Waterson : Carthy

For more than 30 years Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy have been at the forefront of the English folk scene.
Joined by their daughter, singer and fiddle player Eliza Carthy and melodeon player Saul Rose,
together they form Waterson:Carthy, one of Britain's most successful and influential folk bands.
This is what the BBC website has to say about Martin Carthy and his award in 2005:
Martin Carthy
“For four decades, Martin Carthy's work has immeasurably enriched the British folk heritage. He is regarded as one of the finest singers and interpreters of traditional music of the British Isles, as well as a highly influential and much-imitated guitarist. Awarded the MBE for services to English folk music in 1998, his drive and enthusiasm are undiminished and he continues to be one of folk music's great innovators.”
Eliza Carthy
Twice-nominated for a prestigious Nationwide Mercury Prize (Red Rice (1998) and Anglicana (2003) Eliza is also the winner of more than five BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2003 she became the first traditional English musician to be nominated a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music (for Anglicana).

In March 2005, Eliza co-presented the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards with Benjamin Zephaniah - an event that was broadcast on BBC Four. She has been a regular guest-presenter on the BBC Radio 2 Mark Radcliffe Show and has made several appearances on BBC TVs 'Later with Jools'. In addition, Eliza has presented her own four part series on the history of English Folk on BBC Radio 2 and was recently the subject of an hour long ITV documentary('Heaven & Earth') and in January 2008 will be the subject of another documentary on Channel 5. Eliza featured prominently in the acclaimed BBC Four Folk Britannia season.

From an early age Eliza was championed by John Peel and Billy Bragg. She's featured on Billy's Grammy winning album with Wilco, 'Mermaid Avenue'. In 2006, she appeared on 'Rogues Gallery' an album created by Hal Wilner and Johnny Depp, also featuring Nick Cave, Bryan Ferry and Richard Thompson and in 2007, made a significant contribution to another collaborative project, 'Imagined Villlage' and In 2008 Eliza won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Best Traditional Track for Cold Haily Rainy Night

Norma Waterson
"Possibly the finest English singer alive today." Mojo

Norma Waterson first came to prominence with her siblings Michael (Mike) and Elaine (Lal) Waterson, with their second cousin John Harrison. Both sides of Norma's family were musical and almost all of her extended family were accomplished musicians. Partly of Irish gipsy descent, like thousands of others they came to folk song through an early interest in jazz and skiffle. They formed a group called The Mariners and, as their style became progressively less 'pop' and more serious, they decided to start a folk club calling themselves The Folksons before finally using their family name. Their abiding interest was in the songs and customs of their native East Yorkshire.

The Watersons' first album, Frost and Fire, was released in 1965. After two more records in 1966, The Watersons and A Yorkshire Garland, John Harrison left the group and moved to London. The Watersons split up in 1968 and Norma left England to work as a DJ in the West Indies. The family came together again four years later and Martin Carthy joined the reformed Watersons in 1972, making a permanent family commitment by marrying Norma in the same year.


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