Results
of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2 Folk Awards 2002
Martin Carthy MBE,
one of the most influential British Folk singers of his era, won
the Folk Singer of the Year award last night (Monday 11 February)
at the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2 Folk Awards, whilst folkÂ’s new rising star
Cara Dillon and the multi-talented Martin Simpson both scooped two
Awards.
The
Awards, now in their third year, featured a duet between Cerys Matthews
and Eliza Carthy and performances from The Chieftains, Martin Carthy
and Martin Simpson, Kate Rusby, Ralph McTell, Cara Dillon, Slainte
Mhath, Cherish The Ladies and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Young Folk Award 2001 winners
Give Way. Among those presenting the awards were Rt Hon Tessa Jowell
(Secretary Of State for Culture, Media and Sport), Cerys Matthews,
Johnnie Walker and Andy Kershaw.
James
Moir, Controller ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2, who presented a Lifetime Achievement
Award to The Chieftains, says: "It is thrilling to see truly
great artists being recognised for their outstanding contribution
to the world of folk and both exciting and reassuring to see so
many new, talented performers emerging and rightly taking their
place in the spotlight. It has been a wonderful night and I am delighted
that we can give folk music a national platform on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2."
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2 Folk Awards took place at LondonÂ’s Marriott Hotel,
Grosvenor Square and will be broadcast on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2 on Wednesday
13 February at 8.00pm. The event intends to raise the profile of
folk music and celebrate the achievements of artists in folk, roots
and acoustic music - from contemporary songwriters to traditional
performers.
The
winners of the awards
Folk
Singer of the Year: Martin Carthy, MBE - award presented by broadcaster
Andy Kershaw
Guitar stylist, benchmark singer, folk-rock star, songwriter and
traditional song ambassador Martin Carthy takes the crown of Folk
Singer of the Year from his wife Norma Waterston who won in 2001.
Horizon
Award: Cara Dillon - award presented by singer Cerys Matthews
Cara Dillon from Dungiven, Co Derry has charmed many with her graceful
singing and engaging personality. Her debut album with keyboardist,
songwriter and arranger Sam Lakeman had the sort of impact on the
scene she could only have dreamed about when she was singing in
small clubs at home.
Best
Album: The Bramble Briar by Martin Simpson - award presented by
Rt Hon Tessa Jowell (Secretary Of State for Culture, Media and Sport)
Revisiting the English tradition in The Bramble Briar has reaffirmed
SimpsonÂ’s place at the forefront of the folk revival after
over a decade largely based in the US.
Best
Group: Cherish The Ladies - award presented by singer and actress
Barbara Dickson
A richly deserved accolade for the all-female Irish-American band,
led by Joanie Madden, originally formed for a one-off series of
concerts showcasing American female Celtic musicians a decade ago.
Best
Live Act: Rory McLeod - award presented by singer and songwriter
Vin Garbutt
Edinburgh based Rory McLeod has developed a stage act like no other
with his 300mph rap folk delivery and his highly potent, original
songs that fearlessly tackle everything from major social issues
to the minutiae of everyday life.
Best
Original Song: Who Will Sing Me Lullabies? By Kate Rusby - presented
by film producer, musician and journalist Richard Jobson
Kate Rusby has made huge strides since she was named the first Radio
2 Folk Singer of the Year in 2002, notably developing her distinctive
take on traditional song to encompass her own songs in a traditional
style. This song is a poignant tribute to her friend, the late Davey
Steele, who died of cancer in 2001.
Best
Traditional Track: Black Is The Colour performed by Cara Dillon
- presented by Radio 2Â’s Johnnie Walker
Cara Dillon intimately and uniquely delivers this well travelled
song which is one of the most potent tracks on her self-titled first
album which instantly propelled her to media stardom and the front
line of the folk world.
Instrumentalist
of the Year: Martin Simpson - presented by TV actor Geoff Hughes
A just reward for Simpson, the guitaristÂ’s guitarist, long
acclaimed for his distinctive playing of anything from hard blues
to delicate slow airs, with a particular gift for bottleneck style.
Lifetime
Achievement Award: The Chieftains - presented by James Moir, Controller
of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2
Celebrating their 40th year together, Paddy MaloneyÂ’s merry
band are an international institution, taking Irish music literally
all over the world. TheyÂ’ve continually broken new ground,
arranging traditional tunes in a semi-classical way, then going
on to write their own material for a variety of films. TheyÂ’ve
worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Ziggy Marley.
Lifetime
Achievement Award: Fairport Convention - presented by Ian Anderson
of Jethro Tull
FairportÂ’s ground breaking album in 1969, Liege & Lief,
was widely accepted to be the first real integration of folk music
and electrical instruments and was recently voted best folk album
ever by Radio 2 listeners. The many musical adventures theyÂ’ve
had since keep their music vibrant and they are celebrating their
35th anniversary in 2002.
Lifetime
Achievement Award for Songwriting: Ralph McTell - award presented
by playwright Willie Russell
Ralph has been writing brilliant songs for over 30 years. His most
famous song is Streets Of London - which first appeared on his Spiral
Staircase album in 1969 and has been the subject of over 200 cover
versions by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Aretha Franklin.
A webcast of the eveningÂ’s events is available on demand from
8.00pm on 13 February on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2 Online at
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 2 Folk Awards are a Smooth Operations production for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Radio 2.
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