Class conflict, frequently referred to as class warfare or class struggle, is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes.

Class conflict can take many different forms: direct violence, such as wars fought for resources and cheap labor; indirect violence, such as deaths from poverty, starvation, illness or unsafe working conditions; coercion, such as the threat of losing a job or pulling an important investment; or ideology, either intentionally (as with books and articles promoting capitalism or anti-capitalism) or unintentionally (as with the promotion of consumerism through advertising). Additionally, political forms of class conflict exist. legally or illegally lobbying or bribing government leaders for passage of partisan desirable legislation including labor laws, tax codes, consumer laws, acts of congress or other sanction, injunction or tariff. The conflict can be open, as with a lockout aimed at destroying a labor union, or hidden, as with an informal slowdown in production protesting low wages or unfair labor practices.

Usage[link]

Teamsters wild-cat strike in Minneapolis, 1934

In the past the term Class conflict was a term used mostly by socialists, who define a class by its relationship to the means of production — such as factories, land and machinery. From this point of view, the social control of production and labor is a contest between classes, and the division of these resources necessarily involves conflict and inflicts harm. (Marx, 1848) However, in more contemporary times this term is striking chords and finding new definition amongst capitalistic societies in the United States and other Westernized countries.

Marxists argue that class conflict plays a pivotal role in the history of class-based hierarchical systems such as capitalism and feudalism.^[1] Marxists refer to its overt manifestations as class war, a struggle whose resolution in favor of the working class is viewed by them as inevitable under plutocratic capitalism. Societies wherein, more often than not, the rich rule.

Pre-capitalist societies[link]

Where societies are socially divided based on status, wealth, or control of social production and distribution, conflict arises. This conflict is both everyday, such as the common medieval insistence on the right of lords to control access to grain mills and baking ovens, or it can be exceptional such as the Roman Conflict of the Orders, the uprising of Spartacus, or the various popular uprisings in late medieval Europe. One of the earliest analysis of these conflicts is Friedrich Engels' German Peasants War.^[2] One of the earliest analyses of the development of class as the development of conflicts between emergent classes is available in Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid. In this work, Kropotkin analyzes the disposal of goods after death in pre-class societies, and how inheritance produces early class divisions and conflict.^[3]

21st Century USA[link]

Predicated on the proposed tax legislation aimed at the wealthy in the USA, conservative news hosts and talk-show commentators are bringing pejorative application to the term "class warfare". Perhaps an ad hominem attack on the man who reintroduced the term to main-stream America, Warren Buffett, the term in its classic sense, is now being used to describe President Obama's efforts to create the Buffett Rule. The rule would set a minimum effective tax rate of 30% for those individuals making over $1 million USD annually. FOX News Business Network anchor and investor Eric Bolling, Fox News commentator Steve Moore, political and legal analyst for Fox News Channel Andrew Napolitano, and former speech writer for President George W. Bush, Marc Thiessen have all used the words "class warfare" to describe the tax initiative.^[4]

In response fellow billionaire and friend to Warren Buffett, George Soros addresses the pejorative use of the term by the conservative-right by stating, "Speaking as a person who would be most hurt by this, I think my fellow hedge fund managers call this class warfare because they don't like to pay more taxes."^[5]

The USA and similar societies[link]

The typical example of class conflict described is class conflict within capitalism. This class conflict is seen to occur primarily between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and takes the form of conflict over hours of work, value of wages, cost of consumer goods, the culture at work, control over parliament or bureaucracy, and economic inequality. The particular implementation of government programs which may seem purely humanitarian, such as disaster relief, can actually be a form of class conflict.^[6]

Philanthropist and billionaire Warren Buffett acknowledging war on the middle-class in the USA

Apart from these day-to-day forms of class conflict, during periods of crisis or revolution class conflict takes on a violent nature and involves repression, assault, restriction of civil liberties, and murderous violence such as assassinations or death squads. (Zinn, People's History)

Thomas Jefferson, USA[link]

Although Thomas Jefferson (1744-1826) lead the United States as president from 1801–1809 and is considered one of the founding fathers, he died with immense amounts of debt. About class warfare, Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor." ^[7]

Warren Buffett, USA[link]

In 2012, and the years leading up to it, legendary investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett has often found himself on the list of the top 10 wealthiest men in the world. In November of 2006 Buffett commented in an interview with The New York Times, "There’s class warfare all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.^[8]" Shortly after issuing the quote Warren gave away more than half of his fortune to charitable causes through a program developed by himself and computer software tycoon Bill Gates.^[9] Later in 2011 Buffett called on government legislators to, "...stop coddling the super rich."^[10]

Alfred Herrhausen, Germany[link]

In an example of a violent escalation of class conflict, in November 1989 capitalist and CEO of Deutsche Bank, Alfred Herrhausen, was killed when a LASER activated road-side bomb, fired a copper plate at over 2 miles a second at his car. It was second in a convoy of three armored Mercedes Benz limousines chauffeuring Herrhausen to work. The force of the impact spun his heavy vehicle over 3 full rotations before coming to rest. No one was ever charged, but it is suspected that the militant group Red Army Faction, was involved in the killing.^[11]

Max Weber, Germany[link]

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) agrees with the fundamental ideas of Karl Marx about the economy causing class conflict, but claims that class conflict can also stem from prestige and power.^[12] Weber argues that classes come from the different property locations. Different locations can largely affect one's class by their education and the people they associate with.^[12] He also states that prestige results in different status groupings. This prestige is based upon the social status of one's parents. Prestige is an attributed value and many times cannot be changed. Weber states that power differences led to the formation of political parties.^[12] Weber disagrees with Marx about the formation of classes. While Marx believes that groups are similar due to their economic status, Weber argues that classes are largely formed by social status.^[12] Weber does not believe that communities are formed by economic standing, but by similar social prestige.^[12] Weber does recognize that there is a relationship between social status, social prestige and classes.^[12]

Muslim societies (Arab Spring)[link]

Numerous factors have culminated in what's known as the Arab Spring. Agenda behind the civil unrest, and the ultimate overthrow of totalitarian governments throughout the Middle-East included issues such as dictatorship or absolute monarchy, human rights violations, government corruption (demonstrated by Wikileaks diplomatic cables),^[13] economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic structural factors,^[14] such as a large percentage of educated but dissatisfied youth within the population.^[15] Also, some, like Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek attribute the 2009 Iranian protests as one of the reasons behind the Arab Spring.^[16] The catalysts for the revolts in all Northern African and Persian Gulf countries have been the concentration of wealth in the hands of autocrats in power for decades, insufficient transparency of its redistribution, corruption, and especially the refusal of the youth to accept the status quo.^{[17] [18]} as they involve threats to food security worldwide and prices that approach levels of the 2007–2008 world food price crisis.^[19] Amnesty International singled out Wikileaks' release of US diplomatic cables as a catalyst for the revolts.^[20]

The Soviet Union and similar societies[link]

A variety of predominantly Marxist and anarchist thinkers argue that class conflict exists in Soviet-style societies. These arguments describe as a class the bureaucratic stratum formed by the ruling political party (known as the Nomenklatura in the Soviet Union) — sometimes termed a "new class".^[21] --that controls the means of production. This ruling class is viewed to be in opposition to the remainder of society, generally considered the proletariat. This type of system is referred to by its detractors as state capitalism, state socialism, bureaucratic collectivism or new class societies. (Cliff; Ðilas 1957) Marxism was such a predominate ideological power in what became the Soviet Union since a Marxist group known as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was formed in the country, prior to 1917. This party soon divided into two main factions; the Bolsheviks, who were led by Vladimir Lenin, and the Mensheviks, who were led by Julius Martov.

Karl Marx[link]

Karl Marx, 1875

Karl Marx (1818–1883) was a German born philosopher who lived the majority of his adult life in England. In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx argued that a class is formed when its members achieve class consciousness and solidarity.^[12] This largely happens when the members of a class become aware of their exploitation and the conflict with another class. A class will then realize their shared interests and a common identity. According to Marx, a class will then take action against those that are exploiting the lower classes.

What Marx points out is that members of each of the two main classes have interests in common. These class or collective interests are in conflict with those of the other class as a whole. This in turn leads to conflict between individual members of different classes.

Marxist analysis of society identifies two main social groups:

• Labour (the proletariat or workers) includes anyone who earns their livelihood by selling their labor power and being paid a wage or salary for their labor time. They have little choice but to work for capital, since they typically have no independent way to survive.
• Capital (the bourgeoisie or capitalists) includes anyone who gets their income not from labor as much as from the surplus value they appropriate from the workers who create wealth. The income of the capitalists, therefore, is based on their exploitation of the workers (proletariat).

Not all class struggle is violent or necessarily radical (as with strikes and lockouts). Class antagonism may instead be expressed as low worker morale, minor sabotage and pilferage, and individual workers' abuse of petty authority and hoarding of information. It may also be expressed on a larger scale by support for socialist or populist parties. On the employers' side, the use of union busting legal firms and the lobbying for anti-union laws are forms of class struggle.

Not all class struggle is a threat to capitalism, or even to the authority of an individual capitalist. A narrow struggle for higher wages by a small sector of the working-class (what is often called "economism") hardly threatens the status quo. In fact, by applying "craft union" tactics of excluding other workers from skilled trades, an economistic struggle may even weaken the working class as a whole by dividing it. Class struggle becomes more important in the historical process as it becomes more general, as industries are organized rather than crafts, as workers' class consciousness rises, and as they self-organize away from political parties. Marx referred to this as the progress of the proletariat from being a class "in itself" (a position in the social structure) to being one "for itself" (an active and conscious force that could change the world).

Marx largely focuses on the capital industrialist society as the source of social stratification, which ultimately results in class conflict.^[12] He states that capitalism creates a division between classes which can largely be seen in manufacturing factories. The proletariat, is separated from the bourgeoisie because production becomes a social enterprise. Contributing to their separation is the technology that is in factories. Technology deskills and alienates workers as they are no longer viewed as having a specialized skill.^[12] Another effect of technology is a homogenous workforce that can be easily replaceable. Marx believed that this class conflict would result in the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and that the private property would be communally owned.^[12] The mode of production would remain, but communal ownership would eliminate class conflict.^[12]

Even after a revolution, the two classes would struggle, but eventually the struggle would recede and the classes dissolve. As class boundaries broke down, the state apparatus would wither away. According to Marx, the main task of any state apparatus is to uphold the power of the ruling class; but without any classes there would be no need for a state. That would lead to the classless, stateless communist society.

Non-Marxist perspectives[link]

This section requires expansion.

Social commentators, historians and socialist theorists had commented on class struggle for some time before Marx, as well as the connection between class struggle, property, and law: Augustin Thierry,^[22] François Guizot, François-Auguste Mignet and Adolphe Thiers. The Physiocrats, David Ricardo, and after Marx, Henry George noted the inelastic supply of land and argued that this created certain privileges (economic rent) for landowners.

Proudhon, in What is Property? (1840) states that "certain classes do not relish investigation into the pretended titles to property, and its fabulous and perhaps scandalous history."^[23]

Fascists have often opposed class struggle and instead have attempted to appeal to the working class while promising to preserve the existing social classes and have proposed an alternative concept known as class collaboration.

Class vs. race struggle[link]

According to Michel Foucault, in the 19th century the essentialist notion of the "race" was incorporated by racists, biologists, and eugenicists, who gave it the modern sense of "biological race" which was then integrated to "state racism". On the other hand, Marxists transformed the notions of the "race" and

Jobless Black workers in the heat of the Philadelphia summer, 1973

the "race struggle" into the concept of "class struggle". In a letter to Friedrich Engels in 1882 Karl Marx wrote: You know very well where we found our idea of class struggle; we found it in the work of the French historians who talked about the race struggle.^[24] For Foucault, the theme of social war provides overriding principle that connects class and race struggle.^[25]

Moses Hess, an important theoretician of the early socialist movement, in his "Epilogue" to "Rome and Jerusalem" argued that "the race struggle is primary, the class struggle secondary... With the cessation of race antagonism, the class struggle will also come to a standstill. The equalization of all classes of society will necessarily follow the emancipation of all the races, for it will ultimately become a scientific question of social economics."^[26]

In modern times, emerging schools of thought in the U.S. and other countries hold the opposite to be true.^[27] That the race struggle is less important, since the primary struggle is that of class since labor of all races face the same problems and injustices. The main example given is the United States, which has the most politically weak working class of any developed nation, where race is held as a distraction that has kept labor divided and unorganized.^[28] Though these schools of thought do not explain why the national Black unemployment rate in the US is consistently double the white unemployment rate.

Chronology[link]

Riots with a basically nationalist background are not included.

Classical antiquity[link]

• Roman Servile Wars

Middle Ages[link]

• Ciompi in Florence 1378
• Jacquerie - France 14th century

Modern era[link]

• German Peasants' War since 1524
• English Civil War (1642–1651) (Diggers)
• French Revolution since 1789^[29]
• Canut revolts in Lyon since 1831 - often considered as the beginning of the modern labor movement
• Revolutions of 1848 France (et al)
• Paris Commune 1871
• Donghak Peasant Revolution in Korea 1893/94
• 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
• Mexican Revolution since 1910
• October Revolution in 1917
• Spartacist uprising in Germany 1919
• Seattle General Strike of 1919 in Seattle
• General Strike of 1919 in Spain
• Winnipeg General Strike 1919
• Ruhr Uprising in Germany 1920
• Kronstadt rebellion 1921
• Hamburg Uprising 1923
• 1926 United Kingdom general strike
• 1934 West Coast waterfront strike
• Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
• Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
• Cuban Revolution 1953-1959
• Hungarian Revolution of 1956 - foundation of worker's councils
• Poznań 1956 protests
• Mai 68 in France
• Battle of Valle Giulia 1968 Italy
• Wild cats in Western Germany in 1969
• Winter of Discontent 1978/79
• UK miners' strike (1984–1985)
• 1993 Russian constitutional crisis
• 2006 Oaxaca protests in Mexico
• 2008 Greek riots
• 2010 Kyrgyzstani uprising
• Egyptian Revolution of 2011
• 2011 England riots

See also[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Class conflict

• Class consciousness
• Classism
• Classless society
• Conflict of the Orders
• Deformed workers state
• Degenerated workers state
• Economic inequality
• Economic stratification
• Exploitation

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Further reading[link]

• Class & Class Conflict in Industrial Society,Ralf Dahrendorf, Stanford University Press, 1959, trade paperback, 336 pages, ISBN 0-8047-0561-5 (also available in hardback as ISBN 0-8047-0560-7 and ISBN 1-131-15573-4).
• The Global Class War: How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future and What It Will Take to Win It Back Jeff Faux, John Wiley and Sons. 2006. ISBN 978-0-471-69761-9
• Li Yi. 2005. The Structure and Evolution of Chinese Social Stratification. University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-3331-5
• The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500 to the Present, ed. by Immanuel Ness, Malden, MA [etc.]: Wiley & Sons, 2009.
• Louis Adamic, Dynamite: The story of class violence in America, Revised Edition (1934)
• Leo Zeilig (Editor), Class Struggle and Resistance in Africa, New Clarion Press, 2002.
• Gerson Antell/Walter Harris, "Economics For Everybody", Amsco School Publications, 2007

External links[link]

• 2008-2010 Study: CEOs Who Fired Most Workers Earned Highest Pay - video report by Democracy Now!

Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique performing in March 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Felipe Andres Coronel
Born	(1978-02-19) February 19, 1978 (age 34) Lima, Lima Province, Peru[1]
Origin	Harlem, New York, United States
Genres	East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop, political hip hop, Underground Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Viper Records
Associated acts	Akir, Diabolic, Lowkey, Chino XL, DJ Green Lantern, La Coka Nostra, Jean Grae, Rockin' Squat, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Ras Kass, Krs-One, Pumpkinhead, Reppin MG
Website	myspace.com/immortaltechnique

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York.^[2] Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as class struggle, poverty, religion, government and institutional racism.

Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to retain control over his production,^[3] and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 copies of his three official releases.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Coronel is African-Peruvian and was born in 1978 in a military hospital in Lima.^[1] His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem.^[5] During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students, the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year.^[1][6] After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he go to school.^[7] Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Coronel began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose.^[8][9][10] This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin Rites and others, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.^[11]

Revolutionary Vol.1 and Vol.2[link]

In 2001, Immortal Technique released his first album Revolutionary Vol. 1 without the help of a record label or distribution, instead using money earned from his rap battle triumphs^[11]. He also battled but lost to Posta Boy in 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday. Revolutionary Vol. 1 also contained the underground classic Dance With The Devil. In November 2002, he was listed by The Source in its "Unsigned Hype" column, highlighting artists that are not signed to a record label. The following year, in September 2003, he received the coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" in The Source for a song entitled "Industrial Revolution" from his second album. Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned.^[11] He released his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2 in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records re-released Immortal Technique's debut, Revolutionary Vol. 1, to make it available to a wider audience. "Point of No Return" from Revolutionary Vol 2 was used as the entrance theme for Rashad Evans during the UFC 88 Main Event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.

Revolutionary Vol.3 and The Middle Passage[link]

Immortal Technique (left) at the Roskilde Festival, 2006.

Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on The Middle Passage and The 3rd World, the two albums that would serve a follow up to Revolutionary Vol. 2 and complete the series. He was also featured on several movie soundtracks and video game soundtracks, all the while touring relentlessly and becoming heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists and raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas. He invested his money not in items that are usually associated with fame but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He created a writing grant program for high school students as well.^[12]

The Martyr[link]

In October 2011 Immortal Technique released The Martyr, a free compilation album of previously unreleased material and new tracks. ^[13]

Collaborations[link]

The summer of 2005 saw the release of "Bin Laden", a vinyl single 12" featuring Mos Def and DJ Green Lantern. The single also contained a remix of the song featured Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS-One. In early 2006, the song "Impeach the President", featuring Dead Prez and Saigon turned up in the mixtape "Alive on Arrival" DJ Green Lantern. This is a simple version of The Honeydrippers, 1973, in which Immortal Technique urged fans to organize a vote of censure against George W. Bush. In April 2009, a new song leaked on the internet named "Democratie Fasciste (Article 4)" by Brazilian-French rapper Rockin' Squat which featured Immortal Technique. The official release of the song and Rockin' Squat's album Confessions D'un Enfant Du Siècle Volume 2 was on May 12, 2009. The instrumental from the song was sampled from Wendy Rene's "After Laughter". The song expresses the inequalities of the Third World and revolutionary events throughout history against tyranny and oppression. The song contains lyrics in English (Immortal Technique), French (Rockin' Squat) and brief shout outs in Spanish (Immortal Technique). This song is Immortal Technique's first official international collaboration.^[14] In early 2009, it was announced that there would be a collaboration between Technique and UK underground artist Lowkey, on a single called "Voices of the Voiceless". On September 11, 2009, a "snippet" of the song was released on YouTube.^[15] The preview was released ahead of its September 21 launch on iTunes, as part of a web-campaign that included updates, promotion and links on forums, E-Magazines and several social networking sites. The song's lyrics cover a broad range of issues that are familiar to listeners of both artists – racism, world revolution, war, socialism, government control, rape, famine, colonialism, Classism, self-determination and the war in Iraq.^[16]

Charitable work[link]

Immortal Technique performing in March 2010.

In June 2008, Immortal Technique partnered with Omeid International, a Non–Profit Human Rights Organization, to lend his support. He dubbed the work as "The Green Light Project". With the profits of The 3rd World album, Immortal Technique traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Omeid build an orphanage without any corporate or external funding. The orphanage, having been successfully established, currently houses over 20 orphaned children from Kabul.^[17]

Films[link]

[edit] The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique

A documentary about Immortal Technique was released in September 2011 and premiered at the Harlem Film Festival.^[18]

[edit] This Revolution

Immortal Technique appeared as himself in a docudrama film entitled This Revolution, which was recorded during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. The tape contains the protests surrounding the convention in the form of a documentary. It also featured Viper Records affiliates Akir and producer SouthPaw in roles.

Since then Immortal Technique has taken control of Viper Records and has signed a distribution deal with Babygrande Records / E1 Entertainment to vent to their next album. SouthPaw has managed to establish himself as A&R of Viper Records.

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

Compilation Albums[link]

• 2011: The Martyr

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Immortal Technique on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Official website
• Immortal Technique on Twitter
• Immortal Technique on Myspace
• Immortal Technique at Allmusic
• Immortal Technique at MTV
• Immortal Technique at AllRovi
• Immortal Technique at the Internet Movie Database

Ralph McTell
At the Eden Project, August 2003
Background information
Birth name	Ralph May
Born	(1944-12-03) 3 December 1944 (age 67) Farnborough, Kent
Origin	Croydon, London, UK
Genres	folk, country blues
Occupations	singer, songwriter, record producer, author, radio presenter, poet, children’s TV presenter
Instruments	guitar, vocals, piano
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Transatlantic, Famous, Warner Bros., Mays, Castle, Leola
Associated acts	The GP's, Fairport Convention, Billy Connolly
Website	www.ralphmctell.co.uk
Notable instruments
Gibson J-45

Ralph McTell (born Ralph May in Farnborough, Kent, England, 3 December 1944 ^[1] and raised in Croydon) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s.^[2]

Ralph McTell is best known for the song "Streets of London", which has been covered by over two hundred artists around the world.^[3] In the 1980s he wrote and played songs for two TV children's programmes, Alphabet Zoo,^[4] which also featured Nerys Hughes, followed by Tickle On The Tum,^[5] featuring Jacqueline Reddin. Albums were also released from both series. He also recorded the theme song to Cosgrove Hall's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows^[6] with Keith Hopwood, and this was released as a single in 1984 after the series was aired on ITV.

McTell's guitar playing has been modelled on the style of the US's country blues guitar players of the early 20th century, including Blind Blake, Robert Johnson and Blind Willie McTell.^[7] These influences led a friend to suggest that he change his professional name to McTell as his career was beginning to take shape.^[8]

Biography[link]

McTell's mother, Winifred (née Moss), was born in Hammersmith, London. During the Second World War she was living in Banbury, Oxfordshire, with her sister Olive when she met Frank May. They married in 1943 while Frank was home on leave from the army. Winifred moved to Croydon, Surrey, and McTell was born on December 3, 1944 in Farnborough, Kent. He was named after Ralph Vaughan Williams^[9] - Frank had worked as the composer's gardener before the war. A second son, Bruce, was born in 1946. Frank was demobilized, but after a year or so at home, he walked out on his family in 1947.

Winifred was left to support herself and bring up the boys unaided. She told McTell's biographer, "I remember Ralph saying to me quite soon after Frank left us, 'I'll look after you, Mummy'. I guess he'd got used to Frank being away all his short life."^[10] But despite their father's desertion and the consequent poverty, Ralph and Bruce May had a happy and fulfilled childhood in Croydon.

McTell's love of music surfaced early. He was given a plastic mouth organ and his grandfather, who played the harmonica, taught and encouraged him. The brothers spent many contented summer holidays at Banbury^[11] with their uncle and aunt and their grandparents. Banbury and north Oxfordshire would figure throughout McTell's life. Later, he recalled those childhood summers in his song "Barges".

Influences[link]

Other childhood experiences shaped McTell's songwriting. A young Irishman and his family were the Mays' upstairs neighbours.^[10] Needing a father figure, McTell greatly valued the young man's friendship, which later inspired the song "Mr Connaughton". Similarly, "Mrs Adlam's Angels" recalls his Sunday school teacher:^[12] "I loved the ceremonial and the music," he says, "you can hear the influence of hymn tunes in my song structures."^[13]

In 1952, two youths attempted to break into a Croydon warehouse: one, Derek Bentley, surrendered to the police but the other, Christopher Craig, shot and killed a police officer. Yet at the trial Bentley was sentenced to death.^[14] "My mum knew the Bentleys," McTell recalls. "I was about eight, but even then I could see the horror and injustice of executing a teenager for a murder he didn't commit."^[13] Many years later, McTell expressed that sense of injustice in the song "Bentley & Craig".

Teens[link]

After passing his 11-plus school examination, McTell attended the John Ruskin Grammar School.^[15] He hated his time there, and despite being a very bright pupil, he did not do well academically. Many of his fellow pupils were from wealthier backgrounds, and though having many school friends, he felt he didn't fit in.

Musically, his tastes tended towards being an outsider as well. He was captivated by skiffle and American rock'n'roll. Acquiring an old ukulele and a copy of The George Formby Method, he played his first chord. He later recalled, "I was thunderstruck - it was like magic!"^[13] Soon, he mastered skiffle classics such as "Don't You Rock Me, Daddy-O", and by his second year at school, he formed a skiffle band.

By the age of 15, McTell was very anxious to leave grammar school and the British Army looked like a way out, so in 1959 he enlisted in the Junior Leaders Battalion of The Queen's Surrey Regiment. Army life proved far worse than school.^[16] After six months, he bought himself out^[17] and resumed his education at technical college, passing several O level exams and an A level exam in art.

Discovering African American music[link]

At college, McTell became interested in the beatnik culture that flourished in the 1950s and early 1960s.^[18] Besides reading the works of writers such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, he discovered African American music - jazz, blues and R&B. Inspired by musicians such as Jesse Fuller, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, he bought a guitar and practised assiduously.

He and a group of like-minded friends became habitués of London's Soho jazz clubs and regularly went down to Brighton to "...sit on the beach looking windswept and interesting," as McTell put it.^[13] Soon he was spending much of his time away from Croydon, supporting himself with temporary work in factories, laundries and hotels.

During his travels, McTell met musicians who were destined to remain life-long friends, among them Jacqui McShee (later to gain fame in the band Pentangle), Martin Carthy and Wizz Jones. He was persuaded to join a bluegrass-influenced band called the Hickory Nuts,^[19] who performed all over England and, despite playing in some dire places for pin money early on, ended up with decent fees and respectable crowds in venues such as Croydon's Fairfield Halls.

The busker[link]

Cornwall connection – Ralph McTell photographed in 2006 holding a poster advertising a late-1960s concert in Launceston

By now, McTell had begun travelling abroad, busking around Europe with his guitar. He spent time in France and visited Belgium and Germany. Other trips took him to Italy and through Yugoslavia ("I felt a madness there, even then"^[13]) to Greece.

Paris was a city which McTell revisited frequently. Late in 1965 he and a friend from Croydon took a room in a cheap hotel on the Left Bank,^[20] earning their rent by busking cinema queues. After braving a bitterly cold Paris winter, McTell met a young American, Gary Petersen, who had studied with the legendary guitarist Reverend Gary Davis. "There was a great anticipation every time I got to play with (Petersen)," McTell recalled. "Each time I learned something new, and through him I learned how to play ragtime properly."^[21]

In the spring of 1966, McTell met another émigré to Paris, a student from Norway named Nanna Stein.^[22] The pair soon became inseparable. Back in England, they lived in a caravan in Cornwall. McTell and Wizz Jones were regular performers on the Cornish circuit, especially at The Folk Cottage in Mitchell. It was Jones who suggested the stage name 'McTell', "...after Blind Willie McTell, whose 'Statesboro Blues' we both loved".^[8]

Cornwall captured McTell's heart - a place whose "unique spirit got to me"^[13] - and the county has always remained a place for him to retreat to. By the end of 1966, Ralph and Nanna were expecting their first child. They married^[23] on November 30 in Norway and returned to live in Croydon with Winifred. Ralph and Nanna's son, Sam, was born on January 21, 1967.

After an unrewarding spell at teacher training college,^[24] McTell decided he'd try to make it full time in music. As well as his vocal and instrumental talents, he was developing as a songwriter and was in demand in folk clubs and festivals.

Record deal[link]

During 1967, McTell landed a deal with Transatlantic Records^[25] and by the end of the year was recording his first album. Arranged by Tony Visconti and produced by Gus Dudgeon, the album, Eight Frames a Second, was released early in 1968. It came to the attention of the BBC and was featured on radio programmes including Country Meets Folk in August and John Peel's Top Gear. The release of the album meant more live work so McTell's brother Bruce became his manager and booking agent.

His second album Spiral Staircase, recorded for Transatlantic in late 1968, included the first recording of "Streets of London", which was recorded in one take^[26] by McTell on guitar and vocals.

The third album, My Side of Your Window, released in 1969, became Melody Maker magazine's Folk Album of the Month.^[27] In July, McTell had appeared at Cambridge Folk Festival^[28] for the first time and at the end of the year headlined at Hornsey Town Hall.^[27]

Into the 1970s[link]

By 1970, "I'd got a family," McTell recalled in an interview, "and found I had a musical career, somehow."^[13] He was getting extensive radio play, and the audiences at his concerts were growing.

By May, he was sufficiently successful to fill the Royal Festival Hall in London. In August, McTell played the huge Isle of Wight Festival alongside Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen.^[29]

Bruce May had bowed out and McTell was now being managed by impresario Jo Lustig.^[30] In October 1970, McTell sold out the Royal Festival Hall again and the album Revisited was released. This remixed compilation was originally intended to introduce McTell to American record-buyers but was released in the UK.

Ralph and Nanna's daughter Leah was born on February 9, 1971.

You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here was released on the Famous label in 1971. Among the highlights of this fourth studio album was "The Ferryman", inspired by the Herman Hesse book Siddhartha. That year also saw McTell's first tour in the United States.^[31]

Initially, Paramount Records had been McTell's American label but had not been supportive, and he later signed with Warner Bros. Records. While in the US, McTell hung out with the British folk-rock band Fairport Convention, establishing a lifelong professional relationship as well as personal friendships.

Paramount put a new recording of "Streets of London" on the US release of You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here,^[32] and, in April 1972, issued it as a single in the Netherlands, where it charted, climbing slowly to No. 9 in May.^[33]

McTell's fifth album, Not Till Tomorrow, was produced by Tony Visconti, and released on Reprise in 1972. His UK concert tour played to packed houses and he met one of his guitar heroes, the Rev Gary Davis.^[34] By the end of the year, he'd parted company with Jo Lustig and his brother Bruce was again managing his career.^[35]

Although living in Putney, south west London,^[36] Ralph and Nanna bought a derelict cottage in Cornwall during 1972.

The Royal Albert Hall[link]

During 1973, McTell undertook two major tours. The spring tour culminated in a sell-out concert at London's Royal Festival Hall on 5 May, whilst the winter tour was completed in front of a full-house at London's Royal Albert Hall^[37] on 30 January 1974.^[38] By the end of the year, McTell was in the studio with Visconti again working on his next album. Released early in 1974, Easy won critical acclaim and became McTell's first album to do well in the charts. It was promoted by lengthy tours of Britain and Europe with Danny Thompson and Mike Piggott as backing musicians. Despite the civil unrest and violence in Northern Ireland, the tour included concerts in the province^[39] - in fact, McTell continued to play there regularly throughout 'the Troubles'.^[40]

The hit and the band[link]

McTell re-recorded "Streets of London" with bassist Rod Clements and backing vocalists Prelude.^[41] Released as a single late in 1974, it rocketed up the charts to No. 2 over the Christmas period, became a worldwide million-seller, and won McTell the Ivor Novello Award.^[42]

In early 1975, McTell released the album Streets..., which sold strongly and spent twelve weeks in the album charts.^[43] Backing musicians on the album included Lindisfarne's Rod Clements, Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg and Jerry Donahue, and Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span.^[44] He decided to tour with a band to promote the album, but the experiment was not a success.^[45] That tour, he recalls, "became a nightmare."^[13] It was time for a break.^[46][47] McTell went to America with his family where he spent time relaxing and writing. Refreshed, he returned to the UK.^[48]

During 1976, McTell topped the bill at Montreux Jazz Festival^[49] and played another sold-out concert at The Royal Albert Hall. This was followed by his first tour of Australia and the far east. At McTell's insistence, local buskers were given free tickets for the flagship concert at Sydney Opera House.^[49]

Ralph and Nanna's son Tom was born on 7 September 1976.

McTell's eighth album, Right Side Up, was released late in 1976 and the year ended with a packed-out Christmas concert in Belfast where he got standing ovations both before and after the show.

The concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Sydney Opera House had both been recorded and in 1977, Warner Bros. Records released the live album Ralph, Albert and Sydney.^[50]

During the year, McTell met John 'Jonah' Jones, a popular figure on London's music scene.^[51] It was the start of a close friendship that lasted until John's death in 2003. After tours in the US and Britain, McTell again appeared at Cambridge Folk Festival.^[52]

Quieter times[link]

Ralph and Nanna's son Billy was born on April 19, 1978.

Professionally, it was a quieter year so Ralph May was able to enjoy his family. He and Nanna divided their time between their London home and their house in Cornwall.

In March 1979, McTell played The Royal Festival Hall accompanied by Dave Pegg and Dave Mattacks of Fairport Convention, and Nigel Smith and Mike Piggott.

McTell had written a lot of new songs and went into the studio with backing musicians including Richard Thompson, Dave Pegg and Simon Nicol.^[53] The resulting album, Slide Away The Screen was released by Warner Bros. Records.

The recording contract with Warner Bros. Records expired in 1980 so Ralph and Bruce set up Mays Records^[54] as an 'own brand' label. It would be a year or more until they had an album to release but meanwhile McTell continued to tour.

During 1981, McTell, Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks and Richard Thompson formed an impromptu band called The GP's.^[55] They performed half-a-dozen concerts but contractual restrictions meant the band couldn't be developed further.

The first release on Mays Records was the 1981 single "England", a song later adopted as the theme for a television travelogue presented by comedian Billy Connolly, a long-standing friend of McTell's. Mays Records' first album release was Water Of Dreams, which featured "Bentley & Craig", the song that led to McTell's support of the campaign to grant Derek Bentley a posthumous pardon.^[56]

Television[link]

In 1982, McTell's career took an unexpected change of direction. Granada Television commissioned Alphabet Zoo, a series of children's programmes built around songs written and performed by McTell.^[57] Although initially reluctant to accept the offer, the fact that one of his heroes, Woody Guthrie, had composed dozens of songs for children, convinced him it was worthwhile.^[58] The first series, broadcast in 1983, was a big success. A second series followed and Mays Records released two albums of the material - Songs From Alphabet Zoo and Best of Alphabet Zoo.

During 1983, McTell presented his own music series on BBC Radio 2.^[5] His guests included Billy Connolly, Georgie Fame, Simon Nicol with Dave Swarbrick, and Mike Harding.

In 1984, McTell fronted another children's TV programme, called Tickle On The Tum, again built around his songs. McTell featured in three series alongside guests including John Wells, Willie Rushton, Kenny Lynch, Penelope Keith^[5] and Nerys Hughes. Mays Records released The Best of - Tickle on the Tum in 1986. The first series was released on DVD by Revelation Films in 2010.^[59]

McTell was still playing concerts between his television commitments and he toured during 1984 at home and in Canada and the United States. After composing the music for a Skol lager advertising campaign,^[60] he decided to concentrate on his musical career and turned down further television work.

Commercialism[link]

Bruce May negotiated a deal with Telstar Records, a company that pushed its products heavily with major advertising and hyping campaigns. McTell was persuaded to record an album which mixed his own material and 'classic songs' such as "Penny Lane", "Morning Has Broken" and "Scarborough Fair". The result, At the End of a Perfect Day, released late in 1985, was one of McTell's least satisfactory recordings. It was "a totally commercial venture and a miserable failure," he said later; "...while I was reluctant to do it, the possibility of getting the kind of back-up that Telstar were offering was too good to miss."^[61]

The next year McTell was back on form with Bridge of Sighs. Released on Mays Records in 1986, the album gathered together a lot of hitherto unfinished songs. It included "The Girl from the Hiring Fair" (originally written for Fairport Convention,^[62] and in whose core repertoire it remains to this day), and "The Setting", influenced by Sean O'Faolain.

Homage[link]

As well as tours in his own right, McTell secured a prestigious support slot in 1987 opening the shows on The Everly Brothers' UK tour.^[63] He greatly enjoyed working with Don and Phil who, he admits, were musical heroes of his.

McTell's end-of-tour gift to himself was Albert, an African Grey Parrot. In years to come, the bird would not only learn to talk but, by mimicking its owner's cough, would spur McTell to give up the hand-rolled cigarettes he'd smoked all his adult life.

After tours in Europe, the US and Australia,^[64] McTell was back in the studio in February, 1988 to record the album Blue Skies Black Heroes. Released on his own Leola Music label, the album was a homage to the blues and ragtime musicians who had so influenced his playing.

"Nearly all my guitar heroes are black, American, usually blind and most of 'em dead," McTell explained.^[13] All the tracks on Blue Skies Black Heroes were recorded as live takes, four with Danny Thompson on bass. The follow-up tour that summer saw McTell on the road with a veritable arsenal of guitars.

1988 also saw the release of a compilation album, The Very Best of Ralph McTell. Issued by Start, it was McTell's first album to appear on CD.

McTell was a regular visitor to, and occasional performer at, Fairport Convention's annual music festival in the village of Cropredy, near Banbury. The location inspired him to pen the ballad "Red and Gold" about the English Civil War, which has become another staple of Fairport's repertoire.^[65]

At the end of 1988, Bruce ceased to be McTell's manager, the post being taken by Mick McDonagh.^[66]

Castle compilations[link]

In 1989, McTell signed a deal with the label Castle Communications to produce a compilation of his love songs.^[67] For contractual reasons, some songs had to be re-recorded in Dave Pegg's Woodworm Studio in Barford St. Michael. The resulting album, A Collection of His Love Songs, was subtitled 'Affairs of the Heart'.

To support the album's release, McTell undertook an extensive tour in the autumn and early winter. The tour was well-supported with PR material and was managed on the road by John 'Jonah' Jones.

The next year, 1990, Castle released Stealin' Back, another collection of McTell's blues and jug band numbers.

In 1991, McTell shared the billing with Donovan on a tour of Germany.^[68] He also toured in his own right in the UK.

A second Castle compilation was released in 1992 to celebrate McTell's 25 years of recording.^[69] Silver Celebration featured a selection of tracks including "The Ferryman", "From Clare To Here" and "Streets Of London". A very extensive Silver Celebration tour occupied much of the year, again managed by 'Jonah' Jones.

Castle had by now obtained the rights to the Transatlantic catalogue,^[70] and released a "Best of" CD with 24 tracks from McTell's earliest albums. Castle subsequently licensed the early McTell back-catalogue to other labels, resulting in the release of several CD compilations under such titles as The Best of Ralph McTell or Streets of London.

The Boy With A Note[link]

McTell completed a major project when in 1992, the BBC commissioned^[71] and broadcast The Boy With A Note - 'an evocation of the life of Dylan Thomas in words and music'. It was re-recorded and released on McTell's Leola label as an album. McTell is very proud of this ambitious piece. "Two or three years went into that," he said. "It's grown-up work."^[13]

During 1993, McTell toured Australia and the Far East, and back home he undertook The Black And White Tour. Road Goes On Forever Records released The Complete Alphabet Zoo, presenting the songs from the two television series in alphabetical order. McTell and Mick McDonagh parted company.^[72]

In 1994 McTell took part in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall to commemorate the life of Ken Woolard.^[73] Ken was the founder of Cambridge Folk Festival and McTell assembled a band, Good Men In The Jungle, to play at that summer's festival.^[74] He also celebrated his fiftieth year by giving up smoking.

Slide Away The Screen was released as a CD by Road Goes On Forever Records with three previously unreleased songs added.

Sand in Your Shoes was recorded at Woodworm, by now relocated in Barford St Michael near Banbury. The album came out on the Transatlantic label during 1995.

McTell performed his song "Bentley & Craig" at a special service for Derek Bentley held in Croydon cemetery with the Bentley family.^[75] Sadly, Bentley's sister Iris died before he was pardoned and, at her request, McTell performed at her funeral a few years later.

A high point of 1995 was an invitation to perform songs from The Boy With A Note at the Year Of Literature Festival^[75] in Swansea, in south Wales.

Tickety Boo[link]

In 1996, McTell presented BBC radio's coverage of Sidmouth Festival and toured the UK, Europe, and the US.^[76]

McTell's long-standing sound engineer, Gordoon 'Doon' Graham, had captured many of McTell's concert performances on the desk, and an album of live material from 1976 to 1995 was released on Leola as Songs for Six Strings Vol II.

Early in 1997, McTell began his association with Tickety Boo, the company which produced Billy Connolly's 'World Tour of...' television series. "In The Dreamtime", the song played over the closing credits to Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia, later featured on McTell's album Red Sky.

In the same year, McTell was the subject of a major feature in The Independent newspaper.^[77] An authorised biography of McTell, entitled Streets of London, was published by Northdown Publishing.^[78] McTell's concert at Croydon Town Hall was filmed, and released on videocassette as Live at the Town Hall by Leola in 1998.

By now, Leola had taken most of McTell's management arrangements in house. Two sell-out concerts in London's Purcell Room were recorded by McTell's tour manager and sound engineer, Donard Duffy, and released on Leola as a two-CD set. Entitled Travelling Man, the double album came out in time for McTell's 1999 spring tour. A two-page feature about McTell appeared in The Guardian newspaper in May 1999.^[13]

New century[link]

McTell had been busy writing during the previous couple of years and the result was Red Sky. Recorded at Woodworm and released in 2000 on the Leola label, the album contained 19 listed tracks plus "Tickety-boo" as an instrumental hidden track.

McTell's output was not restricted to songs, however. He had been working on an autobiography for some years and the first volume, entitled Angel Laughter, was published by Heartland Publishing in 2000.^[79]

To promote Angel Laughter, McTell undertook a tour of bookshops and libraries .

Ralph and Nanna's first grandchild, Ezra, was born on 25 June 2000.

In 2001, McTell undertook a special tour of the UK. Billed as 'The National Tour', it gave McTell a chance to present concerts featuring his newly-acquired National Steel resonator guitar. Two live recordings from the National Tour made their way onto the 2002 Leola album National Treasure.

Heartland published Summer Lightning, the second volume of McTell's autobiography, in 2002.^[80] Another highlight of the year was the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting presented to McTell at the annual BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.^[81] By then, McTell had written and recorded well over 200 songs.

McTell had been touring extensively at home and abroad for many years so in 2003 he decided to take a break from the road. He split the year between his London and Cornwall homes and spent the time writing, travelling and spending time with his grandchildren - by the end of the year there were seven of them.

Early in 2004, McTell co-headlined on Steeleye Span's tour of Australia and New Zealand as well as touring in the UK, Ireland and continental Europe.

McTell appeared at the fortieth Cambridge Folk Festival^[82] (the performance was broadcast on BBC Four television) and also played at the fiftieth Sidmouth Festival.^[83] He made a guest appearance at Fairport's Cropredy Convention in August.

The Journey[link]

Ralph McTell (left) with David Suff of Fledg'ling who compiled and released The Journey boxed set

McTell celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall in November, 2004. The entire show was filmed and released on DVD in 2005 as The London Show.

Leola published Time's Poems - The Song Lyrics of Ralph McTell towards the end of 2005. Dedicated "to Woody Guthrie, the man who started it all for me", Time's Poems contains "...all the songs I could find in notebooks, on scraps of paper and old tapes, on records and CDs".^[84]

In 2006 McTell's 'Walk Into The Morning' tour was a sellout success, creating such long queues to talk to him at his customary 'meet and greet' sessions after concerts, that he was forced to announce in June 2006 that he would no longer be coming out into the foyers after shows to chat with fans.

For his 'up close' tour in September, 2006, McTell performed a set billed as 'Dylan, Guthrie and The Country Blues', featuring his covers of songs by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and black American blues artists such as Big Bill Broonzy. He also recorded an album of the material, titled Gates of Eden. McTell described the music on this CD as "…the beginning of my own journey… these songs are almost sacred to me".^[85]

A boxed set of four CDs (accompanied by an extended essay on McTell's songs by Paul Jenkins) was released in October, 2006.^[86] Compiled by David Suff from recordings made between 1965 and 2006, The Journey was promoted with several radio interviews and a major tour that included two 'gala' concerts at London’s Union Chapel. The box set's packaging was designed by John Haxby, who also took the cover photograph.

A solo tour of Australia early in 2007 was followed by 'The Journey Continues' tour in the UK. In August, 2007, Sanctuary Records recognised the 40th anniversary of McTell’s first recording contract by re-releasing his three Transatlantic albums as CDs with bonus tracks.

As Far As I Can Tell[link]

In October, 2007, McTell released an 'audio book' titled As Far As I Can Tell. The three CDs included readings from the autobiography interspersed with new recordings of the songs they inspired.^[87] The As Far As I Can Tell treble CD was promoted by a tour that included a concert at St Mary’s church in Banbury,^[88] a location that featured in the first volume of autobiography.

A compilation CD comprising McTell’s own selection of songs, including the 'hit' version of "Streets of London", was released in December 2007 on the Highpoint label as The Definitive Collection.

During 2008, McTell combined the two volumes of his autobiography into a single volume under the title As Far As I Can Tell^[89] for publication to coincide with his autumn tour. The new edition featured additional chapters illustrated by photos from the May family album.

On 9 October 2008, McTell appeared on BBC1 TV's nationally-broadcast magazine programme The One Show in a pre-recorded package about the song "Streets of London". The interview was filmed in Paris and conducted by Myleene Klass.

The appearance on The One Show was the springboard for two 'official' McTell internet videos.^[90][91] Made by Leola Music Ltd and published on YouTube, the videos featured McTell talking about his work and about "Streets of London", with concert footage shot at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

The Institute of Contemporary Arts concert footage was released during 2008 as a full-length DVD titled McTell on The Mall.

McTell embarked on his most extensive UK tour for many years in October, 2008, visiting thirty venues throughout England.^[92] The concert at Birmingham Town Hall was unusual because McTell, who rarely appears with a supporting act, shared the bill with The Dylan Project.

Story songs[link]

Ralph McTell (left) and Tom Paxton in the Palace of Westminster in 2007

McTell released his first downloadable album in July, 2009, titled Streets of London and Other Story Songs,^[93] comprising twelve tracks from his back-catalogue.

McTell's summer 2009 festival appearances included a solo set at Fairport's Cropredy Convention on Saturday 15 August.^[94] He also joined Fairport Convention onstage during their set later the same evening.

In October, 2009, McTell was honoured by the UK Parliament’s All Party Folk Music Group at a special award ceremony in the House of Commons, to celebrate his lifetime's contribution to folk music.^[95] This was only the second time such an award had been made, the previous recipient having been Tom Paxton.^[96]

In early 2010, McTell's Leola Music record label released Affairs of the Heart, a four CD box set of love songs in a presentation package. In keeping with its theme, the album was released on Valentine's Day, February 14. There were no previously-unrecorded songs among the fifty-six tracks on the set. Two tracks were specially re-recorded but the remaining fifty-four were digital remixes of previous recordings. Comedian Rory McGrath contributed extensive sleeve notes in the set's accompanying booklet. The sleeve design and set packaging concept were by designer Peter Thaine.^[97][98][99]

During 2010, McTell recorded an album of new songs, his first for ten years, and released in October as Somewhere Down the Road. He kept an on-line diary of the album’s progress which described assembling the material, the recording sessions and preparing for release.^[100] McTell’s UK autumn tour was branded with the same title.

On 21 November 2010, McTell released a seasonal song, "The Things You Wish Yourself", as a download-only single.^[101]

Tribute[link]

McTell was invited to record his own interpretation of a Bob Dylan song for the BBC Radio 2 celebration of Dylan’s 70th birthday in May, 2011.^[102] “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” was also the title of McTell’s own six-song tribute to Dylan, which was released as a downloadable EP.^[103]

McTell embarked on a 36-date UK Autumn tour in September, 2011, culminating in a concert at London's Cadogan Hall on 11 December. On the first night of the tour, McTell launched his new "Songs For Six Strings" boxed set. Eventually there will be six CDs, one for each guitar string, and each with live recordings of six McTell songs. They are available to purchase only at live concerts and from the official McTell website.^[104]

In April and May 2012, McTell undertook a short tour of Australia. McTell's 2012 UK tour commences on 4 October,^[105] and takes its theme from his 5-track downloadable EP “An English Heartbeat”.^[106]

Discography[link]

Main Albums released in UK[link]

• Eight Frames a Second Transatlantic 1968 (LP)
• Spiral Staircase Transatlantic 1969 (LP)
• My Side of Your Window Transatlantic 1969 (LP)
• Revisited Transatlantic 1970 (LP) (Remixed compilation)
• You Well-Meaning Brought Me Here Famous 1971 (LP)
• Not Till Tomorrow Reprise 1972 (LP)
• Easy Reprise 1974 (LP)
• Streets... Warner Bros. 1975 (LP)
• Right Side Up Warner Bros. 1976 (LP)
• Ralph, Albert & Sydney Warner Bros. 1977 (LP) (Live)
• Slide Away the Screen Warner Bros. 1979 (LP)
• Water Of Dreams Mays 1982 (LP)
• Songs From Alphabet Zoo Mays 1983 (LP)
• Best of Alphabet Zoo Mays 1983 (LP)
• At the End of a Perfect Day Telstar 1985 (LP)
• The Best of - Tickle on the Tum Mays 1986 (LP)
• Bridge of Sighs Mays 1986 (LP)
• The Very Best of Ralph McTell Start 1988 (LP) (CD) (Compilation)
• Blue Skies Black Heroes Leola 1988 (LP) (CD)
• A Collection of His Love Songs Castle 1989 (Double LP) (CD) (Compilation)
• Stealin' Back Castle 1990 (CD)
• Silver Celebration Castle 1992 (CD) (Compilation)
• The Boy with a Note Leola 1992 (CD)
• Sand in Your Shoes Transatlantic 1995 (CD)
• Songs for Six Strings Vol II Leola 1996 (CD) (Live)
• Live at the Town Hall Leola 1998 (VHS) (Live)
• Travelling Man Leola 1999 (Double CD) (Live)
• Red Sky Leola 2000 (CD)
• National Treasure Leola 2002 (CD)
• The London Show Leola 2005 (DVD) (Live)
• Gates of Eden Leola 2006 (CD)
• The Journey – Recordings 1965-2006 Leola 2006 (4-CD Box set)
• As Far As I Can Tell Leola 2007 (Treble CD) (Audiobook)
• The Definitive Collection Highpoint 2007 (CD) (Compilation)
• McTell on The Mall Leola 2008 (DVD) (Live)
• Streets of London and Other Story Songs Leola 2009 (Download) (Compilation)
• Affairs of the Heart Leola 2010 (4-CD Box set) (Compilation)
• Somewhere Down the Road Leola 2010 (CD)
• Don't Think Twice It's Alright Leola 2011 (Download)
• Songs For Six Strings (1st - E) Leola 2011 (CD) (Live)
• An English Heartbeat - London and England 2012 Leola 2012 (Download) (Compilation)

Significant Album Reissues[link]

• Love Grows Mays 1982 - LP remix of Slide Away the Screen with different tracks
• The Complete Alphabet Zoo Road Goes on Forever 1993 – CD with extra tracks
• Slide Away the Screen and Other Stories Road Goes on Forever 1994 – CD with extra tracks
• Streets... Leola 1995 – CD with extra tracks
• Ralph, Albert & Sydney (Songs for Six Strings Vol 1) Leola 1997 - CD with extra tracks
• Easy Leola 1999 - CD with extra tracks
• Right Side Up Leola 2001 - CD with extra track
• Water of Dreams Leola 2003 - CD with extra tracks
• Eight Frames a Second Transatlantic 2007 – CD with extra tracks
• Spiral Staircase Transatlantic 2007 – CD with extra tracks
• My Side of Your Window Transatlantic 2007 – CD with extra tracks

Other Albums featuring significant contributions by Ralph McTell[link]

• Just Guitars (Various Artists) CBS 1984 (LP) (Live)
• Tickle on the Tum: Stories and Songs (Various Artists) St Michael 1984 (Cassette)
• Saturday Rolling Around (The GP’s) Woodworm 1992 (CD) (Live)
• Musical Tour of Scotland (Billy Connolly) Tickety-Boo 1995 (CD)
• One for Jonah (Various Artists) FooPoo 2004 (CD) (Live)
• Tickle on the Tum: The Complete Series One (Various Artists) Revelation Films 2010 (DVD)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ralph McTell Official website
• Ralph, Albert & Sydney - Fansite
• Weather the Storm - Fansite