June Tabor facts for kids

Quick facts for kids June Tabor
Tabor at Sidmouth Folk Week, 2010
Background information
Born	(1947-12-31) 31 December 1947 (age 77)
Origin	Warwick, England
Genres	English Folk
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1972–present
Labels	Topic Records Rykodisc Records Westpark Music

June Tabor (born 31 December 1947) is a famous English folk singer. She is known for her beautiful solo music and for working with other artists like Maddy Prior and the band Oysterband.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

June Tabor grew up in Warwick, England. When she was 18, she heard an album by Anne Briggs called The Hazards of Love. This music really inspired her to start singing.

June has said that she learned to sing by listening to records over and over. She copied the styles of singers like Anne Briggs and Belle Stewart. She then mixed these styles to create her own unique sound.

Her first public performances were in the mid-1960s at a folk club in Leamington Spa. She also studied at St Hugh's College, Oxford University and even appeared on the TV show University Challenge in 1968.

After performing at the Sidmouth Folk Festival, June started getting booked for more shows. She also appeared on several early recordings, singing traditional songs without any instruments.

Working with Other Artists

In 1976, June Tabor teamed up with Maddy Prior to create the album Silly Sisters. They toured together with a full band. This helped June launch her first solo album, Airs and Graces, in the same year. Later, June and Maddy formed a duo called Silly Sisters.

Starting in 1977, June worked closely with guitarist Martin Simpson on three albums. After Martin moved away, June began working with pianist Huw Warren.

June took a break from professional singing for a while. During this time, she made some guest appearances with the band Fairport Convention. She also worked as a librarian and ran a restaurant with her husband at the time, David Taylor. In the 1990s, she returned to music full-time.

June's Solo Music Career

In 1983, June Tabor sang the main song for a BBC TV series called Spyship.

A big moment in her career was in 1990 when she recorded the album Freedom and Rain with the folk-rock band The Oyster Band. They also went on tour together. Many of June's fans today first discovered her music through this album and tour.

Famous musician Elvis Costello even wrote a song specifically for June Tabor called "All This Useless Beauty" in 1992. She recorded it for her album Angel Tiger.

In 1997, June appeared in a TV film by Ken Russell called In Search of English Folk Song.

Her song "He Fades Away," which tells the story of a miner's slow death, was included on a CD called Dirt Music in 2001. This CD was put together by author Tim Winton to go with his novel Dirt Music.

June has also performed at special events. In 2002, she sang at the "Passchendale Peace Concert" in Belgium. In 2006, she sang World War I songs on BBC Radio 3 to remember the Battle of the Somme.

June Tabor is known for her calm and serious singing style. She has explored different types of music, including jazz. Her 2003 album An Echo of Hooves was a return to traditional ballad songs and was highly praised. In 2005, she released Always, a collection of four CDs covering her entire career, including rare recordings.

More Collaborations and Recent Work

June's album "A Cut Above" with Martin Simpson in 1980 was very popular. Critics said that when these two great musicians worked together, they pushed each other to create amazing music.

In 2003, June appeared on the TV show Later... with Jools Holland, where she sang "Hughie Graeme."

She also performed at a concert called "Folk Britannia" in 2006, which was part of a TV mini-series. June sang a song called "Fair Margaret and Sweet William." She also sang a song by The Beatles, "In My Life," without any instruments, for a collection of folk musicians covering Beatles songs.

June often tries new things with her music, like singing traditional songs with just a piano. On her album Singing The Storm (1996), she sang with a harp and a bass. In 2004, she sang a duet version of the song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" with John Jones from Oysterband.

June has also shown her funny side by performing with Les Barker's The Mrs Ackroyd Band. She sang on several of their comedy albums, including parodies of famous folk songs.

Topic Records, a record label, celebrated its 70th anniversary with a special boxed set called Three Score and Ten. June Tabor's album Aqaba was listed as one of their classic albums, and three songs from it were included in the collection.

Awards and Recognition

• In 2004, June Tabor was named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
• In 2011, her album Ragged Kingdom was chosen as "Album of the Year" by fRoots magazine critics.
• In 2012, she won Folk Singer of the Year again at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Discography

With Maddy Prior

• Silly Sisters (1976)
• No More to the Dance (1988) (as The Silly Sisters)

Solo Albums

Collaborations with Oysterband

• Freedom and Rain (1990)
• June Tabor and the Oyster Band Tour '91 Sampler (1991)
• Ragged Kingdom (Westpark Music, 2011)
• Fire & Fleet, A Tour Memento (2019)

Collaborations with Iain Ballamy and Huw Warren

• Quercus (ECM Records, 2013)
• Nightfall (ECM Records, 2017)

Collaboration with Flowers and Frolics

• Bees on Horseback (1977)

Collaboration with Fairport Convention

• In Real Time (1987) (video)
• The Third Leg (1990)

Collaborations with the Mrs Ackroyd Band

• The Stones of Callanish (1989)
• Oranges and Lemmings (1990)
• Some Love (1992)
• Gnus and Roses (1994)
• The Wings of Butterflies (1999)
• Airs of the Dog (2001)
• Yelp! (2003)
• Guide Cats for the Blind (2004)

With Peter Bellamy and others

• The Transports (1977)

Collections

• Anthology (1993)
• The Definitive Collection (2003)
• Always (2005)
• An Introduction to June Tabor (2018)