Queens of British Folk Music Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sandy Denny

Sandy Denny had a beautiful voice, she co-wrote and sang the folk classic "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" and wrote many other songs. When she left Fairport Convention to pursue a solo career, she was in great demand as a singer, even performing a duet with Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore". Sadly, Sandy died in 1978, who knows what she may have achieved had she lived for longer?

Answer: Maddy Prior

Steeleye Span are probably best remembered for hits such as "All Around my Hat" and "Gaudete". Maddy and her daughter, Rose Kemp, have performed live and recorded together several times.

Answer: Thompson

Richard and Linda Thompson did three albums together ("Hokey Pokey" and "Pour Down Like Silver" were the other two), before they parted company. Richard then pursued a highly successful solo career but we had to wait nearly thirty years for Linda's next album, called, appropriately enough, "Fashionably Late"!

Answer: Jacqui McShee

Pentangle's best known albums were "Basket of Light" and "Cruel Sister". The band has undergone many changes of personnel over the years but Jacqui McShee was still touring with them in 2006.

Answer: Eliza Carthy

Eliza's father is Martin Carthy, who is such a marvellous ambassador for folk music that he has been honoured by the Queen for his services. Her mother is Norma Waterson who also has an amazing voice. The three all have solo careers and perform together in the imaginatively titled band, Waterson-Carthy.

Answer: Kirsty MacColl

The much missed Kirsty MacColl encompassed a wide range of styles and was happy working with people as diverse as Billy Bragg and Morrissey! She sang "Fairytale of New York" with The Pogues. Her dad was Ewan MacColl who as well as writing "Dirty Old Town" also wrote "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", a huge hit for Roberta Flack.
Kirsty was killed in a tragic boating accident whilst scuba-diving off the Mexican coast in 2000.
Keen-eyed music trivia players might recognise the three 'wrong' answers as Canadian trio, The Be Good Tanyas.

Answer: False

There is no connection other than their love of music! Shirley has sung with most of the greats in English folk music including Richard Thompson and Ashley Hutchings. She and her sister produced some fine albums together including "Anthems in Eden" and "Sweet England". Sadly, Dolly died in 1995.
Shirley was also a leading light in The Albion Country Band.

Answer: Karine Polwart

Karine is helping to keep folk music alive and relevant to today: along with other artists, such as Jim Moray and Seth Lakeman, she has helped take traditional songs to a new audience.

Answer: Silly

Folk stalwart June Tabor teamed up with Maddy Prior to make the classic album "No More to the Dance". June has over 15 solo albums to her name most of which begin with the letter "A"! She has also appeared with many other 'folkies' including The Oyster Band.

Answer: Kate Rusby

The Kate Rusby Band thoroughly deserve the title of "best live act", Kate's husband John McCusker is a tremendous multi-instrumentalist, Kate has a fantastic voice and the banter between them and the rest of the band will have you in stitches. If you're lucky then accordian-player Andy Cutting might even give you a few recipes to try out!