english dance & song

English Dance & Song is the longest-established magazine devoted to folk music, dance and song in the country. First published in 1936, it has appeared at least four times a year ever since.

Sound Files
Sound files that complement the features
are included here:
‘Come all Bold Britons’ sung by the
Young Coppers from the CD Passing Out.

‘Come all Bold Britons’ sung by
John Copper and Jon Dudley from the
CD Coppersongs 3.

Thanks to the Copper family for permission
to include these two recordings here.

English Dance & Song

70 – 1 Spring 2008
52-pages -- Full Colour

To celebrate Liverpool European Capital of Culture, we have several features about music in the city. Songs of a Seaport looks at Liverpool’s maritime heritage, with a ‘new’ version of the well-known song The Leaving of Liverpool. Jack Coutts writes about the International Shanty Festival, Shanties 08, which will accompany the start of the Tall Ships Race in July. The importance of Irish music in the city is explained by Chris Boland, and Clive Pownceby looks at the long-running Radio Merseyside Folkscene programme. There are also features on eighty years of morris dancing in Liverpool, and Mersey Morris Men’s Ring meeting, and on the folk scene in Liverpool.

To coincide with the release of their debut CD, the ‘Singer, Song and Source’ feature looks at the Young Coppers (written by Vic Smith), the song Come All Bold Britons, and Derek Schofield looks back at previous generations of the Copper family.

Gavin Atkin investigates a new tune book from East Anglia, Before the Night was Out, and there are two versions of the tune Oh, Joe, the Boat is Going Over, from Oscar Woods and George Craske.

Caller Cat Kelly is interviewed by Joan Crump and contributes a new dance.

In Sam Bennett – the Film Star, Elaine Bradtke describes an amazing film of the traditional Warwickshire fiddle player – a ‘talkie’ that pre-dates The Jazz Singer. The EFDSS is appealing for funds to help restore this unique film. [click to the press release].

Ron Smedley draws on his experience as a dance teacher with the Royal Ballet School in the article Teaching Billy Elliot, to explain the use of folk, morris and rapper dance in the training of the young ballet dancers.

The EFDSS has a new Chief Executive, Katy Spicer, and this issue has a feature article about her.

Reviews – including Chris Wood, Ruth Notman, The Mother of all Morris, Tom Kitching & Gren Bartley, Frank Harte, Trio Threlfall, two CDs of the songs of Lal Waterson, Hector Gilchrist, Masquerade, The Glencraig Scottish Dance Band, Hobnail Roots, Duncan McFarlane, Sylvia Barnes, Catriona Macdonald, Grace Note and the Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience. DVD reviews of Sam Sherry and Vaughan Williams. Book reviews of the Ewan MacColl biography, Roy Palmer’s Black Country Folklore and Brenda Walker’s two clog dancing books.

Regular Features:
Branching Out (Fay Hield’s singing communities project); Festive Round-Up; Lives Remembered, News; The Spring Dancing Season (list of dance events); and EFDSS Matters.

English Dance & Song exists to interest, inform and stimulate the membership of the EFDSS, as well as the wider folk music and dance community. 

English Dance & Song aims to publish contributions of the highest quality.

The range of interests include traditional song, traditional dance (social, display, ceremonial), traditional music, custom and children's games. The geographical spread is not confined to England, but may also include Scotland, Wales and Ireland; as well as the USA, and other areas of the world which may be appropriate. 

Potential contributors are asked to read the Contributor's Style Sheet. htm rtf pdf

Items for review should be sent to the Editor. Unsolicited reviews will not be published.

The Editor of eds is Derek Schofield, author of The First Week in August: Fifty Years of the Sidmouth Festival, published in 2004 to celebrate the festival’s Golden Jubilee.

He has also written biographies of William Kimber and Fred Jordan, as published in their recent CDs, Absolutely Classic: The Music of William Kimber (EFDSS, 1999) and A Shropshire Lad (Veteran, 2003). Derek has also contributed to The Guardian, The Independent and The Times, as well as to the Folk Music Journal and fRoots.

Contact the Editor at: Editor, English Dance and Song, EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London, NW1 7AY.

By email write to

eds.editor @the domain name efdss.org