Thumb-nail sketch:Toni Arthur was a television presenter in the days when that was a respectable occupation. She fronted quality BBC children's programmes such as Playschool and was sometimes accompanied by her husband, David. Both academics, they also travelled the pub and student campus venues in the late 60s and recorded three fine albums of material that certainly was then not widely known. A matter of quality rather than quantity.
Here's what they were doing up to 1977:
Dave and Toni Arthur are married and have two sons, Jonathan and Timothy. When they met their backgrounds were very diverse. Toni had won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music when she was nine and had pursued this until leaving school. She then became a nurse, and at the same time studied drama at the Stanislavsky Institute of Drama. David had a variety of jobs after leaving school including commercial artist bookseller, and dental mechanic He started to play the guitar and banjo in his teens and developed an interest in folk music When Dave and Toni met they began singing together and after they were married they became professional folk-singers, giving concerts all over Britain, and in Russia, America, Poland, Denmark and many other countries. As well as concerts for adults and lectures on varying aspects of folklife Dave and Toni also did children's concerts wherever they went Toni was eventually offered work presenting the BBC children's programme 'Playschool' and eventually went to the BBC2 series 'Playaway' of which she has been the female presenter for 7 years. Dave appeared in some of the early 'Playaways' but became more involved in research for the programme. This culminated in 1976 with Toni's own series "Take a Ticket To.."(BBC2) which Dave researched and for which he wrote some of the songs.
In 1974 Dave and Toni started presenting the ETV series 'Sing-a-Song-Playground'. Together again they were on the BBC2 adult programme 'The Peoples Echo'. David has written, researched, and presented programmes for BBC's further education department, both TV and radio, he also can be heard as a radio broadcaster on various programmes such as 'It's Catching' and 'Heritage'. and Dave and Toni have both done work for 'Woman's Hour'. Dave is now writing a book on 'Fairs' and some children's books and is preparing further radio series. Toni is also working for Thames TV as a presenter of the schools programme 'Seeing and Doing'. She also makes appearances on 'Star Turn' (BBC1) and 'All Star Record Breakers' (BBC1).
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T I T L E | DATE | LABEL | REFERENCE | TYPE |
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MORNING STANDS ON TIPTOE Now on a double CD release |
1967 1997 |
Transatlantic Wooden Hill |
TRA154 HILLCD 18 |
LP and | |
 
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| Mostly unaccompanied singing by the folk duo, but they do use concertina, melodeon and whistle on some tracks. The whole album is lovely, and The Female Rambling Sailor is outstanding and will most likely bring a tear to your eye. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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T I T L E | DATE | LABEL | REFERENCE | TYPE |
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THE LARK IN THE MORNING Now on a double CD release |
1969 1997 |
Topic Wooded Hill |
12T190 HILLCD 18 |
LP and | |
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| A little less unaccompanied singing on this follow-on album, with Barry Dransfield adding fiddle on some tracks. Toni begins using high register, as in the title track, The Lark In The Morning. A fine album all round. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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T I T L E | DATE | LABEL | REFERENCE | TYPE |
| HARKEN TO THE WITCHES RUNE | 1970 | Trailer | LER 2017 | LP | |
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| A very powerful album, in which Toni's octave-shifting voice is used to great effect. Kevin Burke plays fiddle for The King of the Fairies medley, which is interspersed with spoken anecdotal material from Dave which is unfortunately rather tedious. Packie Byrne plays whistle on The Fairy Child. Nic Jones plays fiddle on Alison Brand and The Broomfield Hill. There are words for Harken To The Wiches Rune printed on the LP sleeve, but the song is not sung on the album. Why not? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other appearances:
THE FOLK TRAILER (Sampler LP)
12 track compilation album from 1970. Trailer LER 2019
Track 3 : Lazlo Feher
Bushes and Briars
Lazlo Feher
The Wedding Song (Come Write Me Down) recorded Rotherfield 1992 with sons Jonathan and Tim
Chickens are A-Crowing (with Barry Murphy)
Dave and Toni Arthur have also produced various albums of:
On the Subject of T.V.
In presenting English Folk Song on Childrens' Television to the younger generation, Toni was not alone. Those with long memories may remember that Nancy Kerr (on this site) was the speaking and singing voice of the rag-doll in the much-loved but short-lived series Bagpuss, while folk singer Isla St.Clair made a courageous stab at explaining social history to the under-10s by acting-out and singing the farming, mining and factory songs of the 19th-century. (1981 LP of BBC Sound-track available - backing musicians were sundry members from Steeleye Span).Folk singer Tim Hart has recorded children's songs, but I don't know whether he has performed them on television.
It was all in a time before the television supremos had succumbed to their own out-pourings of candy-floss.
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