Singer, Roderick Williams continues his exploration of Britain’s stories told through our songs. Today, he looks at where we choose to sing and what those places can tell us about our social history.

Roderick starts his journey at Mason’s Court, the oldest residence in Stratford-upon-Avon, where songs might have been shared between family and friends in the 15th century. He takes us into a busy London square to understand the life of a street balladeer in the Georgian era, and hear how our present-day buskers work the passing crowds. He also pays a visit to City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, with Professor Derek Scott, to examine how the Victorians transformed songs and singers into mass-market commodities.

The instinct to sing is as old as humans themselves and, in Britain, we have been singing our story, consciously and unconsciously, all through our history. Songs that harness a fleeting thought, capture a mood, tell a tall tale, or simply make us smile.
In this four part series, Roderick Williams explores different aspects of our British story, through the lens of the songs we sing. He’ll show how songs can transport us across all classes, all eras and all areas of the UK. Each song telling us something essential about our nation at different times and places by teleporting us right inside the experience of someone who was there. We’ll see how songs have passed from singer to singer, from listener to listener, reflecting who we are as a nation, and celebrating the things we hold most dear. Show less