Expertise My main field of expertise in in traditional ballads - those commonly known as the Child
ballads. Those containing executions are my particular speciality, but I am also interested
in ballad structure formula, functions and narrative constructs. However, I also have
interest in - and academic knowledge of - bothy ballads, and the singing tradition of
Scotland - although not Gaelic song. This includes Jacobite song, political song, songs
about the trades, and so on. I'm pretty au fait with traditional singers and bands too. And
while I enjoy singing the songs, I'm not so sure others might enjoy listening!
Experience I studied ballads academically, as well as Scottish literature. This extended into Scottish social customs and social history. I was the traditional music reviewer for the Edinburgh Evening News for 4 years, and have several publications to my name.
I have been a freelance tutor in outreach courses from Edinburgh University on Scottish Culture and Tradition, including lifecycle customs, broadsheet ballads in Scotland, the traditional ballad and history. I am a freelance writer, have been a guest presenter on Ch4 History Hunters programme, and was a contributor to BBC Radio Scotland's 'Songlines' series on 'The Dowie Dens of Yarrow'. Recentl, I have been advising BBC Radio Scotland researchers for a forthcoming programme on Scottish songs and ballads from the Borders.
Publications Books: Forthcoming - Compendium of Scottish Ethnology, chapter on The Traditional and the Border Ballad; The Harris Repertoire (2000, Scottish Text Society, co-editor), The Ballad in History (chapter on Border ballads). Journals include Folklore, The Review of Scottish Culture, Scottish Studies, and The Scottish Literary Journal. Music reviews appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News
Q: i am trying to identify a specific female singer. She sang as part of a band as a featured vocalist ... A: I can try and help you with this - if you give me a bit more information: I certainly don't have any ...
Q: I am trying to find a song from the 60's which contained the words,"mayor of the parking lot". Any ... A: This is out of my range of expertise - Scottish traditional songs don't have mayors or parking lots ...
Q: A couple years back, I heard a cover of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" by a woman with ... A: I'm not sure if it classifies as folk either ... actually it doesn't, it's Jazz / Blues ... but my ...
Q: i seen a band called "the fife" about 10 years ago at a festival in Rosyth , Fife . i bought a tape ... A: This sounds like me on several occasions. You see a great band, you get the tape, it gets lost, ...
Q: This is going to be completely and utterly vague and for this I do sincerely apologize. I've been ... A: This is indeed too vague - and I don't know what you mean by the 'typical depressing folk artist': ...
Q: Having a hard time finding a Cohen expert....do u know one or mabey u know this question....Cohen ... A: As you probably suspect from my range of expertise overview, I'm afraid I can't help you here. Your ...
Q: A somewhat ditzy friend of mine made me a mix without bothering to include artists and song titles. ... A: Now, forgive me if I'm on the wrong track, but would that not be the song 'Home Sweet Home'? it has ...
Q: in first, excuse me for my mistakes ! (I'm french). Here is my question : on LOST tv series, I Heard ... A: There is no way that this is a traditional folk song from any english-speaking culture. Just because ...
Q: I heard an Irish folk song several years ago at Christmas time. It was about the WWI truce at ... A: I'm not sure if I can help with this ... but here goes! I only know 3 songs that relate directly ...
Q: hy, my pa use to play a tune when i was litle. twas bout a bear and i ol boy named fiddlin dan. i ... A: I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this. The lyrics certainly don't sound like they've come over ...
Q: I am interested in a song form the mid 1960's; it is an instrumental song; I believe the name of it ... A: This is not good news I'm afraid. This didn't ring any bells for me. However, I did have a rummage ...
Q: My wife is looking for the words to the "dark Island" have checked the answer from a previous ... A: The music known as 'The Dark Island', in UK circles at least, is one that was used in the 1963 tv ...
Q: What are the four primary components of the United Kingdom, each with their own diverse and ... A: I'm not quite sure what you mean by components of the UK - do you mean the 4 geographic areas which ...
Q: OKAY - THIS IS NOT EXACTLY A "FOLK MUSIC" QUESTION BUT CAN'T FIND A CATEGORY TO FIT. WANT TO KNOW ... A: No, this sure isn't folk music, and your question has been in the question pool for a while, so you ...
