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65-445: The album consists largely of traditional folk songs, plus a cover of Ewan MacColl 's "Go! Move! Shift! (The Moving-on Song)", but the band's raucous, garage-rock approach to the material displayed a cross-genre sensibility, interpolating country and rockabilly into the mix, that would develop even further on later albums. The shift in sound was partially a consequence of the band's evolving lineup. Fiddle player Dave Stenshoel had replaced

130-483: A band of unrelieved Portland stone . The pitched leaded roof appears from street level to be a dome, but this is only a surrounding roof. The dome that can be seen from within the Great Hall lies within this roof, and cannot be seen from the ground. On the first floor is the Great Hall, a large reading room topped by a dome. Much of the original furniture designed by the architect can be seen on this floor. Around

195-460: A capella rendition another decade later on "The Long Harvest" (1967). Over the years MacColl recorded and produced upwards of a hundred albums, many with English folk song collector and singer A. L. Lloyd . The pair released an ambitious series of eight LP albums of some 70 of the 305 Child Ballads . MacColl produced a number of LPs with Irish singer songwriter Dominic Behan , a brother of Irish playwright Brendan Behan . In 1956, MacColl caused

260-548: A columned portico attached to a rotunda domed structure, is loosely derived from the Pantheon, Rome . At its opening, one critic wrote, "This is the sort of thing which persuades one to believe in the perennial applicability of the Classical canon". The library building is grade II* listed . A four-year project to renovate and refurbish the library commenced in 2010. Central Library re-opened on 22 March 2014. Manchester

325-640: A conscious rejection of the folk-purist ethos: "We gave that song the beating it richly deserved, since it's such a hackneyed standard of the Irish pub circuit." Hotheads and BOiLeD iN lEaD were later collected on 1991's Old Lead , with two previously unreleased tracks recorded during the Hotheads sessions. Both Boiled in Lead and the Hotheads album appear in Emma Bull 's 1987 urban fantasy novel War for

390-456: A musical career, albeit in a different genre. She died in a boating accident in Mexico in 2000. His son with Peggy Seeger, Neill MacColl, is the long-standing guitarist for Mancunian musician David Gray . His grandson Jamie MacColl has also developed a musical career of his own with the band Bombay Bicycle Club . (* Mixture of documentary, drama and song: broadcast on BBC radio) My function

455-576: A name for themselves. During this period MacColl's enthusiasm for folk music grew. Inspired by the example of Alan Lomax , who had arrived in Britain and Ireland in 1950, and had done extensive fieldwork there, MacColl also began to collect and perform traditional ballads . His long involvement with Topic Records started in 1950 with his release of a single, "The Asphalter's Song", on that label. When, in 1953 Theatre Workshop decided to move to Stratford , London, MacColl, who had opposed that move, left

520-448: A political review of the previous year. As the theatre group's importance grew, members more interested in singing left. The productions ran until the winter of 1972–73. Members' differences with MacColl's vision of a full-time touring company led to the group's breakup. The offshoot group became Combine Theatre, with a club of their own mixing traditional and original folksongs and theatrical performances based on contemporary events, into

585-432: A sample of the old politics, which viewed the earth as mere clay out of which man fashions a world for man and (2) as a sample of his early work, highly dogmatic and low on finesse. It exhibits a lack of economy, an excess of cliches and filler lines, many awkward terms and an errant chronological flow. It has many of the characteristics of political songs of its time and is virtually a political credo set into verse and put to

650-516: A scandal when he fell in love with 21-year-old Peggy Seeger , who had come to Britain to transcribe the music for Alan Lomax 's anthology Folk Songs of North America (published in 1961). At the time MacColl, who was twenty years older than Peggy, was still married to his second wife. Seeger and MacColl recorded several albums of searing political commentary songs. MacColl himself wrote over 300 songs, some of which have been recorded by artists (in addition to those mentioned above) such as Planxty ,

715-473: A short biography of his work in the accompanying book of the Topic Records 70-year anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten . Five of his recordings, three of them solo, appear in the boxed set: MacColl was one of the main composers of British protest songs during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1950s he penned "The Ballad of Ho Chi Minh " and "The Ballad of Stalin " for

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780-507: A son Hamish (1950–2024), and a daughter, the singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl (1959–2000); and to American folksinger Peggy Seeger (b. 1935) in 1977, with whom he had three children, Neill, Calum, and Kitty. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre, and with Seeger in folk music. In 1931, with other unemployed members of the Clarion Players he formed an agit-prop theatre group, the "Red Megaphones". During 1934 they changed

845-812: A steadfast communist throughout his life and engaged in political activism. MacColl was born as James Henry Miller at 4 Andrew Street, in Broughton , Salford , England, to Scottish parents, William Miller and Betsy (née Henry), both socialists . William Miller was an iron moulder and trade unionist who had moved to Salford with his wife, a charwoman , to look for work after being blacklisted in almost every foundry in Scotland . Betsy Miller knew many traditional folk songs such as " Lord Randall " and " My Bonnie Laddie's Lang A-growing ", of which her son later created written and audio recordings; he later recorded an album of traditional songs with her. James Miller

910-523: A tune. It is just that. – The Essential Ewan MacColl Songbook , Appendix IV. p. 388 (quoted in Mudcat Cafe ) Manchester Central Library Manchester Central Library is the headquarters of the city's library and information service in Manchester , England. Facing St Peter's Square , it was designed by E. Vincent Harris and constructed between 1930 and 1934. The form of the building,

975-673: Is a memorial to those from Greater Manchester who fought in the Spanish Civil War as part of the International Brigades . The inscription reads Voluntarios Internacionales de la Libertad dedicated to the men & women from the Greater Manchester area who fought against fascism in Spain. The memorial was designed by Sol Garson, and unveiled by Cllr. H.T. Lee on 12 February 1983. Anthony Burgess ,

1040-644: Is a plaque dedicated to MacColl in Russell Square in London. The inscription includes: "Presented by his communist friends 25.1.1990 ... Folk Laureate – Singer – Dramatist – Marxist ... in recognition of strength and singleness of purpose of this fighter for Peace and Socialism". In 1991 he was awarded a posthumous honorary degree by the University of Salford . His daughter from his second marriage, Kirsty MacColl , followed him into

1105-403: Is not to reassure people. I want to make them uncomfortable. To send them out of the place arguing and talking. Ewan wrote a number of songs like this in his early years, alongside more subtle texts like "Dirty Old Town" and "Stalinvarosh." There is no doubt that Joseph Stalin was a brilliant wartime leader and that many of his reforms ... were correct and productive. Idolisation of Stalin by

1170-539: Is now Piccadilly Gardens , to the former outpatients wing of Manchester Royal Infirmary and an old YMCA hut in 1912. In 1926 the city council held a competition to design an extension to the town hall and a central library. E. Vincent Harris was selected to design both buildings. His circular design for the library, reminiscent of the Pantheon in Rome, was based on libraries in America. The library's foundation stone

1235-572: The Construction News Judges Supreme Award in June 2015. It was described as an almost impossibly complex project completed on schedule and within budget. The indoor plan is now very different. What was the theatre in the basement is now part of the library. A wall was knocked through, making an indoor connection between the library and Manchester Town Hall . The Library Theatre Company moved to their new theatre at

1300-564: The Communist Party's factory papers. He was an activist in the unemployed workers' campaigns and the mass trespasses of the early 1930s. One of his best-known songs, " The Manchester Rambler ", was written just before the pivotal mass trespass of Kinder Scout . He was responsible for publicity in the planning of the trespass. In 1932 the British intelligence service, MI5 , opened a file on MacColl, after local police asserted that he

1365-758: The Great Depression and, joining the ranks of the unemployed, began a lifelong programme of self-education whilst keeping warm in Manchester Central Library . During this period he found intermittent work in a number of jobs and also made money as a street singer. He joined the Young Communist League and a socialist amateur theatre troupe, the Clarion Players. He began his career as a writer helping produce and contributing humorous verse and skits to some of

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1430-587: The HOME complex in May 2015. Designed by architect Vincent Harris, the striking rotunda form of the library was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Like its 2nd-century model, the library is a round building fronted by a large two-storey portico which forms the main entrance on St Peter's Square , and is surrounded by five bays of Corinthian columns . Around the second and third floors is a Tuscan colonnade , topped by

1495-663: The Manchester Ship Canal , Daniel Adamson . The statue was presented to the library by his grandchildren, the Parkyn family, in 1938. It is the second largest public lending library in Britain, after the Library of Birmingham . Beneath the Great Hall were four floors of steel book stacks providing 35 miles (56 km) of shelving which accommodated one million books: video . Those floors were only accessible to employees and were environmentally controlled to protect

1560-791: The coats of arms of the City of Manchester, the University of Manchester , and the County and Duchy of Lancaster . The windows were a memorial bequest to the library by Rosa E. Grindon (1848–1923), the widow of Manchester botanist Leo Grindon . The ceiling decorations include the arms and crests of the Duchy of Lancaster, the See of York , the See of Manchester , the City of Manchester, and Lancashire County Council . The walls of Shakespeare Hall are covered with Hopton Wood stone quarried in Derbyshire . On

1625-574: The 1980s. After many years of poor health (in 1979 he suffered the first of many heart attacks), MacColl died on 22 October 1989, in the Brompton Hospital , in London, after complications following heart surgery. His autobiography Journeyman was published the following year. The lifetime archive of his work with Peggy Seeger and others was passed on to Ruskin College in Oxford . There

1690-576: The British Communist Party. Joe Stalin was a mighty man and a mighty man was he He led the Soviet people on the road to victory. When asked about the song in a 1985 interview, he said that it was "a very good song" and that "it dealt with some of the positive things that Stalin did". In 1992, after his death, Peggy Seeger included it as an annex in her Essential Ewan MacColl Songbook , saying that she had originally planned to exclude

1755-581: The Communist Party but left because he felt that the Soviet Union was "not communist or socialist enough". MacColl had been a radio actor since 1933. By the late 1930s he was writing scripts as well. In 1957 producer Charles Parker asked MacColl to collaborate in the creation of a feature programme about the heroic death of train driver John Axon . Normal procedure would have been to use the recorded field interviews only as source for writing

1820-602: The Dubliners , Dick Gaughan , Phil Ochs , the Clancy Brothers , Elvis Presley , Weddings Parties Anything , The Pogues and Johnny Cash . In 2001, The Essential Ewan MacColl Songbook was published, which includes the words and music to 200 of his songs. Dick Gaughan , Dave Burland and Tony Capstick collaborated in The Songs of Ewan MacColl (1978; 1985). Many of MacColl's best-known songs were written for

1885-574: The King's Regiment, owing to his political views, and that the records show that, rather than being discharged, he was declared a deserter on 18 December 1940. In 1946, members of Theatre Union and others formed Theatre Workshop and spent the next few years touring, mostly in the north of England. In 1945, Miller changed his name to Ewan MacColl (influenced by the Lallans movement in Scotland). In

1950-669: The Oaks ; the band itself has a cameo as the opening act for the protagonists' climactic performance at Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue , while the album appears during a quieter moment earlier in the book, when the main character plays the record while having a conversation. The album won a Minnesota Music Award for Best Celtic/Bluegrass/Folk Album in 1987. All tracks are written by Traditional, processed and arranged by Boiled in Lead, except "Go! Move! Shift!" Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl ,

2015-521: The Pharmacists (2003), Frank Black (2006) and Bettye LaVette (2012). MacColl's song " The Shoals of Herring ", based on the life of Norfolk fisherman and folk singer Sam Larner was recorded by the Dubliners, the Clancy Brothers, the Corries and more. Other popular songs written and performed by MacColl include " The Manchester Rambler ", "The Moving-On Song" and "The Joy of Living". Ewan has

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2080-527: The Singers' Club where MacColl, Seeger and Lloyd were featured artists and theatre productions. Members who became performing folk singers in their own right included Frankie Armstrong , John Faulkner, Sandra Kerr , Dennis Turner , Terry Yarnell, Bob Blair, Jim Carroll, Brian Pearson and Jack Warshaw . Other members, including Michael Rosen , joined primarily for theatre productions, the Festival of Fools,

2145-600: The Theatre Union roles had been shared, but now, in Theatre Workshop, they were more formalised. Littlewood was the sole producer and MacColl the dramaturge , art director and resident dramatist. The techniques that had been developed in the Theatre Union now were refined, producing the distinctive form of theatre that was the hallmark of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, as the troupe was later known. They were an impoverished travelling troupe, but were making

2210-522: The author who wrote the novel A Clockwork Orange , was a regular visitor to the library during his school days. In a volume of his autobiography, Little Wilson and Big God (1987) he recounted his visit to the index system, then in temporary accommodation in Piccadilly, Manchester, where he met an older woman who took him to her flat in Ardwick where she seduced him. In 1968 it was recorded that

2275-477: The basement of Manchester Central Library and was the home of the Library Theatre Company, a Manchester City Council service. It was built in 1934 as a lecture theatre, and since 1952 had been used by the Library Theatre Company. After the 2011–2014 alterations its area is now part of the library. A new theatre opened on First Street in partnership with Cornerhouse , Manchester in 2015. There

2340-431: The books, many of which are old and fragile. The upper two stack floors occupied all the area under the dome. The fourth level, the archive unit, was in the basement of the building. The lower two stack floors were smaller because the basement theatre took some of that area. In 2011 when the library closed for the alterations, there were 3,600 stack columns supporting approximately 45,000 shelves; those columns were rooted in

2405-409: The city magnificent opportunities for further education and for the pleasant use of leisure." An employee at the library who was present on opening day said: "When it was being built the public were very intrigued about its final appearance – they were used to rectangular buildings and the shape of the girders used seemed to make little sense. I remember families coming in first to "gawp"... Under

2470-545: The closure its collections were stored in the Winsford Rock Salt Mine ; some of the books in the stack joined collections at Greater Manchester County Record Office . A number of its services were available at a temporary location nearby. During renovation, a temporary community library for the city centre was established on Deansgate . Central Library re-opened on 22 March 2014 after a £40 million re-design. The project delivered by Laing O'Rourke won

2535-617: The company and changed the focus of his career from acting and playwriting to singing and composing folk and topical songs. In 1947, MacColl visited a retired lead-miner named Mark Anderson (1874–1953) in Middleton-in-Teesdale , County Durham, England, who performed to him a song called " Scarborough Fair "; MacColl recorded the lyrics and melody in a book of Teesdale folk songs, and later included it on his and Peggy Seeger 's The Singing Island (1960). Martin Carthy learnt

2600-440: The departed Brian Fox, and Todd Menton now joined Jane Dauphin on lead vocals and guitar. Menton's style lent itself to both traditional takes on folk songs, as on "The House-Husband's Lament," and what Chuck Lipsig of Green Man Review called "a very loud, raucous, and sometimes incomprehensible punk version" of "The Gypsy Rover", which even featured the sound of a chainsaw. Bassist Drew Miller described Boiled in Lead's version as

2665-448: The dome's acoustics caused an echo problem, which repeated several times any short noise made in the room. Adding sound-absorbing material reduced this effect. The Shakespeare Hall is an ornate chamber displaying local heraldry and with large stained glass windows. The central window was designed by Robert Anning Bell and depicts William Shakespeare and scenes from his plays. Two side windows designed by George Kruger Gray depict

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2730-536: The left wing the world over continued until the 20th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (1956), when he was posthumously denounced by Khrushchev for his "personality cult" and his human rights crimes. Disillusioned and subsequently turning to China for political role models, Ewan stopped singing this song or even referring to it. He would not have included it in the main body of such a book as this unless it were for reasons similar to mine: (1) as

2795-461: The less aggressive songs have featured on other compilations. At MacColl's 70th birthday party, he was presented by Arthur Scargill with a miner's lamp to show appreciation for his support. In his last interview in August 1988, MacColl stated that he still believed in a socialist revolution and that the communist parties of the west had become too moderate. He stated that he had been a member of

2860-445: The lifestyle of Gypsies in his 1964 album The Travelling People . Many of the songs spoke against the prejudice against Roma Gypsies , although some also contained derogatory remarks about " tinkers ", which is a word for Irish Travellers . He wrote "The Ballad of Tim Evans" (also known as "Go Down You Murderer") a song protesting against capital punishment , based on an infamous murder case in which an innocent man, Timothy Evans ,

2925-480: The name to "Theatre of Action" and not long after were introduced to a young actress recently moved up from London. This was Joan Littlewood who became MacColl's wife and work partner. In 1936, after a failed attempt to move to London, the couple returned to Manchester , and formed the Theatre Union. In 1940 a performance of The Last Edition  – a 'living newspaper' – was halted by the police and MacColl and Littlewood were bound over for two years for breach of

2990-471: The opening: "The new Central Library which replaced the chicken house was an imposing circular structure with an enormous reading room, a small theatre and carrels where serious students could carry on their research without interruption. The portico of the magnificent edifice quickly became a popular rendezvous and "Meet you at the Ref" became a familiar phrase on the lips of students, lovers and unemployed youths. I

3055-539: The peace. The necessities of wartime brought an end to Theatre Union. MacColl enlisted in the British Army during July 1940, but deserted in December. Why he did so, and why he was not prosecuted after the war, remain a mystery. In an interview in June 1987, he said that he was expelled for "anti-fascist activity". Allan Moore and Giovanni Vacca wrote that MacColl had been subject to Special Observation whilst in

3120-550: The portico became a favourite trysting place. In all, the shape of the building was its best advertisement and it was never necessary to put a notice 'Public Library' on the outside." Reports emerged in 2008 that the Central Library needed essential renovation to repair and modernise its facilities. The library faced asbestos problems and needed work to maintain its 'structural integrity'. The Central Library closed from 2010 to 2014 for refurbishment and expansion. During

3185-529: The rim of the dome is an inscription from the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament : Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her, she shall give of thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory she shall deliver to thee. Proverbs 4:7 In former years

3250-573: The sandstone rock underneath and supported the Great Hall's reinforced concrete floor. Placed end to end, those shelves would have covered over 35 miles (56 km). The total floor area was about 7,000 square yards (5,850 m ). After the 2010–2014 alterations, many of the former stack books (except rare or valuable or fragile books) are on public shelves. The library collections include over 30 incunabula (books published before 1500) and many first and early editions of major works. The special collections include: The Library Theatre occupied much of

3315-468: The script. MacColl produced a script that incorporated the actual voices and so created a new form that they called the radio ballad . Between 1957 and 1964, eight of these were broadcast by the BBC , all created by the team of MacColl and Parker together with Peggy Seeger who handled musical direction, conducted a great many field interviews, and wrote songs, either together with MacColl or alone. MacColl wrote

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3380-483: The scripts and songs, as well as, with the others, collecting the field recordings which were the heart of the productions. In 1965 Ewan and Peggy formed the Critics Group from a number of young followers, with Charles Parker in attendance, frequently recording the group's weekly sessions at MacColl and Seeger's home. The initial aim of improving musical skills soon broadened to performing at political events,

3445-542: The song from MacColl's book, before teaching it to Paul Simon ; Simon & Garfunkel released the song as "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" on their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme , popularising the obscure and unique folk tune. Ewan MacColl, a decade after collecting the song, released his own version accompanied by Peggy Seeger on guitar in 1957 on the LP "Matching Songs of the British Isles and America" and an

3510-525: The song on the grounds that Ewan would not have wanted it included, but decided to include it as an example of his work in his early career. The B-side of the record, Sovietland (Land of Freedom) was not included in the songbook. MacColl sang and composed numerous protest and topical songs for the nuclear disarmament movement , for example "Against the Atom Bomb", The Vandals , Nightmare , and Nuclear Means Jobs . MacColl dedicated an entire album to

3575-636: The song was on one of them. This song, which was recorded by Roberta Flack for her debut album, First Take , which was issued by Atlantic records in June 1969, had become a No. 1 hit in 1972 and had won MacColl a Grammy Award for Song of the Year , while Flack received a Grammy Award for Record of the Year . In 1959, MacColl began releasing LP albums on Folkways Records , including several collaborative albums with Peggy Seeger. His song " Dirty Old Town ", inspired by his home town of Salford in Lancashire,

3640-482: The theatre. For example, he wrote " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face " very quickly at the request of Seeger, who needed it for use in a play she was appearing in. He taught it to her by long-distance telephone, while she was on tour in the United States (from where MacColl had been barred because of his Communist past). Seeger said that MacColl used to send her tapes to listen to whilst they were apart and that

3705-725: The walls are the arms of The Manchester Grammar School , Manchester University, the Manchester Regiment , Humphrey Chetham , the Overseers of the Township, England, St. George, St. Mary (patron saint of Manchester), and over the memorial window, Shakespeare. On the left landing is a white marble statue, the Reading Girl by the Italian sculptor Giovanni Ciniselli. It was bought by the industrialist and promoter of

3770-673: Was "a communist with very extreme views" who needed "special attention". For a time the Special Branch kept a watch on the Manchester home that he shared with his first wife, Joan Littlewood . MI5 caused some of MacColl's songs to be rejected by the BBC , and prevented the employment of Littlewood as a BBC children's programme presenter (see: "Christmas tree" files ). He was married three times: to theatre director Joan Littlewood (1914–2002) from 1934 to 1950; to Jean Mary Newlove (1923–2017) in 1949, with whom he had two children,

3835-671: Was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the instigators of the 1960s folk revival as well as for writing such songs as " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face " and " Dirty Old Town ". MacColl collected hundreds of traditional folk songs, including the version of " Scarborough Fair " later popularised by Simon & Garfunkel , and released dozens of albums with A.L. Lloyd , Peggy Seeger and others, mostly of traditional folk songs. He also wrote many left-wing political songs , remained

3900-514: Was condemned and executed, before the real culprit was discovered. MacColl was very active during the miners' strike of 1984–85 in distributing free cassettes of songs supportive of the National Union of Mineworkers , entitled Daddy, what did you do in the strike? The title song was unusually aggressive in its language towards the strikebreakers . This collection was only released on cassette and remaining copies are rare, but some of

3965-832: Was laid on 6 May 1930 by the Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald . The library was officially opened by King George V on 17 July 1934 after he had laid the foundation stone for the Town Hall Extension . In 1934 the Blind Collection from Deansgate and the Commercial Library from the Royal Exchange were moved to the library. The Chinese Library Service was set up in 1968. Central Library opened in 1934 to much fanfare. Singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl reminisced on

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4030-648: Was the first local authority to provide a public lending and reference library after the passing of the Public Libraries Act 1850 . The Manchester Free Library opened at Campfield in September 1852 at a ceremony attended by Charles Dickens . When the Campfield premises were declared to be unsafe in 1877, the library was moved to the old Town Hall in King Street . The library moved again to what

4095-490: Was the youngest and only surviving child in the family of three sons and one daughter (one of each sex was stillborn and one son died at the age of four). They lived amongst a group of Scots and Jimmy was brought up in an atmosphere of fierce political debate interspersed with the large repertoire of songs and stories his parents had brought from Scotland. He was educated at North Grecian Street Junior School in Broughton. He left school in 1930 after an elementary education, during

4160-404: Was there on the opening day and on many days thereafter; the Ref played an important part in my life for I made many friends there." The library was declared open by King George V on 17 July 1934. George V declared to the crowd: "In the splendid building which I am about to open, the largest library in this country provided by a local authority, the Corporation have ensured for the inhabitants of

4225-427: Was written for the play Landscape with Chimneys (1949) produced by Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop . It went on to become a folk-revival staple and was recorded by the Spinners (1964), Donovan (1964), Roger Whittaker (1968), Julie Felix (1968), the Dubliners (1968), Rod Stewart (1969), the Clancy Brothers (1970), the Pogues (1985), the Mountain Goats (2002), Simple Minds (2003), Ted Leo and

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