It has not been a great start to 2022 for Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy, now 82 and 80 years old. Like many artists, their income relies heavily on live performances, which of course, have been heavily impacted by COVID over the past two years.
Added to this, Norma has not been able to perform for some time due to illness and their daughter, the super-talented Eliza Carthy and her two children moved back home to help care for her 11 years ago. Norma was recently hospitalized for pneumonia and a recent update from Eliza this week states she is now on “antibiotics/steroids” and in isolation. At the same time, Martin and Eliza tested positive recently, so they are grounded at home, which has meant some recent dates have been postponed (see dates below).
To help raise funds for them, Eliza is asking for donations via Ko-Fi. In her own words: “They urgently need funds to tide them over until the pandemic lifts and Martin and Eliza can return to touring and again become self-sufficient. During the pandemic, Eliza recorded a new album. Once touring resumes there will be that extra income stream plus the small income derived from the limited releases of the Waterson Family Archive. Until then the family is hard-pressed, and any donations you can make will be greatly appreciated.”
So far, the response from fans has been great, although they had the added stress of Paypal locking their account where the donations are made – this has now been resolved.
Anyone who knows anything about British Folk music will know the part that Martin and Norma have played in shaping and influencing folk music through their recordings and the love, warmth and support they have always displayed both on and off stage. I’ll be the first to hold my hand up to say that Martin Carthy and The Watersons played a huge part in me starting Folk Radio, and listening to their music is, for me, still like being greeted by a warm fire on a winter’s day.
Give them some love and support via Eliza’s Ko-Fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/elizacarthy
From a 2018 Folk Radio interview with Norma and Eliza:
“Well, I’ve been on this Earth for nearly eighty years now,” Norma explains. “My grandmother, who brought us up, was half Irish and a travelling lady, and she was very eclectic in her musical tastes. She was a lovely singer and knew a lot of parlour ballads and musical songs she had learned from her childhood, and we all used to sing them. We also had an uncle who played lead cornet as a young man in the Pit bands in the early days of sound cinema; I had another uncle who played the banjo and organ and my dad played guitar and banjo. Most of them liked different things, so we had a very eclectic musical upbringing and there was no music we weren’t allowed to listen to. It wasn’t like ‘oh no you don’t want to listen to The Beatles or Elvis Presley!’ My grandmother didn’t care, she said ‘if it’s a good tune and a good song then it’s a good tune and a good song’. It’s better to let children choose what they listen to, because in the end, they will choose the good stuff.”
From a Folk Radio interview with Eliza and Norma (read it here)
Originally broadcast on Channel 4 in 1999, here are Martin, Norma and Eliza with the much-missed John Peel:
BBC Documentary:
Martin and Eliza Carthy 2022 TOUR DATES
JAN 21 LYME REGIS MARINE THEATRE (Postponed)
JAN 22 HERTFORD ST ANDREW’S (Postponed)
JAN 23 SHREWSBURY HENRY TUDOR HOUSE (Postponed)
JAN 29 DUBLIN TRADFEST
FEB 04 CARDIFF ACAPELA STUDIO – SOLD OUT
MAR 12 LONDON KINGS PLACE
MAR 18 OTLEY COURTHOUSE
MAR 19 BRADFORD-ON-AVON WMCL- TICKETS
MAR 20 RAMSGATE MUSIC HALL
MAY 29 HAILSHAM PAVILION
MAY 30 COLCHESTER ARTS CENTRE
JUN 04 PORTSOY TOWN HALL
Eliza Carthy Trio
APR 17 CHICHESTER GRAYLINGWELL CHAPEL
APR 18 LEICESTER MUSICIAN
APR 19 RUNCORN THE BRINDLEY
APR 20 CARMARTHEN LYRIC- TICKETS
APR 21 BINGLEY ARTS CENTRE
APR 22 LONDON THE GOOSE IS OUT
APR 23 CALSTOCK OLD CHAPEL
APR 24 SHOREHAM ROPETACKLE
APR 25 FROME CHEESE & GRAIN
Eliza Carthy and Saul Rose
JUN 19 SEVENOAKS ST EDITH FOLK CLUB
Eliza Carthy & The Restituion
JUN 19 MIDDLEWICH FOLK & BOAT FESTIVAL
More details and ticket links here: https://www.eliza-carthy.com/