The term ‘national treasure’ is overused these days, but there are few more genuinely treasurable than Shirley Collins.
As a key pillar of the British folk revival of the 1960s, Collins recorded numerous essential albums with Davy Graham, The Albion Country Band and her sister Dolly. Now 88, her passion for folk music remains undimmed.
Since returning to singing in 2014, she’s made three acclaimed albums with her Lodestar band, the latest being this year’s Archangel Hill – a name that her stepfather gave to Mount Caburn near her home in Lewes. Affirming Collins’ lifelong mission of keeping these traditional songs alive, the album features a new version of “Hares Of The Mountain” created especially for Bridget Christie’s excellent Channel 4 series, The Change.
And now she’s kindly agreed to consider your queries for Uncut’s next Audience With feature. So what do you want to ask a British folk legend? Send you questions to audiencewith@uncut.co.uk by Wednesday (October 11) and Shirley will answer the best ones in a future issue of Uncut.