Ewan MacColl - An Introduction to Ewan MacColl (2018)

Ewan MacColl was a true driving force and historically one of the most important figureheads of the Folk revival of the mid twentieth century. As a youngster he was surrounded by a huge repertoire of songs and stories his parents brought from Scotland when they moved, these along with their strong political views helped shape the then young Jimmie Miller. Ewan gained an interest in politics, then the theatre as he became an actor and playright with strong left-wing beliefs to his true calling as a singer, songwriter within the folk movement. The latter change in direction came from being inspired by the work of one Alan Lomax. Realising the importance of Folk music and the folk music club scene he was able to use this as a platform for his beliefs. In 1953 with Bert Lloyd, Alan Lomax and Seamus Ennis and a few others formed the Ballads and Blues Club in London which was later to become the famous Singers Club.

Ewan MacColl's recording career took off in 1950 with his first record for Topic Records club. TRC39 'The Asphalter's Song; I'm Champion at Keeping em' Rolling' but we start off this introduction To' release with his most well-known track 'Dirty Old Town' released in 1952, again a Topic Records Club release TRC56

It was in 1956 that Ewan MacColl met Peggy Seeger and they embarked upon a life and musical partnership. Between 1957 and 1989 they toured the world giving concerts of traditional and contemporary songs. The duo recorded extensively and collected songs from traditional singers in Britain. Some of the songs featured in this compilation highlight their creative partnership.

This compilation highlights just a few of the 300 published songs which make up a very impressive body of work from a man highly regarded and acknowledged as one of the most important figureheads of the British Folk scene.