Anne Briggs (born 29 September 1944) 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. However, she was a highly influential figure in the English folk music revival, being a source of songs and musical inspiration for others such as A.L. Lloyd, Bert Jansch, Jimmy Page, The Watersons, June Tabor, Sandy Denny and Maddy Prior.
Briggs visited the main British folk clubs which were then becoming well known: The Troubadour (London), The Scots Hoose and various Irish music venues. At his time, the emphasis at such venues was on instrumental folk music, and singing was regarded as merely a pause between tunes. A young Christy Moore heard her and was inspired to give more emphasis, in his own music, to singing rather than playing jigs.
She became loosely associated with the Scottish folk musicians who were sometimes regarded as part of the hippy culture: Bert Jansch, The Incredible String Band, and Clive Palmer, for example. Briggs and Jansch lived together in a squat in Earl's Court before moving together to a house in Somali Road, London, where John Renbourn lived, and The Young Tradition also lived for a time. Jansch and Briggs had some resemblance to each other and were so naturally close that they were often mistaken for brother and sister. It was Briggs who taught Jansch the traditional song "Blackwaterside" which he recorded on his Jack Orion album in 1966.
While touring England, The Dubliners met Anne Briggs and decided that she would be the perfect musical partner for a folk singer they knew in Dublin, called Johnny Moynihan. In 1965 they accompanied her to Ireland and for the next four years she spent her summers there, travelling by horse-drawn cart and singing in pub sessions. During the winter months she earned money by touring English folk clubs. Her time in Ireland introduced her to the solo Sean-nós singing heard in the songs of Irish folk artists, and this was an influence on her later singing style, when blended with the elements of traditional English music which she had already taken up.
She was notoriously wild at this time and there are many stories, from this period, about her antics, such as pushing Johnny Moynihan and Andy Irvine out of a hay loft and, on another occasion, jumping into the sea at Malin Head, Donegal, to chase seals. In an episode of Folk Britannia (a documentary history of UK folk music aired in 2006) Richard Thompson recalled that he only ever encountered Anne Briggs twice; and on both occasions she was drunk and unconscious. Her attendance at bookings was so erratic that it was said she turned up only 5 times between mid-1963 and early 1965.[4]-wiki
She was a rare thing Fine as a beeswing So fine a breath of wind might blow her away She was a lost child She was running wild, she said As long as there's no price on love, I'll stay And you wouldn't want me any other way
_____________________________________________ Everyday I wanna get on my camel and ride!
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John9
Posted - 26/05/2011 : 18:21:54 Great stuff, LK. And there is also a link with the Dylan thread. Martin Carthy, an English folk luminary who was with Steeleye for a couple of very early albums turned 70 just three days before Dylan. He of course was the original arranger of Scarborough Fair and worked with the very young Bob when he first appeared in folk clubs over here. Last night there was an interview on BBC Radio 4 with Martin and his daughter, Eliza....both of them have new records out shortly.
_____________________________________________ So forget this cruel world and whatever’s going on I'll accept my fate while I sing this song. But if one day you should see me from your cloud lend a hand and lift me Away from the crowd.
