The Ballad Of Shirley Collins

The Ballad of Shirley Collins Now Streaming

~ Michael Stevenson ~ Leave a comment

FIRE FILMS announce feature documentary THE BALLAD OF SHIRLEY COLLINS about the iconic English singer is now streaming for the first time via Vimeo on Demand, including the first-ever digital release of a host of bonus materials.

BONUS MATERIALS:

  • Audio commentary version of the film with Shirley Collins in discussion with the directors Tim Plester and Rob Curry
  • Featurette telling the story of Shirley’s secret comeback show at the Union Chapel in 2014. Includes the full footage of the show itself.
  • Behind the scenes film exploring the making of the film’s mesmerising reconstruction footage.
  • Field recordings of Sam Amidon and Elle Osborne playing songs they learned from Shirley Collins 

The singer who lost her voice.

Having been an indelible presence in the English folk scene for more than 20 years, Shirley Collins was until recently remembered predominantly for losing her voice in mysterious circumstances in the 1980s. This film explores [ . . . ] Continue reading →

Film Review: The Ballad Of Shirley Collins

~ Michael Stevenson ~ Leave a comment

Music taken from the recent documentary about Shirley Collins’ return to music is more than a mere soundtrack LP, says Luke Turner.

The soundtrack to The Ballad Of Shirley Collins starts with something rather shocking. Over the sound of a crackling fire the veteran folk singer is heard saying “There are some great female voices around now, but I’m not one of them. I wish I was.” Given her recent live appearances have been touching, emotional affairs, it’s rather devastating to hear Collins’ own verdict on her return after notorious decades of silence in which she avoided even singing in the shower. In this time, Collins’ place at the heart of the story of English and American folk music was neglected in favour of a male-dominated narrative, and she was only persuaded to return to song by the pestering of Current 93’s David Tibet. The story of how she rediscovered song is finely told in The Ballad Of Shirley Collins which, if you haven’t already seen it, you should track down now. You can hear the treasure that came from the rediscovery of what her voice can do in 2016’s Lodestar, an album in which Collins and her stripped-back band make songs, some centuries old, resonate with a curiously vibrant psychedelia.

 

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