BBC Radio Ballads : The Travelling People

Broadcast on 17 April 1964, The Travelling People radio ballad took as its subject the gypsy and tinker population of Britain.Originally produced for the BBC, each one-hour radio-ballad consisted of recorded actuality from members of the public, a script and songs made by Ewan MacColl, musical arrangments and direction by Peggy Seeger, production and editing by Charles Parker, musical participation by singers and instrumentalists and ingenious procedures innovated by BBC technicians. The final programs were tapestries of speech, sound and song and were considered revolutionary for their time. They opened up new vistas and techniques for radio documentaries and many of Ewan MacColl's most popular songs were made for them. MacColl’s songs The Travelling People and Moving on was so true to their lives that it was taken up by travellers and absorbed into their repertoire#

The bulk of the recording fell to  MacColl and Seeger, who were already familiar with traveller families from earlier collecting sessions. They spent almost a month in tents, kitchens and caravans, at horse fairs and around campfires in Glasgow, Blairgowrie, Montrose and Aberdeen, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Birmingham, London, Hampshire and Dorset. The travellers were natural subjects with their rich folk life, songs, legends and inborn gift for storytelling; they were also a fascinating social study, maintaining fierce pride and independence in the face of constant hostility and persecution. 

Originally produced for the BBC, each one-hour radio-ballad consisted of recorded actuality from members of the public, a script and songs made by Ewan MacColl, musical arrangments and direction by Peggy Seeger, production and editing by Charles Parker, musical participation by singers and instrumentalists and ingenious procedures innovated by BBC technicians. The final programs were tapestries of speech, sound and song and were considered revolutionary for their time. They opened up new vistas and techniques for radio documentaries and many of Ewan MacColl's most popular songs were made for them. MacColl’s songs The Travelling People and Moving on was so true to their lives that it was taken up by travellers and absorbed into their repertoire.

A phenomenal  timeless piece of work The Travelling People is an examination of the Romany people in Britain, it serves mostly as a condemnation of attitudes toward them and their nomadic lifestyle, which, as reflected in many of the soundbites, were not complimentary. People simply didn't want them around, calling them "tinkers" and things much worse, as "I Mean, We're Fed Up With Gypsies Living in Our Area" highlights, with the incident of a woman about to give birth being moved on by the police. The attitudes were reflected in other ways too, like the boy who spent several years in the same grade without being taught to read or write, because, the teacher explained, "he's the best message boy I've ever had." But this programme did  more than simply look at the negatives. It examined the life of the gypsies, the way they'd settle in the winter time, or how traveling was part of their nature. MacColl's songs are among the finest he wrote for the radio ballad series, and the accompaniment is richer and fuller than before, and the singers,, people like Belle Stewart, Joe Heaney, and Jane Stewart,  serve the material brilliantly. They become integrated into the whole program , that's intelligently fashioned to bring out a whole picture, one which is sympathetic to the travelers, but also allows for opposing views. The listener comes away educated, and also humbled by the quiet pride of these people. 

 Mac Coll’s songs The Travelling People and Moving on was so true to their lives that it was taken up by travellers and absorbed into their repertoire. Meanwhile however the plight of the travellers a  people who live on the margins of our society who are still treated with suspicion to this day by the rest of the population. and persecuted around the world and still subject to discrimination in modern day Europe.

They are now house-bound, stuck in the worst part of our housing estates, but still suffering all the jibes that their ancestors did. Traditional stopping places  have became harder to find and travellers find themselves increasingly pitched against the interests of the settled population and land owners. Their persecution has become virtually normalised by the failure of central and local government to enforce their rights and protect them. Sadly, many countries in Europe still use their difference in culture as an excuse to systemically oppress them. Many public programs turn away members of the travelling community from health care, employment, housing, and other social services.

In addition to this for around two decades, from the late ’60s to the ’80s, councils were required by law to provide sites for Gypsies and travellers. Some councils complied with the law. Many didn’t, and carried on as if the law of the land was irrelevant. And in the weeks before the general election, dozens of Tory candidates shamelessly made “inflammatory and discriminatory statements about Gypsies, Roma and Travellers” as a vote-catcher, promising action against local traveller camps, according to research and campaign group OpenDemocracy.

The modern history of travelling people in Britain is one of discrimination and persecution enshrined in law. The Travelling People may be over 40 years old but its message is as punchy as ever,

Nevertheless, these proud  people, descendants from Romany migrants who migrated from  Europe to the shores of Britain from the latter half of the sixteenth century are difficult to completely erase, and the ancient lifestyle survives to this day, a history of endurance and resilience, We must continue to support their right to live  as they choose, opposing all forms of prejudice and discrimination and prejudice  inflicted upon them.and allow them to be given the respect and tolerance that they  truly deserve.