Shirley Collins

Back to 2015 for this concert review...

ALL IN THE DOWNS: SHIRLEY COLLINS EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY CONCERT

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, Sunday 5 July 2015

In some countries – Japan and Australia come to mind – they have a system of declaring people to be ‘living national treasures’. We don’t have that in Britain, but if there’s one living Briton who’d qualify (alongside David Attenborough, of course) it’s Shirley Collins. Song-collector, singer and writer, she remains an inspiration across the generations.

A concert to mark her eightieth birthday brought together three of my favourite young chanteuses of the moment – Olivia Chaney, Lisa Knapp and Lavinia Blackwall: that was promising for a start. The first part of this good-humoured tribute was given over to soloists, the songs drawn mostly from Collins’s own repertoire. Knapp (accompanying herself on fiddle) sang ‘Fair Maid Of Islington’; Chaney, rapt in concentration at the piano, was masterly in ‘All Things Are Quite Silent’. Graham Coxon of Blur served up a neat, Jansch-inspired guitar arrangement of ‘Cruel Mother’. Sam Lee blotted his (usually spotless) copybook by giving a rambling introduction that was longer than the song itself, but Alasdair Roberts saved the day with his unaccompanied ‘Lord Gregory’.

The second half was a marvellous recreation of the No Roses album of 1971, led by an irrepressible John Kirkpatrick. He being the only member of the original line-up on stage, support came instead from Trembling Bells. I’m not the Bells’ biggest fan, I admit – I find them unsubtle compared to their folk-rock ancestors – but they gave it their all here, and everyone seemed to be having a ball, audience included. ‘Murder Of Maria Marten’, ending with the soloists joined in six-part harmony, was a joy.

Finally, Collins herself took a standing ovation on stage, positively beaming with pleasure. Stewart Lee, the stand-up comedian who had proved an erratic MC for the evening, suggested a singalong ‘Happy Birthday’, so we obliged.

Oh, and there were morris dancers.

[First published in RnR, September/October 2015]

Photo: Domino Records