Monday 12 October 2020

Roy Bailey, Gentleman And Scholar

Here's a singer you may never hear of in the usual mad world of musical entertainment. Roy Bailey was for some years a part-time, though much respected, singer on the folk music scene of England. The rest of the time he was a lecturer in Social Studies at Sheffield's Hallam University. Here he is, accompanied by his son-in-law Martin Simpson. He'll introduce the song himself....

 

In the nineteen-eighties Roy was diagnosed with a heart condition and advised to give up his University post. He still carried on singing though, being driven to gigs by various accompanists and friends. He sometimes appeared on stage with the Socialist MP, Tony Benn and they won a BBC Folk Award for the best live act. 

As you probably gathered from the first song, he's no dour political singer; there's a warmth and humanity to all he does. He also recorded albums of children's songs. Here's a charming song, written by his daughter, Kit. He's joined on stage by his grand daughter, Molly, and her mum and dad, as well as the accordion-player Andy Cutting....

Roy sadly passed away a couple of years ago, thirty years after being diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition. He left behind an extensive body of work and there's lots to discover on YouTube for those who care to look. If you want a glimpse into his more serious side then I'd recommend his TED talk (with songs), "Misfits And Pioneers":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxhDVP8sLc


Take care.


17 comments:

  1. Thanks for the links I enjoyed the vids. He sounds like a really nice man.

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  2. Wonderful videos. I really enjoyed that first one. Thank you so much for sharing. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this music. Hadn't ever heard of Roy Bailey before and really loved listening to him sing.

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    1. I don't think he ever played much outside the UK. You know his son-in-law though? There's a video on YouTube of Martin Simpson singing "More Than Enough", a song that was associated with Roy, and telling a very moving anecdote.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVB2gEHGUZE

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  4. Beautiful and poignant John. Thank you.

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  5. I liked the garden song. I expected to hear a solo from the granddaughter but that didn't happen. She was cute.

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    1. Well, that was ten years ago so she may well appear as a solo artist in the near future. Her dad is a well-known guitar player so she'll have spent many summers following him around to festivals and there are lots of "family dynasties" within British folk music.

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  6. Very nice songs!Sadly he passed away but his songs still are here

    Love the english voice!

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  7. Loved this, being homeless is a terrible thing. . . . . as is mental illness which is often the reason.
    We must learn to share and help those worse off than us.
    Such a nice man - he made those extra years count by sound of it - RIP Mr. Bailey.

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  8. Loved his songs. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  9. Thirty years is a goodly amount of time after such a diagnosis. How wonderful that his music lives on...

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  10. Such a pleasure to listen to

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  11. Hi John - thank you for letting us here Roy's family song ... ready for us all - fun to hear ... take care - Hilary

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  12. That was such a pleasure John, the story behind the first song was sad but happy too. The second song was delightful. I think Roy will be missed by many ✨

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  13. Beautiful song. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. He sounds like lots of fun. Sad that he has gone.

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