Billy Mitchell

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: Uncovering the bedrock

Bill Taylor writes: Can’t see the wood for the trees? For the longest time, I couldn’t see the wool for the sweaters… Those chunky off-white Aran jumpers that became their trademark, and which my mother – “why can’t you dress... Read more →


Pitmen Poets: from the Land of Three Rivers to the Strawbs

Colin Randall writes: On first hearing of the Pitmen Poets' new album Re-union, experience told me to stand by for a rebuke from Bob Fox. Twenty-four years ago, when I made Fox's Dreams Never Leave You my Daily Telegraph folk... Read more →


Pitmen Poets: sold out in person, but live online

... there’s something appropriate about seeing Pitmen Poets this year, the 40th anniversary of the British miners’ strike, since they are all steeped in the songs and culture of Britain’s coalfields. Read more →


Sorrow and solidarity in the coalfield, with Bob Fox, Benny Graham, Jez Lowe and Billy Mitchell

Jagged forks of lightning tore across the sky above Marseille as I began a two-hour drive home from the airport, listening to the opening tracks of Bare Knuckle, a copy of which had been waiting for me on a fleeting... Read more →