Obit: Ian Russell UK (1947-2026)

Subject: Obit: Ian Russell
From: r.padgett
Date: 18 May 26 - 02:03 AM

I have been advised by Roy Hardacre of the passing of the Carolling collector Ian Russell

Ian collected and totally engaged with the Sheffield/South Yorkshire Christmas tradition of singing the "Local carols" at Christmas time

The Carols continue in the traditional local pubs around Sheffield into Derbyshire and further afield and have travelled world wide too

RIP Ian Russell

Ray

Subject: RE: Obit: Ian Russell
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 18 May 26 - 04:30 AM

What a great loss to the tradition of folk music - and Whitby Folk Week too.

When he first enquired where he could find folk songs in Sheffield, he was told, "You won't find any round here!"

The survival of traditional carol singing in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire will be his legacy.

Subject: RE: Obit: Ian Russell
From: GUEST,Lang Johnnie Mor
Date: 18 May 26 - 05:49 AM

A great loss to traditional music in Aberdeen as well. More on this later.
RIP, Ian.

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Nick Dow
Date: 18 May 26 - 09:38 AM

I heard this yesterday. He contacted me just after Whitby and seemed to be positive about the future. Another great man gone. So sorry to hear this sad news. RIP Ian.
Nick

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 18 May 26 - 10:31 AM

Sad condolences to Norma and the family. Ian was a giant in the field of song collecting and research. He will be greatly missed in Yorkshire and Aberdeenshire, but much wider afield as well.

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: MoorleyMan
Date: 18 May 26 - 10:58 AM

Echoing the above post. Another good man gone, a major force in collecting and research and a great singer to boot. How tragic. Condolences to Norma and family. RIP Ian.

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: GUEST,Lang Johnnie Mor
Date: 18 May 26 - 01:13 PM

Statement released on Facebook by the Elphinstone Institute of Aberdeen University:

"We're profoundly saddened by the news that our friend and former director, Emeritus Professor Ian Russell MBE, passed away this weekend. It's difficult in a social media post to say all the things that Ian was to so many different people. As director of the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, he initiated or supported countless festivals and community engagement projects including the Boaties Project, the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention, Button Boxes & Moothies, the Cullerlie Traditional singing weekend, the Polish-Scottish Song Group, and countless more. He hired Stanley Robertson to lead the innovative 'Oral and Cultural Traditions of Scottish Travellers' project and made deep community connections between the Institute and the broader region.

Ian was one of the great fieldworkers, and many people will remember him with recording machine in hand, documenting, for example, the Temperance walks in Cairnbulg, Inverallochy, and St Combs, or recording public events, sessions, Burns Suppers, and much more. He was perhaps most famous for documenting, supporting, and writing about the rich carolling traditions of the Pennines for half a century.

For our staff and students, Ian was a constant source of enthusiasm and a model for ethical fieldwork, working with communities to create long-term sustainable partnership models. We will miss Ian greatly, and would like to express our condolences to his wife Norma, who was ever-present by Ian's side, and a key part of almost all of the projects listed above (and many more). We also express our condolences to Joe Russell (Ian and Norma's son) and Tomas Russell (their grandson), about both of whom Ian would speak with great pride.
We'll be singing songs in Ian's memory tonight and for many nights to come. "

A musical life, well lived. Ian will be missed, but not forgotten. RIP.

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 20 May 26 - 10:37 AM

Ian did much to bring the traditional songs, music and carols back from the brink. He will be sadly missed. I have added his name to the "In Memoriam" thread and send my sincere condolences. RIP

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 20 May 26 - 05:38 PM

Our condolences to Norma and family, a big part of our heritage has come from Ian.
I have suggested to BBC's "Last Word" that he was a person of national influence and importance and should be mentioned on their program.
If anyone else agrees with me perhaps they could also contact them.

Robin

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 20 May 26 - 05:43 PM

Several people have made the same suggestion to Last Word, Robin. So thanks for contacting them. Strength in numbers.
Derek

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 21 May 26 - 06:58 PM

He came to Australia in 2018 & presented a paper - ‘English Village Carolling in the Diaspora: Cultural Communities linked by Water Power and Hard Rock Mining’ - at the National Folklore Conference, & also appeared at the National Folk Festival 2018 & my Folk Club The Loaded Dog.

At the National he hung around with Black Joak Morris whose members included his son & grandson, but for once I didn't take any photos of the Joakers, but I do have other photos from his visit if anyone wants them

sandra

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 25 May 26 - 04:10 AM

The quote from Facebook above posted by Lang Johnnie Mor is a very well-worded obituary and appraisal of the very many talents and interests of Professor Ian Russell.
I have had the good fortune to be in company with Ian, as part of the scratch band for his “Carols in August” workshops both at Sidmouth and Whitby Folk Festivals.
At a good few Cullerlie Traditional Singing Weekends.
At all of the Button Box and Moothies weekends.
I last saw him at the last Button Box weekend last November in Aberdeen, when he appeared quite frail. I will send my condolences to Norma and family here, having already done so on Facebook. He will indeed be very much missed.

Subject: RE: 2026 Obit: Ian Russell UK
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 25 May 26 - 04:20 AM

And here is a further personal tribute from friend and traditional singer, Scott Gardiner, well, most of it, also posted on Facebook :

“Sad news this weekend that Ian Russell passed away at home in Aberdeen, after many months of ill health. Best known to us in Scotland as a patient driving force behind many of the north-east's cultural institutions (including The Elphinstone Institute, The Cullerlie Traditional Singing Weekend, Button Boxes and Moothies, and The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention) Ian was hugely respected south of the border too.

I met Ian shortly after he moved to Scotland, and had the good fortune to get to know him pretty well over the years. We were room-mates for a fortnight at The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington (2 nights where I got back to the hotel first, followed by 12 nights of listening to him snoring ??) and shared a common love for traditional song.

You'd never ken it from his accent, but Ian was born in Aberdeen in 1947. His family then moving to England, where he developed a lifelong interest in the songs and traditions of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. While working as a schoolteacher he studied for a PhD on 'Traditional Singing in West Sheffield', with his dear wife Norma's fieldwork assistance and abilities on the electric typewriter. This research deepened his interest in the carolling traditions of the area, and he went on to organise and participate in carolling events for the rest of his days. I've seen Ian in many situations, but it was amongst the carollers in a Whitby August where he seemed deepest in his element. Thankfully Norma had a similar interest and continued to support him in all he did. Their son Joe (now biding in Australia) grew up a traditional musician and dancer, and is very involved in running St Albans Folk Festival in New South Wales.

A contented life as a primary school headteacher (with an acre or twa at home to graze sheep on) had seemed mapped out, but in 1999 the opportunity to lead the recently formed Elphinstone Institute (a centre for the study of ethnology, folklore and ethnomusicology at the University of Aberdeen) proved too good to miss. Ian returned to Aberdeen, with Norma following on once she'd found homes for the livestock.

One of his first field visits in Aberdeenshire was to Nether Woodside near Echt, the home of Bothy Ballad King Tam Reid and his wife Anne. Tam and Anne had attended John Waltham's traditional singing weekend on his farm in Dorset, and left with a notion to start a similar event on their own place. Thanks to Ian's ready enthusiasm, the first "Cullerlie" took place in July 2000, and continues to this day. In 2001 he founded The North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (a high profile combination of music festival and academic conference, which has travelled round the world these past 25 years) and The Free Reed Convention (Button Boxes and Moothies) in 2003.

Noël Coward doesna tend tae get quoted much in deepest rural Aberdeenshire, but "work is more fun than fun" summed up Ian, as he hit the ground running in his new job. Forbye the day-to-day academic work of teaching and administration, the recorder was never far from his hand. Hundreds of hours documenting singers, musicians, storytellers, community events and customs. Thanks to Ian, some of the north-east's world class tradition bearers like Stanley Robertson and Paul Anderson found a role at The Elphinstone. He was enthused about them all, with a down-to-earth way of getting on with folk and a great respect for their heritage:

I saw him maist weekends during what turned out to be his final stay in hospital.
Even in his last weeks, he was always interested in what people were up to music-wise, or with their craft or art. I was telling him about the festivals that were coming up, and asked if he had anything he'd like to say to his pals who would be there. "Keep it going" was all. In your memory Chiel, we'll all do our best to do that.”

Subject: RE: Obit: Ian Russell UK (1947-2026)
From: Rain Dog
Date: 04 Jun 26 - 12:02 PM

Obituary in the Guardian

Ian Russell obituary by Derek Schofield

Subject: RE: Obit: Ian Russell UK (1947-2026)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 06 Jun 26 - 07:09 PM

There is to be a Celebration of Ian’s life (which is in fact his funeral) on Thursday June 18th starting in King’s College Chapel, Aberdeen at 2pm, followed by a full programme of events for the rest of the day. There will be live streaming of at least some of the proceedings.
All details here: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/students/events-news/events/24076/

Subject: Ian Russell obituary
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 31 Aug 26 - 09:30 PM

thanks to Ballad list, Margaret Steiner:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/31/ian-russell-obituary

Subject: RE: Ian Russell obituary (1947-2026)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Sep 26 - 01:06 AM

Here's the obituary from the Guardian by Derek Schofield, dated Sunday 31 May, 2026.

Folklorist and scholar regarded as a leading authority on the carol singing traditions of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire

The folklorist, folk song scholar and former director of the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen, Ian Russell, who has died aged 79, was the foremost authority on the local carol singing traditions in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

These carols never include Away in a Manger and are rarely sung in church. They generally date from a period before Victorian church reformers adopted Hymns Ancient and Modern and did away with church bands. Instead, the bands and singers took the carols into the pubs and often maintained a peripatetic tour of the local community.

When Ian started his fieldwork in 1970, he found 83 pubs to the west and north of Sheffield where the singing took place in the weeks before Christmas. He learned how the carols had been passed on orally through the generations, sometimes with the aid of family manuscripts. As an enthusiastic participant observer, he set about documenting the tradition and researching its history, and that of Derbyshire, where similar carols were sung, often in chapels.

[cutline]THOMOND. FOOLOW, 15th December 2012 - Professor Ian Russell, from the University of Aberdeen and editor of The Sheffield Book of Carols, leads the sing at Carollers at Foolow village Hall, Derbyshire, one of over 100 "sings", the ancient tradition of singing local carols, in packed pubs and villages across Sheffield and North Derbyshire. The Sheffield Carols predate the more familiar modern carols by more than a century. Some are joined by a brass band or piano and others are unaccompanied, often with alternative words and tunes. They were originally sung in churches, but were driven out from the 1830s and largely died out nationwide. The Sheffield Carols survived and are there are sings from Armistice Day to New Year's Day and each venue has it's own versions and traditions. In recent years local carols have been resurrected in Gloucestershire, Cornwall and Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire.[/cutline]

Ian’s recordings of the carols, made in situ with a background of chinking glasses and ringing tills, were released on cassette and later CD on his own Village Carols label; a selection, English Village Carols, was published by Smithsonian Folkways in the US. In 2008, he published The Sheffield Book of Village Carols and in 2012, a Derbyshire companion volume.

In 1994, he instituted the Festival of Village Carols, held biennially in Grenoside, Sheffield, where the carols were accompanied by a full orchestra of, mainly, amateur musicians, thus reviving the church band arrangements, including the symphonies: musical interludes between verses.

Ian also discovered similar carols elsewhere, and the festival hosted carol performances from Padstow in Cornwall, Beeston in Nottinghamshire and even Glen Rock in Pennsylvania, US, where migrants from the Pennines first sang their carols in 1848.

He was born in Aberdeen, to Joan (nee Jackson) and William Russell, a hospital doctor, who became a general practitioner when the family moved to Derby. Ian’s interest in singing started as a child on car journeys with his parents, and he became a choral scholar at King’s Ely, in Cambridgeshire, where he also played guitar in a skiffle group. He then attended Nottingham high school; by his mid-teens, he was singing in Nottingham folk clubs.

At 18, he spent a year as an unqualified primary teacher in a deprived area of Nottingham, before embarking on a teacher training course at Sheffield City College of Education. On graduation, Ian first taught at Unstone junior school, Derbyshire, later becoming head of Anston Greenlands primary school, in North Anston, east of Sheffield.

The carols were just one aspect of grassroots traditional singing in south Yorkshire, and Ian had already discovered an informal network of family members and work colleagues who sang a mixture of traditional folk and music-hall style songs. As soon as he completed his teaching qualification, he enrolled at the Institute of Dialect and Folklife Studies at Leeds University, where he completed his doctorate on traditional singing in west Sheffield, in 1977.

He continued to document, research and publish on these singing traditions. Unlike many previous folksong collectors, Ian had no rigid definitions of what was worth recording. He adopted an ethnomusicological approach, valuing the social and cultural contexts of the traditional singing and the ways in which it changed and adapted over time.

In 1979 he joined the editorial board of the Folk Music Journal, published by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), and was its editor from 1981 to 1993.

There he encouraged authors, especially those with little prior experience of academic writing. He also organised conferences on traditional song, music and fieldwork in folklore, including one to mark the centenary of the Folk-Song Society in 1998.

In 1977, his research extended to an investigation of Derbyshire’s Winster Morris Dancers. Their dances had been collected by Cecil Sharp before the first world war, but the team had lapsed in the early 1950s. Ian’s interviewing of former dancers encouraged the team to restart, with Ian providing the music on melodeon. He also recorded and researched traditional drama in Derbyshire, particularly the children’s play the Derby Tup.

In 1999, Ian was appointed the director of the Elphinstone Institute, a study centre for ethnology, folklore and ethnomusicology. Its remit included public engagement, particularly in the north of Scotland, which was ideally suited to Ian’s hands-on approach.

He initiated a range of events and research projects, including the Cullerlie traditional singing weekend, “Button Boxes and Moothies” (mouth organs) events, a Polish-Scottish song group and a project on the oral and cultural traditions of Scottish Travellers. Ian’s fieldwork and research included Burns suppers, flute bands and sacred singing.

He also created the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention (NAFCo) in 2001, initially in Aberdeen, later also held in Derry, Northern Ireland, and in Newfoundland and in Cape Breton Island, Canada. As with many of Ian’s projects, NAFCo combined an academic conference alongside a full programme of concerts and learning opportunities.

He was appointed to a personal chair in 2011 and retired as emeritus professor in 2014. His research did not cease, and with his boundless enthusiasm he continued to influence, encourage and motivate researchers and musical participants. Ian was awarded the Folklore Society’s Coote Lake medal in 1987, and the EFDSS Gold Badge in 1998 and was appointed MBE in 2020.

Ian is survived by his wife, Norma (nee Carter), whom he met at college and married in 1967, along with their son, Joseph, and grandson, Tomas.

Ian Russell, folklorist and ethnomusicologist, born 17 February 1947; died 16 May 2026

Subject: RE: Obit: Ian Russell UK (1947-2026)
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 01 Sep 26 - 05:52 PM

The sentence starting THOMOND FOOLOW is the caption to the photo of Ian contained in the obituary. Thomond is the surname of the photographer.

Subject: RE: Obit: Ian Russell UK (1947-2026)
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Sep 26 - 04:05 PM

RE