Classic Folk with Mike Norris
Classic Folk is unique.
It mines a rich seam of wonderful folk and roots music and song from around 75 years of recordings.
From the great source singers to the legends of folk rock, the travellers to the protesters, the ballads to the blues, from the far north to the deep south and all around the English speaking world, the songs live again.
And, not forgetting the pick of the new releases and a few cracking tunes, it’s like having a folk festival in the comfort of your own home!
Former English Folk Dance and Song Society Chair (2006–2011) and long-standing member Mike Norris hosts our weekly folk radio programme.
Mike explores a wide range of folk and acoustic music from the UK and abroad – from rarely heard archive and field recordings to the very latest releases.
Listen now
Tuesday 14 January 2025
This week’s music:
1. Crow On The Cradle / Judy Dunlop
2. Thresherman / Patakus
3. The Rare Auld Times / Luke Kelly
4. Cairn O' Mount / Bob Blair
5. The Silkie Of Sule Skerry / The McCalmans
6. Paddy Fahy's Reel/Mulhaire's No. 9 / Mischief Afoot
7. Leatherwing Bat / Will Finn and Rosie Calvert
8. Bonny Light Horseman / Peter & Barbara Snape
9. A Ballad for Katherine of Aragon / Martin Simpson
10. Famous Flower Of Serving Men / Martin Carthy
11. Dancing With Nancy / Paul Downes
12. Lay This Body Down / June Tabor
13. Last Train / Luke Jackson
14. Moorlough Mary / The Streams Of Bawdeen / Maggie Boyle
15. Al Bowlly's In Heaven / Richard Thompson
16. Across the Borderline / Rag Mama Rag
17. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda / The Pogues
18. The Dun Broon Bride / Lucy Pringle & Chris Wright
19. Cotton Mill Girls / Lucky Bags
20. Vive L'Amour/Masters Of This Hall / Phil Beer
21. Lully Lullay / Daria Kulesh
22. Blues For The North Wind / Steve Tilston Trio
23. Farewell Shanty / The Sheringham Shantymen
Also available to stream:
The presenter: Mike Norris
Mike’s passion for folk music spans decades; from first learning to play the melodeon and singing shanties at school, to running folk festivals and gigs.
A teenager during the 1960s, Mike was heavily influenced by protest song and folk-rock popularity (Bob Dylan, the Copper Family, Joan Baez, Fairport Convention etc), as well as the tail end of the folk-song revival shaped by The Watersons, Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger, Shirley Collins, Woody Guthrie and many more.
Interesting fact: The hospital where Mike was born, in Portsmouth, grew out of the workhouse where George Gardiner collected more than 100 songs in the early 1900s.
