Catch Me if You Can: Songs from Cornish Travellers
Preorder Available Now
Songs from a West Country travelling family sung by Sophie Legg, Betsy Renals, and Charlotte Renals, recorded in 1978 by Pete Coe. With previously unreleased interviews. (VTR119)
This new edition of Catch Me if You Can (the first for 23 years) includes rediscovered interview excerpts, bringing the singers’ stories to life in their own words.
Sitting alongside the wonderful singing of Betsy, Charlotte and Sophie, the previously unpublished interviews transport the listener back in time, as they paint a picture of a way of life now passed. Anti-Gypsy prejudice has been dubbed ‘the last acceptable for a racism’, and bringing first-person voices to the fore is an essential tool in combating such prejudice. After all, they were ‘local people, that was all, just living in a different way.’ Perhaps the most evocative interview clip is the final track: ‘when the spring comes, the spirit moves – the gypsy in my soul starts to wander’.
Updated booklet notes give an overview of Pete Coe’s journey recording the tracks back in 1978, and histories of the songs themselves from Mike Yates. Family Photos – courtesy of the Legg family – are also included, offering a glimpse into a world long faded.
Launch Events:
Launch concerts featuring Pete Coe and Mossy Christian, together with Sophie Legg’s children (also traditional Cornish singers) Vic Legg and Viv Legg will take place over the summer at national festivals:
Sidmouth Folk Week (Devon) – Wednesday 6th August
Dartmoor Folk Festival (Devon) – Sunday 10th August
Whitby Folk Week (North Yorks) – Thursday 28th August
Release Info: Pre-order is now open and runs until the release date on the 6th of August, then available to buy from the same links.
CD (£12.99) – Duplicated CD in 4 panel digipack case with booklet – purchase here
Digital Download (£9.95) – Includes three bonus tracks and PDF booklet – download here