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Shirley Collins, Barbican review: A lovingly guided journey through folk tradition

<p>Shirley Collins took to the stage for the Barbican’s first post-lockdown gig</p> (Mark Allan/Barbican)

Shirley Collins took to the stage for the Barbican’s first post-lockdown gig

(Mark Allan/Barbican)

Any chance to see Shirley Collins live feels faintly miraculous. A shining light of the English folk revival in the Sixties and Seventies, she fell silent in 1978, cruelly robbed of her singing voice by dysphonia. It was roughly three and a half decades until she next performed live, in 2014, which was followed by a new album, some 38 years after its predecessor.

It’s a particular privilege, then, to see the rejuvenated 85-year-old back on stage for the newly reopened Barbican’s first post-lockdown gig, alongside her fantastic five-piece band. The lurgy is only mentioned a couple of times — at one point, guitarist Pip Barnes suggests that rather than a sing-along for the next tune, perhaps a Covid-secure hum-along is better — but for the most part, this is a calmly transporting journey through folk tradition.

Playing tracks off Collins’ 2020 album, Heart’s Ease, as well as a selection of the singer’s lifelong favourites, each song is lovingly introduced by Collins or a member of the band. We hear about some of the colourful characters attached to these songs in centuries past — from sheep shearers to marbles champions — and learn that while many of the songs are traditional to her native Sussex, many were collected by Collins during a formative trip across the American South in 1959.

Some of these are songs she’s loved for more than 60 years, Collins tells us - and that deep affection radiates as she sings. When she recounts love, death and grief on Barbara Allen, a song that dates back to the 17th century, it’s almost as if she were singing it for the first time. Her voice is mostly unrecognisable from the soft loftiness of her youth, now transformed into a warmly weathered tone.

At times, she’s visibly moved by the sound of her band — a multi-talented group whose instrumental repertoire ranges from delicately plucked guitars and lively banjos to a shruti box and anglo concertina — and when Morris dancer Glenn Redman appears in front of the musicians, she chuckles with delight.

Shirley Collins and the Lodestar BandMark Allan/Babrican
Shirley Collins and the Lodestar BandMark Allan/Babrican

Collins herself is a charming host, making light of how her “advanced years” mean she sometimes starts singing about a woman called Polly and discovers she’s renamed her Sally by the end of the song, and she breezily skims over the odd vocal misstep (she hasn’t performed live for more than two years, she realises at one point, so you can forgive any slip-ups).

This is the first show of an intriguing season at the Barbican, running through spring and into summer, and tonight was confirmation that, for both the artist and the venue, it’s mightily good to have them back.

Shirley Collins’ performance at the Barbican will be available to watch back until 8pm on May 25, with tickets available to buy up until this point, barbican.org.uk

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