BBC Radio 2 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Light Programme.

BBC Radio 2

Radio 2

Mike Harding

Magazines & Reviews

Music: Country

Music: Folk

Folk, roots and acoustic music, plus artist news and the latest album releases

Mike Harding: With Roy Harper

21/09/2011

With Roy Harper

BBC Radio 2 - Mike Harding, With Roy Harper

An hour of great folk music, including an interview with the great songwriter Roy Harper.

An hour of the best in folk, roots and acoustic music, including an interview with the influential songwriter Roy Harper about his new compilation of love songs.

Mike Harding presents an hour of the very best in folk, roots and acoustic music, including classic tracks and the best new releases. This week, the celebrated British songwriter Roy Harper talks to Mike about his new compilation Songs Of Love And Loss, and looks back on his early days as he marks his 70th year with a number of releases and events.

Roy Harper was born in Manchester and raised in Blackpool. He began his career in skiffle bands, before having his head turned by the folk-blues of Leadbelly and eventually becoming a fixture in the clubs of the British folk revival, particularly Soho's Les Cousins club.

Harper went on to pursue a more experimental course, writing powerful and complex songs bordering on the epic. Highly-regarded by his peers, he famously recorded vocals for Pink Floyd and was celebrated by his friends Led Zeppelin on their track Hats Off To (Roy) Harper.

Classic albums like 1971's Stormcock and great songs like When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease have influenced and inspired many in the next generation of acoustic artists, including Joanna Newsom and Fleet Foxes.

On this week's show, Roy talks about his first steps as a busker, writing an original love song, and about the appeal of living in Ireland.

Amazing music. Played by an amazing line up.

Radio 2: Amazing music. Played by an amazing line-up. The home of great music, entertainment and documentaries

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Mike Harding

With Roy Harper

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC Radio 2

About BBC Radio 2