Journeyman: An Autobiography » (New Edition)

Ewan MacColl (1915–1989) was a singer, songwriter, radio broadcaster and documentary-maker, actor and playwright.

This New Edition of Journeyman, Ewan MacColl's vivid and entertaining autobiography, has been re-edited from the original manuscript, and includes a new introduction by Peggy Seeger, for whom he wrote the unforgettable The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Footnotes have also been added.

MacColl, a singer, songwriter, actor, playwright and broadcaster, begins this fascinating account with his working-class Salford childhood, which had a profound influence on his songwriting, inspiring, for example, Dirty Old Town. The book traces the evolution of one of Britain's most influential twentieth-century theatre companies, from MacColl's involvement in Salford, his participation in Agitprop during the mass unemployment of the 1930s, the formation of Theatre Union in 1936, and the founding of Theatre Workshop by Joan Littlewood and MacColl after VE Day in 1945. It goes on to describe the life of Theatre Workshop as a touring company with MacColl as its main playwright; then MacColl's role in the Radio Ballads (1957-64), a seminal landmark in the history of radio documentary; finally, his work with Peggy Seeger in the arenas of folksong and folk theatre.

Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger were among the main leaders of the UK folksong revival. Journeyman documents their struggle from the mid 1950s to secure the integrity of that revival as the popular media appropriated and re-created traditional music for commercial gain.

An entertaining and thought-provoking slice of British history, it will appeal to those interested in the histories of folk music, theatre, radio, left-wing politics and the Manchester area.

List of illustrations vii

Introduction Peggy Seeger ix

Acknowledgement xiii

Part 1 (1915-1940)

1 Early Days and Hogmanay 3

2 One in Three Million 23

3 Front Doors and Back Entries 32

4 Unnatural Habitat 51

5 Lodgers and Friends 60

6 The Gang 69

7 The Tangenital Mind 95

8 Happy Days? 105

9 Mother, Meg and May 120

10 Limbo 130

11 On the Broo 140

12 Big City, Big Geordie 152

13 Politics, Prurience and Fresh Air 168

14 New Comrades 178

15 Agitprop 188

16 Theatre of Action 201

17 Living in London and Dreaming of Moscow 213

18 Megaphones to Microphones 224

Part 2 (1945-1989)

19 Theatre Workshop 237

20 On the Road 251

21 Enter Alan Lomax 260

22 Into the Folk Revival 277

23 Radio Ballads 301

24 Singing and Song-Writing 328

25 The Joy of Living 342

26 Time Steals on and Steals 361

Epilogue 366

Key to references in notes 376

Notes 378

Index 383