Brit Folk

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Folk musician and BBC presenter Archie Fisher dies aged 86

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Archie Fisher
Archie Fisher

The singer, songwriter and guitarist had presented BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk from 1983 to 2010.

Folk musician and former BBC Scotland presenter Archie Fisher has died at the age of 86.

The singer, songwriter and guitarist had presented BBC Radio Scotland’s Travelling Folk from 1983 to 2010.

Born in Glasgow into a singing family, he released a number of albums over the years and was among the earliest steel-string players in British folk music.

In 2006, he was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours for services to traditional Scottish music.

In posts on social media, Scottish singing star Barbara Dickson described him as “the great Archie Fisher”.

She said: “My musical mentor and huge cultural icon here in Scotland. Rest in Peace, Archie. Bx”.

Scottish BBC radio and TV presenter Vic Galloway said: “I’m very sad to hear the news about the passing of Archie Fisher.

“I met him many times at the BBC over the years & he was always a real gentleman, as well as being a great broadcaster. Obviously he was a legend of Scottish folk & traditional music as well… Archie RIP.”

Scottish folk singer Iona Fyfe said: “So sad to hear of the passing of Archie Fisher. A true folk music hero and inspiration. Rest easy Archie. Thoughts with the family and all who loved Archie and his music.”

Fisher, who died on Saturday, moved to Edinburgh in 1960 and lived in the south of Scotland in his final years.

Source: Folk musician and BBC presenter Archie Fisher dies aged 86

The Young Tradition “Lyke Wake Dirge”

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The Young Tradition, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices.

In the late 1960s, London became the centre of the English folk music revival and The Young Tradition moved there, sharing a house with John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and Anne Briggs.

Bert Jansch “Needle of Death”

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Lyrics

When sadness fills your heart
And sorrow hides the longing to be free
When things go wrong each day
You fix your mind to ‘scape your misery

Your troubled young life
Had made you turn
To a needle of death

How strange, your happy words
Have ceased to bring a smile from everyone
How tears have filled the eyes
Of friends that you once had walked among

Your troubled young life
Had made you turn
To a needle of death

One grain of pure white snow
Dissolved in blood spread quickly to your brain
In peace your mind withdraws
Your death so near your soul can’t feel no pain

Your troubled young life
Had made you turn
To a needle of death

Your mother stands a’cryin’
While to the earth your body’s slowly cast
Your father stands in silence
Caressing every young dream of the past

Your troubled young life
Had made you turn
To a needle of death

Through ages, man’s desires
To free his mind, to release his very soul
Has proved to all who live
That death itself is freedom for evermore

And your troubled young life
Will make you turn
To a needle of death

Lankum returns with new single and video ‘Ghost Town’

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Since 2014’s Cold Old Fire, Lankum’s debut album as a four-piece, the Dublin band have gone on to release three studio albums on Rough Trade Records – including The Livelong Day and False Lankum, which both won the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year. Lankum released a live album, Live in Dublin, in June 2024.

They were set for a North American autumn 2025 tour, but had to cancel due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.

It’s an honour to be releasing a version of this iconic tune, and it feels eerily relevant to be referencing yet again themes of urban decay, economic hardship and working class frustration. – Lankum

Lankum "Ghost Town"

Most recently, their track ‘The Granite Graze’ off of their 2017 record Between The Earth and Sky, was featured on Netflix’s House of Guinness soundtrack, which premiered last month.