Kate Rusby

**Kate Anna Rusby** (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British national folk festivals, and is one of the best known contemporary English folk singers. In 2001 The Guardian described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies". She is one of the few folk singers to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Rusby was born into a family of musicians in 1973 in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. After learning to play the guitar, the fiddle and the piano, as well as to sing, she played in many local folk festivals as a child and adolescent, before joining (and becoming the lead vocalist of) the all-female Celtic folk band the Poozies. 1995 saw the release of her breakthrough album, Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts, a collaboration with her friend and fellow Barnsley folk singer Kathryn Roberts. In 1997, with the help of her family, Rusby recorded and released her first solo album, Hourglass. Since then she has gone on to receive acclaim in her home country and abroad and her family continues to help her with all aspects of her professional career.

## Links to Kershaw

Before introducing Kate Rusby to the crowd at the Live Line Up festival in Edinburgh, broadcast on 23 August 2002, Kershaw described the moment he heard Kate Rusby's debut album, Hourglass:

> *"I went to the TT Races in 1997 and just grabbed a bunch of CD's before I left and put on Hourglass and I thought blimey, this is like the most exhilarating thing I've heard since the Clash. Would you please welcome (crowds cheer). My misses says she's one of your girls isn't she. The great Kate Rusby"*
>
>

Kate Rusby's name first appeared on Kershaw's playlist in 1995 and as a supporter of her music, he appeared on her DVD, Kate Rusby - Live In Leeds, where he interviewed the singer about her life.

## Sessions

1. Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 02 June 1997

* Unknown set

2. Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 01 December 1997

* Sir Eglamore / Annan Waters / Radio Sweethearts / Bold Riley

3. Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 14 January 1999. Repeated: 20 April 2000

* The Sweet Bride / I Wonder What's Keeping / The Wild Goose / I Courted A Sailor (session)

4. Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 20 July 2001

* The Cobbler’s Daughter / Withered And Died / I Courted A Sailor / The Fairest Of All Yarrow / Who Will Sing Me Lullabies?

5. Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 22 August 2003

* Cruel / Polly / Falling / The Goodman

6. Recorded: unknown. First Broadcast: 16 October 2005

* Mary Blaize / You Belong To Me / Elfin Knight / Some Tyrant

## Live

Recorded at the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House. First Broadcast: Women In Folk (1999-12-04)

1. The Fairest Of All Yarrow
2. Sho Heen
3. The Cobbler`s Daughter
4. Botany Bay

Recorded at the Live Line Up Festival in Edinburgh. First Broadcast: 23 August 2002

1. The Cobbler's Daughter
2. The Fairest Of All Yarrow
3. Let The Cold Wind Blow
4. Botany Bay

## Other Shows Played

1995
* 16 July 1995 (& Kathryn Roberts): Hunting The Hare (album - Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts) Compass
* 16 July 1995 (& Kathryn Roberts): The Constant Lovers (album - Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts) Compass

1996
* 09 June 1996: Annan Waters (v/a CD - Evolving Tradition 2) Mrs Casey

1997
* 21 April 1997: Bold Riley (CD - Hourglass) Pure
* 23 June 1997: The Drowned Lovers (CD - Hourglass) Pure
* 03 November 1997: Old Man Time (CD - Hourglass) Pure
* 08 December 1997: Sir Eglamore (CD - Hourglass) Pure
* 22 December 1997: The Drowned Lovers (CD - Hourglass) Pure

1998
* 12 November 1998: Cow Song (CD single) Pure

1999
* 25 February 1999: Annan Waters (CD - Hourglass) Pure
* 29 April 1999: The Cobbler's Daughter (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 29 April 1999: Sweet Bride (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 06 May 1999: Sho Heen (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 13 May 1999: The Duke And The Tinker (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 03 June 1999: The Unquiet Grave (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 01 July 1999: The Wild Goose (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 05 August 1999: Our Town (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 11 November 1999: The Cobblers Daughter (CD - Sleepless) Pure
* 30 December 1999: The Cobbler's Daughter (CD - Sleepless) Pure

2000
* 10 February 2000: The Wild Goose (CD - Sleepless) Pure

2001
* 01 June 2001: Canaan’s Land (CD - Little Lights) Pure
* 22 June 2001: Some Tyrant (CD - Little Lights) Pure
* 13 July 2001: Withered & Died (CD - Little Lights) Pure

2002
* 16 August 2002: Withered And Died (CD - Little Lights) Pure
* 15 November 2002: Bold Riley (CD - 10) Pure

2003
* 18 April 2003: Let The Cold Wind Blow (CD - Heartlands) Pure
* 15 August 2003: Cruel (CD - Underneath The Stars) Pure
* 28 September 2003: The White Cockade (CD - Underneath The Stars) Pure

2004
* 08 February 2004: Underneath The Stars (CD - Underneath The Stars) Pure

2005
* 09 January 2005: Wandering Soul (v/a CD - Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand) Pure
* 10 July 2005: Wandering Soul (CD - Billy Connolly's Musical Tour Of New Zealand) Pure
* 11 September 2005: Mary Blaize (CD - The Girl Who Couldn't Fly) Pure
* 18 September 2005: Game Of All Fours (CD - The Girl Who Couldn't Fly) Pure
* 09 October 2005: A Ballad (CD - The Girl Who Couldn't Fly) Pure

2006
* 01 January 2006: The Bonnie House Of Airlie (CD - The Girl Who Couldn't Fly) Pure

2007
* 14 January 2007: Hunting The Hare (album - Kate Rusby & Kathryn Roberts) Pure
* 05 March 2007: Curtains (v/a album - The Songs Of The Radio Ballads) Gott Discs

2022
* Andy Kershaw Podcast Episode 13: Drowned Lovers (album - Hourglass) Pure

## External Links

* Wikipedia
* Discogs
* Official Websute