The Ballad of Britain

Buy the book from amazon.co.uk
Pre-order the CD from Heron Recordings

From a spring to an autumn, Will Hodgkinson traveled through Britain with a portable recording device called a Zoom. The goal was to capture the spirit of the land and its people through its music, to delve into the mysteries of folklore. Along the way he danced with gypsies in a wood in Sussex, learned about not getting ideas above your station from Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley in Sheffield, visited a town of Bob Dylans in Scotland, listened to Pete Townshend explain how suburbia created 60s pop in Richmond, went on a fruitless search for Lady Sovereign in East London, was attacked by a large woman with a chair in Kent and almost brought to an end the short life of a promising young
singer in Wales. The Ballad Of Britain is the
story of that journey.

The Ballad Of Britain is published by Portico.
A compilation of the best field recordings, featuring Gruff Rhys, Martin Carthy, Pete Molinari and many others singing in fields, high streets and kitchens across the land, is available on Heron Recordings.

The Ballad of Britain on MySpace

Announcements