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.
