A. L. Lloyd
Encyclopedia
Albert Lancaster Lloyd usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English
folk singer
and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
Patrolman and failed smallholder. His mother sang songs around the house and according to Lloyd mimicked the Gipsy singers that she'd heard. By the age of fifteen his mother had died and his father, an ex-soldier, was a semi-invalid, and Lloyd was sent as an assisted migrant to Australia in a scheme organised by the British Legion. There, from 1924–1930, he worked on various sheep stations in New South Wales
and it was during this time that he began to write down folksongs he learned. In the outback of New South Wales he discovered that he could access the State Library and order books - his special interests being art and music he could get a grasp of those topics without seeing a painting or hearing any music. He also bought a wind-up gramophone and began to investigate some of the classical music he had previously read about.
in the Great Depression of the early 1930s, in the absence of a permanent job, he pursued his interests in studying folk music and social and economic history, doing much of his research at the British Museum
: he is quoted as saying that there is "nothing like unemployment for educating oneself". In 1937 he signed on board the factory whaling ship the Southern Empress bound for the southern whaling grounds of the Antarctic
.
During this decade, he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain
and was strongly influenced by the writings of the Marxist historian, A. L. Morton
, particularly his 1938 book A People's History Of England. In 1937, Lloyd's article "The People's own Poetry" was published in the Daily Worker (since 1966 renamed The Morning Star
) newspaper.
In 1938 the BBC
hired him to write a radio documentary about seafaring life, and from then on he worked as a journalist and singer. A proponent of communism
, Lloyd was staunchly opposed to Adolf Hitler
, and, in 1939, he was commissioned by the BBC to produce a series of programmes on the rise of Nazism
. Between 1945 and 1950 he was employed as a journalist by Picture Post
magazine but he left the job in an act of solidarity with one of his colleagues.
By the 1950s he had established himself as a professional folklorist—as Colin Harper
puts it "in a field of one".
Harper goes on to note that, at a time when the English folk revival was dominated by young people who wore jeans and pullovers, Lloyd was rarely seen in anything other than a suit (and a wide grin). Ewan MacColl
is quoted as describing Lloyd (with affection) as "a walking toby jug". In 1959 his collaboration with Ralph Vaughan Williams
, The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, was published.
In the early 1960s, Lloyd became associated with an enterprise known as "Centre 42" which arose from Resolution 42 of the 1960 Trades Union Congress
, concerning the importance of arts in the community. Centre 42 was a touring festival aimed at devolving art and culture from London to the other main working class
towns of Britain. It was led by Arnold Wesker
, with MacColl and Lloyd providing the musical content and Charles Parker on production. Centre 42 was important in bringing a range of folk performers to the public attention: Anne Briggs
, the Ian Campbell Folk Group
, The Spinners
and The Watersons
.
Lloyd recorded many albums of English folk music, most notably several albums of the Child Ballads
with Ewan MacColl. He also published many books on folk music and related topics, including The Singing Englishman, Come All Ye Bold Miners, and Folk Song in England. He was a founder-member of Topic Records
and remained as their artistic director until his death. He died at his home in Greenwich
in 1982.
While Lloyd is most widely known for his work with British folk music, he had a keen interest in the music of Spain
, Latin America
, Southeastern Europe and Australia (He recorded at least 6 discs of Australian Bush Ballads and folk music).
Lloyd also helped establish the folk music subgenre of industrial folk music
through his books, recordings, collecting and theoretical writings.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
folk singer
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s.
Early life
Lloyd was born in Wandsworth in London, his father was an AAThe Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
Patrolman and failed smallholder. His mother sang songs around the house and according to Lloyd mimicked the Gipsy singers that she'd heard. By the age of fifteen his mother had died and his father, an ex-soldier, was a semi-invalid, and Lloyd was sent as an assisted migrant to Australia in a scheme organised by the British Legion. There, from 1924–1930, he worked on various sheep stations in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and it was during this time that he began to write down folksongs he learned. In the outback of New South Wales he discovered that he could access the State Library and order books - his special interests being art and music he could get a grasp of those topics without seeing a painting or hearing any music. He also bought a wind-up gramophone and began to investigate some of the classical music he had previously read about.
Career as folklorist
When he returned to the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the Great Depression of the early 1930s, in the absence of a permanent job, he pursued his interests in studying folk music and social and economic history, doing much of his research at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
: he is quoted as saying that there is "nothing like unemployment for educating oneself". In 1937 he signed on board the factory whaling ship the Southern Empress bound for the southern whaling grounds of the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
.
During this decade, he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
and was strongly influenced by the writings of the Marxist historian, A. L. Morton
A. L. Morton
Leslie Morton was a prolific English Marxist historian. He worked as an independent scholar; from 1946 onwards he was the Chair of the Historians Group of the Communist Party of Great Britain...
, particularly his 1938 book A People's History Of England. In 1937, Lloyd's article "The People's own Poetry" was published in the Daily Worker (since 1966 renamed The Morning Star
The Morning Star
The Morning Star is a left wing British daily tabloid newspaper with a focus on social and trade union issues. Articles and comment columns are contributed by writers from socialist, social democratic, green and religious perspectives....
) newspaper.
In 1938 the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
hired him to write a radio documentary about seafaring life, and from then on he worked as a journalist and singer. A proponent of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, Lloyd was staunchly opposed to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, and, in 1939, he was commissioned by the BBC to produce a series of programmes on the rise of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. Between 1945 and 1950 he was employed as a journalist by Picture Post
Picture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
magazine but he left the job in an act of solidarity with one of his colleagues.
By the 1950s he had established himself as a professional folklorist—as Colin Harper
Colin Harper
Colin Harper is an Irish music journalist. He was born in Belfast and graduated in 1989 from Queen's University, Belfast. As a writer for the Belfast "Irish News" he wrote unsiged features on local bands and famous bands on tour...
puts it "in a field of one".
Harper goes on to note that, at a time when the English folk revival was dominated by young people who wore jeans and pullovers, Lloyd was rarely seen in anything other than a suit (and a wide grin). Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
is quoted as describing Lloyd (with affection) as "a walking toby jug". In 1959 his collaboration with Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs, was published.
In the early 1960s, Lloyd became associated with an enterprise known as "Centre 42" which arose from Resolution 42 of the 1960 Trades Union Congress
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...
, concerning the importance of arts in the community. Centre 42 was a touring festival aimed at devolving art and culture from London to the other main working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
towns of Britain. It was led by Arnold Wesker
Arnold Wesker
Sir Arnold Wesker is a prolific British dramatist known for his contributions to kitchen sink drama. He is the author of 42 plays, 4 volumes of short stories, 2 volumes of essays, a book on journalism, a children's book, extensive journalism, poetry and other assorted writings...
, with MacColl and Lloyd providing the musical content and Charles Parker on production. Centre 42 was important in bringing a range of folk performers to the public attention: Anne Briggs
Anne Briggs
Anne Briggs 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...
, the Ian Campbell Folk Group
Ian Campbell Folk Group
The Ian Campbell Folk Group were one of the most popular and respected folk groups of the British folk revival of the 1960s. The group made many appearances on radio, television, and at national and international venues and festivals. They performed a mixture of British traditional folk music and...
, The Spinners
The Spinners (UK band)
The Spinners were a 1960s folk group from Liverpool, England formed in September 1958. They consisted of:* Hughie Jones...
and The Watersons
The Watersons
The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies.-Career:...
.
Lloyd recorded many albums of English folk music, most notably several albums of the Child Ballads
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
with Ewan MacColl. He also published many books on folk music and related topics, including The Singing Englishman, Come All Ye Bold Miners, and Folk Song in England. He was a founder-member of Topic Records
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.-History:...
and remained as their artistic director until his death. He died at his home in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in 1982.
While Lloyd is most widely known for his work with British folk music, he had a keen interest in the music of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, Southeastern Europe and Australia (He recorded at least 6 discs of Australian Bush Ballads and folk music).
Lloyd also helped establish the folk music subgenre of industrial folk music
Industrial folk music
Industrial folk music, industrial folk song or industrial work song is a subgenre of folk or traditional music that developed from the 18th century, particularly in Britain and North America, with songs dealing with the lives and experiences of industrial workers.-Origins:Industrial folk song...
through his books, recordings, collecting and theoretical writings.
Discography
- The Shooting of His Dear / Lord Bateman, HMV B.10593, 78rpm, 1953
- Down in Yon Forest / The Bitter Withy, HMV B.10594, 78rpm, 1953
- Bold Jack Donahue / Banks of the Condamine, Topic TRC84, 78rpm, 1954
- Australian Bush Songs, Riverside RLP 12-606, 1956
- Banks of the Condamine and Other Bush Songs, Wattle Records (Australia) 10" LP, 1957
- Across the Western Plains, Wattle Records (Australia) LP, 1958
- English Drinking Songs, Riverside Records (USA) LP, 1961. CD Reissue: Topic records
- England and Her Folk Songs (A Selection From The Penguin Book), with Alf Edwards, Collector Records (UK) 7" EP
- First Person (Some Of His Favourite Folk Songs), Topic Records LP, 1966
- The Best Of A.L. Lloyd, Xtra (UK) LP, 1966.
- Leviathan, Topic Records (UK) LP, 1967. CD Reissue: Topic records
- Ten Thousand Miles Away: English and Australian Folk Songs, Fellside Records (UK) 2CD, 2008
With Ewan MacColl
- The English and Scottish Popular Ballads 9 Volumes, Washington albums, 1952
- Thar She Blows! (Whaling Ballads and Songs), Riverside RLP 12-635 (USA) LP, 1957
- Whaling Ballads, Washington WLP 724 (USA) LP, 196x. This was a reissue of the Riverside album above.
- English and Scottish Folk Ballads, Topic Records (UK) LP, 1964
- Bold Sportmen All, Topic Records (UK) 10", 1958. CD reissue: Topic Records
- Gamblers and Sporting Blades (Songs Of The Ring and the Racecourse), Topic records (UK) 7" EP, 1962
- A Sailor's Garland, Xtra Records (UK) LP, 1966
- Blow Boys Blow (Songs of The Sea), Tradition Records (USA) LP, 1967. CD Reissue: Tradition, 1996
Compilations and contributions
- Blow The Man Down, Topic Records (UK) 7" EP, 1956
- The Iron Muse (A Panorama of Industrial Folk Music), Topic Records (UK) LP, 1963
- Farewell Nancy (Sea Songs and Shanties), Topic Records (UK) LP, 1964
- The Bird In The Bush (Traditional Erotic Songs)The Bird In The Bush (Traditional Erotic Songs)The Bird in the Bush is a folk album by A. L. Lloyd, Anne Briggs and Frankie Armstrong, released by Topic Records in 1966. The album is a collection of traditional erotic British folk songs, although the album's content is largely in the form of euphemism and does not contain explicit references...
, Topic Records (UK) LP, 1966 - Singing The Fishing - A Radio Ballad, Argo Records (UK) LP, 1967
- Babbacombe LeeBabbacombe Lee (album)Babbacombe Lee is the seventh album by English folk rock group Fairport Convention, and was released in 1971. It tells the life story of John "Babbacombe" Lee, a Victorian-era murderer who, although condemned to death, was reprieved after the gallows failed on three occasions to work properly...
by Fairport ConventionFairport ConventionFairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
(1971), Island Records: Narration and arrangement - The Valiant Sailor (Songs & Ballads of Nelson's Navy), Topic Records (UK) LP, 1973
- Sea Shanties, Topic Records (UK) LP, 1974
- The Transports (A Ballad Opera by Peter Bellamy), Free Reed (UK) 2LP, 1977
- Topic Sampler No. 1 - Folk Songs, Topic Records (UK) LP
- Topic Sampler No. 2 - Folk Songs, Topic Records (UK) LP
- Topic Sampler No. 3 - Men At Work, Topic Records (UK) LP
- Topic Sampler No. 6 - A Collection Of Ballads & Broadsides, Topic Records (UK) LP
- Topic Sampler No. 7 - Sea Songs & Shanties, Topic Records (UK) LP
Recorded and edited by Lloyd
- Folk Music of Bulgaria, Topic Records (UK) LP, 1964
- The Music of Albania, Topic Records (UK) LP, 1966
Films
- Ken Taylor, Ten Thousand Miles: A.L.Lloyd in Australia, 1970
- Gavin Barry, Bert a personal memoir, 1985
External links
- Biography of A. L. Lloyd in Canadian Journal for Traditional Music (1999/2000): "Starting Over: A. L. Lloyd and the Search for a New Folk Music, 1945-49" by E. David Gregory
- The A. L. Lloyd Collection - Lloyd's library and papers at the Library of Goldsmiths College, University of London
- Reinhard Zierke's British Folk website Most complete Discography
- Bert Lloyd Centenary links - Australian Folk Songs website
- A Tribute to Bert - EFDSS Concert 15 November 2008
- BBC Radio 3 highlights of Tribute to Bert - Lucy Duran World Routes