Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4

Subject: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: TheSnail
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 06:24 AM

Plug for Hull Shanty Festival on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour this morning with Hissyfit and Sue Van Gaalen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012llrs#synopsis

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: TheSnail
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 06:27 AM

Bother!

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: MoorleyMan
Date: 22 Jul 11 - 06:55 AM

Just managed to catch the tail-end of it, which was a marvellous rendition of the shanty South Australia by those luvly Hissyfit ladies - now that's what I call Fisherman's Friends!
(But hey, what careless back-crediting from the presenter misnamed Hazel as Ridings... ouch!)

The programme is on Listen Again, so now I'm going to do just that before it vanishes!

Don't forget Hull Shanty Festival is tomorrow and Sunday - it promises to be a great weekend. I'm MCing main stage at Ruscadors, but still hope to make a few sings/sessions as well.. See you there..

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: r.padgett
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 12:53 AM

Well I listened to the entire 45 mins (hour?) and had a wonderful time listening to the beginnings of contraception Marie Stoppes and two of the early pionneers and the views and feelings of mothers' groups and religious opposition ~ fascinating stuff ~ early birthcontrol centre above a butchers shop!

O nearly forgot, glad all Hissyfit were clued up on sailors terms!(seemed to include Sue Van Gaalen ~ "eight pints" missus of mudcat) who has had exposure on a cooking show on TV too and was in Shell back Chorus) Sue is a fine singer I might add!!

Kingston Peridot story from Linda, presumably PRS/BBC costs limited the playing of any of Linda's songs? ~ a blooming pity as Sweet Minerva, Kingston Peridot, Spare hand and more worth a listen ~ are you listening Mr Harding?

O and of course War of the Roses people!!
Ray

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 01:31 AM

Thanks for sharing the link!

Too bad they didn't just let the ladies sing! Would have been good to hear more.

Wish they wouldn't ask performers to be historians.

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: greg stephens
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 02:27 AM

Not too sure of the relevance of all the stuff about threratening to shoot navy sailors to prevent them going ashore. Rather agree with Gibb Sahib on that point.

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 04:06 AM

Well just to give some background..the expert who was supposed to do this spot dropped out on Wednesday and the producer rang me to ask if I knew a female who could step in at the last minute. Sue was a shellback and hadsailed on tallships. None if us knew what the wquestions were they were based on a five minute chat we had by phone to the researcher. We were told to sing a traditional shanty of a certain length and specifically not depressing. Ehich for us is a bit of a bugvger! Hey ho.

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 04:10 AM

Meant to say in English which for us was a bit of a bugger. The Beeb were very nice but they said I write shanties which I don't so I suppose nothing is perfect. Glad they gave Hull Shanty Fest several mentions

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: stallion
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 05:38 AM

mmmmm Linda my fingers do that when i am mellow, No 1 daughter nearly plucked her eye out when she heard you on the radio, apparently she was doing her eyebrows! Anyway good one ladies, catch up with you sooner rather than later.
pete

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: stallion
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 05:41 AM

Yea why not Sweet Minerva? No mention of fire ships and pirate ships ;0)

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Nick
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 05:50 AM

Well I thouht you cam acros really well and the singing was lovely.

Perhaps they'll rename it the East Riching of Yorkshire?

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 06:18 AM

good to see shanties being promoted.

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 06:48 AM

Didn't have a choice what we sang but it was grest to promote shanties and to mention hull shanty festival. Listening to roaring forties now. Fab!

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: stallion
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 07:01 AM

what is ir with all these typo's! ;0)

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Gibb Sahib
Date: 23 Jul 11 - 11:45 PM

I understand that discourse that creates the awkwardness. I don't blame the interviewees... and I suppose, to be fair, I don't blame the interviewer. It's just that established discourse that I'm lamenting: the fact that they would decide they needed to interview with questions about history, as a matter of course... as if performing "shanties" must always be prefaced by a historical discussion. This is what seems to happen nearly every time (perhaps I am exaggerating). The emphasis get put on "oh, these were work songs for heaving and hauling" and then the program (for very good, and appropriate reasons from the performers' perspective) contains very few actual shanties. In this case, it was just the one shanty, and even that one wouldn't make very clear sense in relation to the discussion (because it is the Revival recording version that mixes, dubiously, "heave" and "haul" in the same song). The performers, quite reasonably, would like to use instruments, but then this creates confusion when the discussion has to tweak history to accommodate that. The discourse wants to center shanties on English culture, which creates confusion about "slaves in the Caribbean".

Interviewers need to come off that history/heritage kick and ask relevant questions like, "Hey guys, you sing beautifully! When did you start singing? Where do you practice? What is your background? What are your audiences like? What's your favourite song? How do you learn new songs?", whatever, etc... stuff that is focused on the performers, not on "What are shanties? Where do they come from?"

I don't know how that could be accomplished, I'm afraid. Perhaps if somehow performers who were about to be interviewed could steer the interviewer? That may be hard, however.

My 'rant' here is not so much pertinent to this broadcast specifically as it is to these sort of broadcasts in general. When someone comes to perform 'folk' music or 'rock' or 'jazz,' they don't ask, "So, what is the history of Jazz?"...

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 24 Jul 11 - 04:33 AM

I don't disagree with anything you say Gibb. I suppose its a broad sweep approach which give tasters to a lot of people who know nothing but bring frustration to those who have more knowledge. On a positive note we have had emails from all over the country with people curious about what we do and the Hull Shanty Festival has been an overwhelming success so far which frankly is the important thingm

Subject: RE: Sea Shanties on Woman's Hour BBC R4
From: GUEST,Blowzabella sans cookie
Date: 24 Jul 11 - 05:06 AM

I didn't hear the programme, but I understand that the subject for it was 'shanties' rather than the performers who were interviewed as part of the programme though. It therefore seems perfectly reasonable that the questions will be about what shanties are / were. The included performance was to illustrate, I believe, rather than being the purpose of the programme.