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March 2012
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April 2012
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First family of folk to stage exclusive homecoming gig at Truck in Hull
Hull Truck Theatre will play host to one of the biggest events in the folk music calendar this year with a homecoming gig by Hull’s very own Waterson Family.
The event on August 15 offers a rare opportunity to see no less than nine of the famous family on stage together. It is also the first time in 25 years that the Watersons have performed in their home city. It is just one of the top class events that make up Hull Truck’s new folk, roots and acoustic season.
Concert promoter Geoff Sargieson said: “The highlight of the new folk, roots and acoustic season at Hull Truck is undoubtedly the appearance by the Waterson Family.
Great folk music is concerned with history, tradition and change, and this event should prove an emotional reminder of the continuing story of one of England's most adventurous musical families. Without doubt
the Waterson Family at Hull Truck on August 15, Norma’s 70th birthday incidentally, will be a significant event for folk music - and for Hull.”
The original Watersons were siblings Norma, Mike and Lal Waterson, with their second cousin John Harrison, all from Hull, who started out as the Mariners in the early 1960s singing unaccompanied traditional songs.
In 1961 they launched one of the country’s first folk clubs, Folk Union One, in Hull’s Old Blue Bell, and changed their name to the Folksons. Not long afterwards they reverted to their family name as the Watersons and their early recordings and live performances are now acknowledged as having played a significant role in the revival of British folk music in the sixties.
In the seventies, following the departure of John Harrison, they were joined by Martin Carthy, then, and arguably now, the country’s leading traditional singer, who cemented the relationship by marrying Norma.
Today, with their 50th anniversary approaching, the Watersons remain Britain’s first family of folk, appearing not only under that name, but also as Waterson/Carthy, with the addition of Norma and Martin’s daughter Eliza. For their ‘homecoming’ concert at Hull Truck, they will be making a rare appearance as the Waterson Family, with nine Watersons on stage: two of the original quartet surrounded by their relatives.
The line-up will comprise Norma, Martin and their equally celebrated daughter Eliza; Norma’s
brother Mike, his wife Ann, and their daughters Eleanor and Rachel; plus Oliver and Maria, son and daughter of Lal, who died in 1998.