Recordings of Cyril Tawney's concert and club appearances are needed for inclusion in his Archive, which will be held by the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London, and I wonder if any of your readers/listeners can help. I have already received several very useful items, but there are still some gaps to be filled, particularly by the many traditional songs in his repertoire which were not recorded commercially.

I'm also keen to have examples of his more quirky items, for my own pleasure and for the Archive - here are some examples to jog memories:

Music-hall songs - Married on Pension Day, With Me Little Bit Of Hair On The Top etc.

Popular songs - She Wears Red Feathers (yes, the Guy Mitchell hit), also the Andrews Sisters songs Her Bathing Suit Never Got Wet and Three Little Sisters.

Most of all in this category I would love to have a recording of Baltimore Oriole, a beautiful, bluesy Hoagy Carmichael song which Cyril rarely sang in public. Here's a reminder of the opening lines:

'Baltimore Oriole, took one look at that mercury, forty below, no life for a lady, to be draggin' her feathers around in the snow'

We have no recordings of the themed presentations which he occasionally gave at Festivals and Arts Centres: "Tawney in Depth", "Hands to Dance and Skylark" and "Royal Navy Humour". Does anyone have these, please?

Even if the songs you have are covered elsewhere, Cyril's introductions were very much a part of his performances and the live sessions will help to complete the record of his career.

Thank you very much

Rosemary Tawney   www.cyriltawney.co.uk

Contact details:   tawney3[[[at]]]tiscali.co.uk
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