s and early 1970s, appearing at folk clubs and venues in England and Ireland, she never aspired to commercial success or to achieve widespread public acknowledgment of her music...
' EP Hazards of Love in 1965.
"I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I started singing. If I hadn't heard her I'd have probably done something entirely different."Remarking on how she developed her now-characteristic style in an interview in 2008, she added,
"I have no musical education whatsoever...I just learned the songs and copied the phrasing by playing those records ad nauseam, trying out both [Anne Briggs and Belle StewartBelle StewartBelle Stewart became known as a Scottish traditional singer.The general public knew little about Belle Stewart until 2006, when her daughter, Sheila Stewart, wrote the biography Queen Amang the Heather: the Life of Belle Stewart.Sheila Stewart corrects the frequently cited birthdate 17 July to the...
] singers' styles. Then I tried putting the two together, and missing a few bits out - and that's approximately what I've been doing ever since. It's also why I don't do singing workshops, because that's about as much as I can tell anyone."
Her earliest public performances were at the Heart of England Folk Club, in the Fox and Vivian pub in Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
in the mid 1960s.
She attended St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
University and appeared on University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
in 1968, as captain of the college team. She joined the Heritage Society at Oxford University and sang with a group called Mistral. An appearance at Sidmouth Folk Festival led to folk club bookings and she contributed to various records. One of her earliest recordings was in 1972 on an anthology called Stagfolk Live. She also featured on Rosie Hardman's Firebird (1972) and The First Folk Review Record (1974). At the time she was singing purely traditional unaccompanied material but in 1976 she collaborated with Maddy Prior on the Silly Sisters
Silly Sisters (album)
Silly Sisters is a 1976 album by English folk singers Maddy Prior and June Tabor, their first collaborative effort as a duo. The pair later adopted the Silly Sisters name for subsequent projects.-Track listing:#"Doffin' Mistress"...
album and tour, with a full band that included Nic Jones
Nic Jones
Nicolas Paul "Nic" Jones is an English folk singer, fingerstyle guitarist and fiddle player whose professional career spanned the years 1964-1982. He recorded five solo albums, and was a frequent guest performer.-Biography:...
. It provided the launching pad that same year (1976) for her first album in her own right, Airs and Graces. She later joined again with Prior, this time using the name Silly Sisters
Silly Sisters (band)
The Silly Sisters is the name of the English folk music duo, formed by Maddy Prior and June Tabor. Initially they performed together under their own names, and as such released their first album, Silly Sisters, later taking this name as the name of their duo. As such they released a subsequent...
for their duo. Starting in 1977 Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
joined her in the recording studio for three albums before he moved to America in 1987. (Simpson has returned from America to be a guest guitarist on albums in the 2000s.) After his departure, she started working closely with pianist Huw Warren
Huw Warren
Huw Warren is a jazz pianist and composer. A graduate of Goldsmiths College and Guildhall School of Music, he is known for his work with June Tabor, Perfect Houseplants, and various groups. Warren has recorded several albums under his own name on Babel Label, including projects with violinist Mark...
.
Tabor stopped performing professionally for a time after working for decades as a singer. During this time, she worked as a librarian
and, with her then-husband David Taylor, ran a restaurant called "Passepartout" in Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
, England before returning to music professionally in the 1990s.
Solo work
In 1990, June Tabor recorded an album with the folk-rock band The Oyster Band titled Freedom and Rain. She went on tour with the Oyster Band, and the RykodiscRykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
label published a limited-run promotional live album the following year. Many of her current fans first discovered her through this tour and album with the Oyster Band. In 1992 Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
wrote "All This Useless Beauty" specifically for Tabor, and she recorded it on Angel Tiger. Costello didn't record it himself until 1996, on his album
All This Useless Beauty
All This Useless Beauty is the 17th studio album by the English rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 46198. It peaked at #28 on the UK album chart, and at #53 on the Billboard 200...
of the same title.
In 1983 the BBC TV series "Spyship" was broadcast, with June singing the title song. In 1997 she appeared on Ken Russell's "In Search of English Folk Song" broadcast of Channel 4. Tim Winton
Tim Winton
Timothy John "Tim" Winton , is an Australian novelist and short story writer.-Life:Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, but moved at a young age to the regional city of Albany....
, author of the 2001 novel "Dirt Music
Dirt Music
Dirt Music by Tim Winton is a Booker prize shortlisted novel from 2001 and winner of the 2002 Miles Franklin Award. The harsh, unyielding climate of Western Australia dominates the actions and events of this thriller.-Plot summary:...
" which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, made a selection of music to echo the themes of the novel. The CD "Dirt Music" (2001) includes "He Fades Away" by June Tabor, a painful tale of the slow death of a miner. (The song originally appeared on her 1994 CD "Against the Streams.") In 2002 the "Passchendale Peace Concert" in Flanders had June sharing the stage with Coope Boyes and Simpson
Coope Boyes and Simpson
Coope, Boyes and Simpson are an English vocal folk trio, formed around 1990. Their sound is rich and often has unusual vocal harmonies.The group comprises singers Barry Coope, Jim Boyes and Lester Simpson, and almost all of their music is sung entirely a capella, although they have occasionally...
. On 30th June 2006 BBC Radio 3 broadcast "Night Waves" to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It was broadcast live, with World War I songs sung by June Tabor, and a discussion with Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo, OBE FKC AKC is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist, best known for his work in children's literature. He was the third Children's Laureate.-Early life:...
and Kate Adie
Kate Adie
Kathryn "Kate" Adie , OBE , is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News, during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world...
.
Over the years she has worked in various genres including jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and art song
Art song
An art song is a vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the genre of such songs....
, but generally with a sparse and sombre tone to it. Her 2003 album An Echo of Hooves
An Echo of Hooves
An Echo of Hooves is a 2003 album by folk singer June Tabor.There were many albums consisting entirely of Child ballads in the 60s and 70s. By the 90s, such albums became rare. This is an outstanding example from the 21st century...
marked a return to the traditional ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
form after concentrating on other styles for several years, and was highly acclaimed. Allmusic said of this album "A stunning jewel in a remarkable career, and one of the best things Tabor’s ever released." Always (2005) is a boxed set of four CDs, spanning her whole career and containing rare recordings.
Collaborations and recent developments
On 24 October 2003 Tabor appeared on Later With Jools Holland (BBC TV), singing "Hughie Graeme". This was later issued as part of a compilation DVD from the series. Folk Britannia was the name of a concert at the Barbican centre, and a TV mini-series (February 2006, repeated in October). She sang "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" at the Barbican, under the heading "Daughters of Albion". Tabor contributed one song to Ashley Hutchings' project Street Cries (2001) and one to a collection of folk musicians singing songs by the Beatles - Rubber Folk (2006). She chose to sing Lennon's "In My Life" a cappellaA cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
. Tabor is frequently experimental but avoids modernism. For example, she frequently sings traditional songs with a piano accompaniment. On the album Singing The Storm (2000) she sings to the accompaniment of Savourna Stevenson
Savourna Stevenson
Savourna Stevenson is a Scottish clarsach player and composer. While she is identified as an interpreter of Scottish traditional music, she has also made inroads into world music, blues and jazz....
's harp, and Danny Thompson
Danny Thompson
Daniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman...
's bass. In May 2004 she performed as part of "The Big Session" and sang an adaptation of Love Will Tear Us Apart
Love Will Tear Us Apart
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by the British post-punk band Joy Division. It was written in August and September 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour in September and October 1979. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar...
as a duet with John Jones of The Oyster Band. In 1992, The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
voted "Queen Among the Heather" one of the "Top 50 Rhythms of all Time".
The lighter side of her character can be seen in her work with Les Barker
Les Barker
Les Barker is an English poet. He is best known for his comedic poetry and parodies of popular songs, however he has also produced some very serious thought-provoking written work....
's The Mrs Ackroyd Band
The Mrs Ackroyd Band
The Mrs Ackroyd Band, based in Manchester, consists of a core of Les Barker, Alison Younger, Hillary Spencer and Chris Harvey. Named for the late Mrs...
which performs his comic work. So far Tabor has performed on three of their albums, the 1990 Oranges and Lemmings (singing "The Trains of Waterloo", a parody of the folk song "The Plains of Waterloo" in a duet with Martin Carthy), the 1994 Gnus and Roses (singing "The January June", a send up of her perceived sombre character) and the 2003 Yelp! (singing "There's a Hole in my Bodhran", to the tune of "There's a Hole in my Bucket"). She sang two songs on Beat The Retreat, a tribute to Richard Thompson.
Discography
Duo with Maddy PriorMaddy Prior
Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...
- Silly SistersSilly Sisters (album)Silly Sisters is a 1976 album by English folk singers Maddy Prior and June Tabor, their first collaborative effort as a duo. The pair later adopted the Silly Sisters name for subsequent projects.-Track listing:#"Doffin' Mistress"...
(1976) - No More to the Dance (1988) (as The Silly Sisters)
Solo albums
- Airs and Graces (1976) (including And the Band Played Waltzing MatildaAnd The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it...
) - Ashes and Diamonds (1977)
- A Cut Above (1980)
- Abyssinians (1983)
- The Peel Sessions (1986) - recorded January 1977
- AqabaAqaba (album)Aqaba is a folk album by June Tabor released in 1988 on Topic Records, catalogue number TSCD 449.The album was produced and engineered by Andrew Cronshaw at Ideal Sound Recorders, London....
(1988) - Some Other Time (1989)
- Angel Tiger (1992)
- Against the Streams (1994)
- Singing the Storm (1996) - with Savourna StevensonSavourna StevensonSavourna Stevenson is a Scottish clarsach player and composer. While she is identified as an interpreter of Scottish traditional music, she has also made inroads into world music, blues and jazz....
and Danny ThompsonDanny ThompsonDaniel Henry Edward 'Danny' Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist and businessman... - Aleyn (1997)
- On Air (1998)
- Reflections (1999) 3-CD box set. Contains June's first three solo albums: Airs & Graces, Ashes & Diamonds, A Cut Above
- A Quiet Eye (1999)
- Rosa Mundi (2001)
- An Echo of HoovesAn Echo of HoovesAn Echo of Hooves is a 2003 album by folk singer June Tabor.There were many albums consisting entirely of Child ballads in the 60s and 70s. By the 90s, such albums became rare. This is an outstanding example from the 21st century...
(2003) - At the Wood's Heart (2005)
- Apples (2007)
- AshoreAshore (album)Ashore is a folk album by June Tabor released in 2011 on Topic Records, catalogue number TSCD 577.It is a collection of songs concerning humankind's relationship with the sea.-Track listing:# Finisterre...
(2011)
Collaboration with The Oyster Band
- Freedom and Rain (1990)
- June Tabor and the Oyster Band Tour '91 Sampler (1991) - eight song promotional disc.
- Ragged Kingdom (2011)
Collaboration with Flowers and Frolics
- Bees on Horseback (1977)
Collaborations with The Mrs Ackroyd Band
The Mrs Ackroyd Band
The Mrs Ackroyd Band, based in Manchester, consists of a core of Les Barker, Alison Younger, Hillary Spencer and Chris Harvey. Named for the late Mrs...
- The Stones of Callanish (1989)
- Oranges and Lemmings (1990)
- Some Love (1992)
- Gnus and Roses (1994)
- The Wings of Butterflies (1999)
- Airs of the Dog (2001)
- Yelp! (2003)
- Guide Cats for the Blind (2004)
Anthologies
- Anthology (1993)
- The Definitive Collection (2003)
- Always (2005) 4-CD box set and booklet - retrospective, with many rarities (67 tracks in total).