Origins: Looking for a folk setting of A.A. Milne

Subject: Origins: Looking for a folk setting of A.A. Milne
From: GUEST,Jay
Date: 27 Dec 24 - 08:31 PM

I'm looking for any information on a series of folk settings of A.A. Milne's "Now We Are Six" poems that I heard on BBC Radio 3 or 4 somewhere between 1993 and 1999. I know this is a broad window but I feel like if anybody could help me, Mudcat could, and the songs were very distinctive.

It was a male singer on an acoustic guitar, accompanied by a cello on some songs, with a real Nick Drake feel and timbre. I've been completely unable to find any reference to these songs or their singer online and while I had a tape of it, I can't lay hands on it somehow and fear it's lost.

n.b., these are not the Fraser Simpson settings and seem to have been new melodies and arrangements. They were very melancholic. Does anybody have any memory of this?

Subject: RE: Origins: Looking for a folk setting of A.A. Milne
From: GUEST,Jay
Date: 27 Dec 24 - 08:44 PM

Update: They also weren't the Chris T-T versions.

Subject: RE: Origins: Looking for a folk setting of A.A. Milne
From: GUEST,Rob Mad Jock Wright
Date: 29 Dec 24 - 12:58 AM

Have you tried contacting the BBC Archive Dept. They keep recordings of a lot of their output., but not all.

Subject: RE: Origins: Looking for a folk setting of A.A. Milne
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Dec 24 - 06:55 AM

btw / in case anyone was wondering, the Chris T-T album :

Disobedience: Chris T-T Sings A.A. Milne
2011
The album of the family friendly one man show, first performed at Edinburgh Fringe 2011.
https://christt.bandcamp.com/album/disobedience-chris-t-t-sings-a-a-milne

www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/audio/2011/aug/31/booksforchildrenandteenagers-childrens-books-8-12-years

review
If you haven’t already heard about Brighton-based singer songwriter Chris T-T there are two things you should do; firstly – slap yourself, secondly – check out his website christt.com. Chris T-T has been bringing us songs usually described as “crossing barriers between punk, psych-pop and English folk” since 1999.
This time Chris T-T brought us a show with a difference, playing tracks from his recently digitally released album ‘Disobedience’, a collection of songs he has written that have been taken from the 1920s childrens’ poems written by A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh). The gig took place at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton with families and children present. He played all songs on guitar and a baby grand piano completely unamplified giving the evening a friendly, intimate and unpretentious atmosphere which was easy to enjoy and fitted well with Chris T-T’s folk aesthetics.
The songs were moving in their understated perceptiveness, in particular ‘Halfway Down’ and ‘Binker”, a song about an imaginary friend. There was some outstandingly unselfconscious audience participation for “The Four Friends’ and amusing as well as informative anecdotes throughout.
Having seen Chris T-T play before, wedged in amongst political comedians and comedy acts singing about science, it was interesting to see him in this whimsically innocent setting of his own creation.
https://brightonmusicblog.co.uk/2011/12/21/chris-t-t-sings-a-a-milne/

https://christt.com/music/

Subject: RE: Origins: Looking for a folk setting of A.A. Milne
From: GUEST,Jay
Date: 06 Jan 25 - 06:10 PM

Rob - I reached out to the BBC archive and received a prompt but not unpleasant response that they don't work with individual members of the public and devote their resources to researchers and co., instead. Understandable, as far as I'm concerned.

The archivist pointed me to the BBC's Genome project, a searchable archive of Radio Times listings. Sadly a search there didn't help me.