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Outlook: The break-up that cost me my voice

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The break-up that cost me my voice

29/12/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Outlook, The break-up that cost me my voice

The triumphant return of Shirley Collins, the 'first lady' of English folk

Shirley Collins is one of Britain's best loved folk singers - but a painful divorce nearly stopped her singing forever.

Shirley Collins grew up in a folk music-loving family in Sussex, England, during World War Two, and announced her intention to become a folk singer when she was still just a teenager. Her career would lead her to record music with her sister Dolly; to record folk songs in America with legendary song collector Alan Lomax, and to become a key figure in the 'folk revival' of the 1960s and 1970s. But the trauma of a painful break-up cost Shirley her singing voice - "sometimes I would open my mouth and nothing would come out", she remembers - and led to a heart-breaking decision: "I walked away from music for years. I felt I had no option." Shirley did all sorts of jobs to support her children, and avoided even listening to music sometimes - it made her too sad. Then one day, the musician David Tibet, a huge fan, got in touch and begged Shirley to try to sing. Shirley tells Emily Webb the story of a voice lost and found again. This interview was first broadcast on 12th April 2021.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Laura Thomas

(Photo: Shirley Collins circa 1963. Credit: Brian Shuel/Redferns via Getty Images)

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