Search - June Tabor :: Anthology

First lady of British folk music

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 05/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"June first came to the attention of the folk music community at the Sidmouth festival in 1967 but she wasn't able to pursue her career fully at the time. She was still completing her education, as her appearance as a contestant in the University Challenge TV series in 1968 showed. After completing her studies, June worked for a while as a librarian while pursuing her folk music interests on a part-time basis. Eventually, she recorded an album in 1976 with Maddy Prior (of Steeleye Span) as the Silly Sisters and this gave her the breakthrough. June committed herself to music fill-time and her solo debut album followed later that year.



This compilation is assembled from her five solo albums on the Topic label and her first three solo albums on the Cooking Vinyl label. Her two albums with Maddy (as the Silly Sisters) are not represented even though the second was on the Topic label.



Like other leading British folk singers, June has not stayed within the confines of traditional folk, but has crossed over into other musical areas - however, in the period covered by this compilation (1976 to 1992), June never strayed far from folk music. Sometimes accompanied by standard folk instruments such as fiddle, guitar and bass but at other times accompanied by keyboards, this compilation shows off June's superb contralto voice to great effect. Most of the songs are melancholy but nevertheless very enjoyable. The standout for me is The band played Waltzing Matilda, an anti-war song written by a Scots-born Australian.



Whether June really is the first lady of British folk music or not (there are others who also have strong claims to that title), she is certainly one of the finest folk singers that Britain has ever produced. In 2005, a boxed set was released giving comprehensive coverage of her music. Not many folk singers get the boxed set treatment (although June's box was released only a few months after a Sandy Denny boxed set) but June certainly deserves it. If you don't want or can't afford the box, this compilation provides a great introduction to June's music. If you enjoy listening to those other great ladies of British folk music (Maddy Prior, Sandy Denny and Eliza Carthy), give June a listen."