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2 unusual facts about Shirley Collins


Ashen faggot

Shirley Collins's song the "Ashen Faggot Wassail", on her 1974 Topic album Adieu to Old England, is a celebration of the tradition.

Portative organ

One of the most well-known modern proponents of that kind of 'large portative' organ was Dolly Collins, who accompanied her vocalist sister Shirley Collins on many albums of traditional English folk songs.


Down in Yon Forest

It has been recorded by artists including Joan Baez, Martyn Bates with Max Eastley, Shirley Collins, The Albion Band, Bruce Cockburn, Kemper Crabb, Burl Ives (on Christmas Day in the Morning), John McCutcheon, Jean Ritchie, Bob Rowe, Andreas Scholl, Steeleye Span, Wovenhand, and the choir of Clare College, Cambridge.

Peter Bellamy

Many prominent names in the folk scene collaborated on the project Dolly Collins (a composer, the sister of Shirley Collins), Martin Carthy, Mike Waterson, Norma Waterson, June Tabor, Nic Jones, A.L. Lloyd, Cyril Tawney and Dave Swarbrick.

Peter Douglas Kennedy

Together with Alan Lomax, and assisted by Shirley Collins he went on to edit "Folk Songs of Britain", a ten volume series of sound recordings, originally published in the USA on Caedmon Records from 1961 onwards, and later in the UK on Topic Records in 1968.

Son of Morris On

Son of Morris On is an electric folk album released in 1976 under the joint names of Ashley Hutchings, Simon Nicol, John Tams, Phil Picket, Michael Gregory, Dave Mattacks, Shirley Collins, Martin Carthy, John Watchem, John Rodd, The Albion Morris Men, Ian Cutler, and the Adderbury Village Morris Men.

Will Hodgkinson

For Song Man he learned the basics of songwriting with the goal of recording a single at Toe-Rag Studios in London, this time picking up tips from Keith Richards, Andy Partridge of XTC, folk queen Shirley Collins and the hippy era songwriter Bridget St John.


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