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Fear a' Bhàta

Date 01 May 1986
Track ID 88188
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1986.114

Original Tape ID

SA1986.114

Summary

Audrey Fisher's singing career; the Fisher family; folk clubs.

Audrey Bullock née Fisher talks about her family's singing; CND concerts; singing popular and American material at Glasgow folk clubs as a teenager; and singing unaccompanied with her sister Cilla after the family moved to Tyneside. She and Cilla also sang Glasgow children's street songs for a television programme. Ray Fisher recalls their mother correcting the version of 'Fear a' Bhàta' the children were taught at school [she sings and quotes some lines].

Audrey talks about venues on Tyneside [break to turn tape] where she and Cilla sang on a semi-professional basis. She recalls the 1960s as the high point of the folk scene, when large numbers of people were making a living from their music, though when she returned to England in the 1970s after several years in Australia she was struck by the quality of the floor singers and by the numbers of instrumentalists and bands. She jokes about losing her standing in the clubs after her absence, losing touch with traditional singing, and not keeping her voice in practice. She comments on changes in the singing of Archie, Cilla and Ray over the years that make it more difficult for them to sing together.

Item Subject/Person

Fisher, Audrey; Fisher, Cilla; Fisher family

Language

English

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good