Centenary
2015 was Ewan MacColl’s centenary year.
Events that marked this included:
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show Tribute to Ewan MacColl from Celtic Connections
With Norma Waterson, Martin & Eliza Carthy, Chaim Tannenbaum and family members
Watch the video here.
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Blood and Roses: The Songs of Ewan MacColl
A nationwide multi-artist tour, curated by MacColl’s sons Neill and Calum. The concerts featured guest singers Peggy Seeger, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, The Unthanks, Damien Dempsey, Declan O’Rourke and Chaim Tannenbaum.
The ‘house band’ featured family and friends including Neill MacColl (guitar), Calum MacColl (guitar), Kate St John (piano, accordion, winds), Harry Mead (drums) & Ben Nichols (bass).
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New Releases
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl
A double CD of Ewan’s songs, recorded by a host of well known artists, was released in September 2015 on Cooking Vinyl Records.
Buy the album here.
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl (Double CD)
Disc 1
1. Damien Dempsey – Schooldays Over
2. Martin Carthy – I’m Champion At Keeping ‘Em Rolling
3. The Unthanks – Cannily, Cannily
4. Seth Lakeman – The Shoals of Herring
5. Marry Waterson – The Exile Song
6. Jack Steadman & Jamie MacColl (Bombay Bicycle Club) – The Young Birds
7. Dick Gaughan – Jamie Foyers
8. Eliza Carthy – Thirty-Foot Trailer
9. Chaim Tannenbaum – My Old Man
10. Steve Earle – Dirty Old Town
11. Jarvis Cocker – The Battle Is Done With
Disc 2
1. Paul Buchanan – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
2. Paul Brady – Freeborn Man
3. Norma Waterson – Moving On Song
4. Karine Polwart – The Terror Time
5. Martin Simpson – The Father’s Song
6. Christy Moore – The Companeros
7. Billy Bragg – Kilroy Was Here
8. Rufus & Martha Wainwright – Sweet Thames, Flow Softly
9. Kathryn Williams – Alone
10. David Gray – The Joy of Living
BBC Radio 4 documentary The Real MacColl
4 Extra Debut. John Cooper Clarke looks back at the life of Salford dramatist, broadcaster and folk singer, Ewan MacColl. From 2015.
Listen to the documentary here.
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Freeborn Man – A Tribute to Ewan MacColl
Irish radio RTE’s Arts channel Lyric FM broadcast a 2-part documentary, Freeborn Man – A Tribute to Ewan MacColl. The programmes featured many hitherto unheard recordings from the Singers Club and the Critics Group over the years. Click ‘Lyric Feature’ page to listen back.
Celtic Connections @ Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Blood & Roses: The Songs of Ewan MacColl curated by Ewan’s sons Neill and Calum MacColl
Special guests performed a selection of Ewan’s songs. Artists included Jarvis Cocker, Paul Buchanan, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy, Kate St John, Dick Gaughan, Karine Polwart and Chaim Tannenbaum. Four of MacColl’s grandsons joined the line up – Jamie MacColl (Bombay Bicycle Club), Harry Mead (Klangkarussell), Alex MacColl and Tom MacColl.
Ewan’s friends commemorated his 100th birthday
Ewan’s friends gathered at 12pm, Ewan’s oak tree in Russell Square, London WC1, to commemorate what would have been his 100th birthday.
The Observer
On the centenary of his birth, Neil Spencer recalls an inspirational yet controversial figure while family, friends and fans pay tribute.
Read the article ‘Ewan MacColl, the godfather of folk who was adored … and feared’.
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The Salford Star three part celebration of Ewan MacColl on his 100th birthday
English Dance & Song magazine (published by the English Folk Dance & Song Society) included a review article based on Legacies of Ewan MacColl: The Last Interview (the new book published by Ashgate) in the Spring 2015 issue, written by Vic Gammon.
Read the review here.
Charles Parker Day 2015
A celebration of Ewan’s legacy, with contributions from Peggy Seeger, Jimmie MacGregor, Alison McMorland and Geordie McIntyre. It took place at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow. Details on the Charles Parker Archive website.
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
Ewan MacColl was inducted into the Radio 2 Folk Awards Hall of Fame, marked by a special performance of ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ by Guy Garvey (Elbow) and a band that included Ewan’s sons Neill and Calum MacColl, his grandson Harry Mead and his daughter-in-law Kate St. John.
Ewan MacColl’s centenary marked in his home town
The Working Class Movement Library and the University of Salford presented a centenary tribute to Salford’s Ewan MacColl on Sunday 10 May at 2pm in the University’s Peel Hall.
In ‘Ewan MacColl, his life, his words, his music’, MacColl was brought to life by Mike Joyce, Gerard Kearns and John Conolly. Gerard Kearns (Shameless) is the young MacColl, Mike Joyce (The Smiths) is the (slightly) more mature MacColl, and John Conolly (composer of Fiddler’s Green and Mr Punch and Judy Man) sings the songs. Royston Futter, Secretary to the Library Trustees, has compiled the script for this performance and selected the readings and songs, and introduced the proceedings.
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