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Five people inspire five brand new songs in Radio 2’s 21st Century Folk.

To coincide with 'Railway 200' - the 200th anniversary of passenger train travel - all the people and songs are connected to the railways.

In this show, Mark Radcliffe reveals the stories behind the songs, which have been written by Findlay Napier, Chris While & Julie Matthews, Bill Ryder-Jones, Kate Rusby and Richard Thompson.

They’ve been inspired by Joanne, Tom, Ken, Charlotte & David and Siggy.

Joanne volunteers as a steam locomotive fireman on the Llangollen Railway in Wales. She survived a rare form of cancer in 2019 and is an activist for diversity and inclusion within heritage rail. Scottish musician Findlay Napier, who lives on the Isle of Arran, has written Joanne’s song. Findlay performs as a solo artist and as part of folk-rock supergroup, The Magpie Arc.

Tom is a railway station foundling. In 1965, he was found as a two-week old baby in the ladies’ waiting room at Reading railway station. He was left well-dressed and tucked under a bench with a spare nappy and bottle. Tom only discovered the full story later in life. Singer-songwriters Chris While and Julie Matthews, from South Yorkshire, are Britain’s longest-enduring female duo. They have played more than 2,500 gigs and appeared on more than 100 albums.

Ken has worked on the railways for 50 years and has a train named in his honour. He knew from four years old that he wanted to follow in his dad and grandad’s footsteps, and his family have worked on the railways for a combined 157 years! Ken works for Alstom at their Widnes facility, though he originally comes from Liverpool. His songwriter is Bill Ryder-Jones, co-founder and former lead guitarist with Merseyside band The Coral. Bill has released several solo records and collaborated with artists including Arctic Monkeys, Graham Coxon and Paloma Faith.

Charlotte and David live near Bradford. Charlotte was beside a train track, intending to take her own life, when train driver David got out of his cab and spoke to her until she felt able to board the train safely. She later contacted him to say thank you, they began dating, and are now married with children. Their singer-songwriter is Yorkshire’s own Kate Rusby, one of the most successful folk singers of her generation. Kate performs the song alongside her husband, Northern Irish musician Damien O’Kane.

Siggy came to the UK from Barbados in 1962 and became a railway worker on the day he arrived. He still works at Elstree & Borehamwood station, and in his free time, enjoys his other passion: cricket. He has bowled for the same cricket club in Enfield since the 1960s and has also played for England’s over-70s. Siggy’s singer-songwriter is folk-rock legend Richard Thompson, a fellow Londoner and cricket fan.

21st Century Folk is partly inspired by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Ballads, in which new folk songs were based on the spoken testimonies of real working people. The pioneering format was created by Charles Parker, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and debuted on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in 1958. The first ever episode was about a heroic train driver called John Axon.

Videos of all the songs in 21st Century Folk can be found on the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iPlayer from Monday 28th July.

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