On 26th January, acclaimed singer-songwriter Johnny Campbell, who has spent his career so far exploring the songs and stories of northern England, will release his new album, True North (pre-order today via Bandcamp – Digital/CD/Vinyl). A labour of love, the album features collaborations with Liverpool virtuoso fiddle player Mikey Kenney and Northumbrian duo The Brothers Gillespie.
The album gathers together field recordings of traditional songs from the north, each recorded at the highest point of its given county. From Northumberland and Durham to Lancashire and Merseyside, Campbell has travelled the length and breadth of the north to collect these recordings on or close to the summit of each spot. Each recording documents a moment in time, captured for posterity on a fell or desolate moor, with the album as a whole capturing a tapestry of the north. These recordings are not refined to perfection or studio-polished, but living and breathing songs, just as they’ve been passed down through the generations.
It is through these songs that Campbell explores the symbiotic connections between the land, the music, the stories and the history that has shaped northern identity – from chartism and co-operatives to the Labour movement. The landscapes of the north are inextricably linked with our social history. The hills and streams that powered the Industrial Revolution, in turn, played a key role in social hierarchy and even the transatlantic slave trade. The album is, therefore, a journey into the psychogeography of northern England, expressed through the medium of traditional song.
Taken from the album, watch the video for Here’s the Tender Coming / The Keel Row, on which Campbell is joined by The Brothers Gillespie. It was recorded live on Tyne and Wear’s highest point, Currock Hill. While recording the video and song wasn’t without its challenges, it’s the fact that this was captured outdoors in the very landscape that inspired this album that makes it so potent and authentic. While we can sometimes feel an indescribable deep connection to some folk songs, it’s the singer/s that carry the song, they weave the spell that brings that song to life, and I totally fell under this one…
Here’s the Tender Coming / The Keel Row is also our Song of the Day.
Johnny Campbell on the song and video:
The song tackles the story of ‘Press Gangs’, who operated on Tyneside during the French wars. The pressing tenders were floating prison ships, where ‘recruits’ were assembled before moving onto various ships. Both songs, created into a medley, are from Tyneside. The purpose of the album is to broach specific songs that tackle themes, such as identity in each county, whether they are industrial songs, work songs, sea songs, or, in this case, recruitment / anti-war song. Once complete, the album comes with a zine, which links in detail a tapestry of Northern English identity through traditional song.
The Brothers Gillespie, good friends of mine, are a Northumberland-based duo with strong links to Tyneside. The song is recorded on Currock Hill, the highest point of Tyne and Wear, offering far-reaching views across the Tyne Valley, North Pennines, Northumberland National Park and to The Cheviot, Northumberland’s highest point, where one of the other recordings of the album was undertaken. Currock Hill isn’t a regular summit to ascend, having no marker to signify its prominence and no formal public footpath of access. Uniquely, its summit is part of a gliding club’s airfield! Thankfully, no gliders were taking off that day!
Recording this song was complicated further by having to record the video and audio for the same time, with the added complication of recording outdoors, so every aspect of the take – audio, video, weather, had to be on form!
Working with The Brothers Gillespie was a delight, having collaborated before on the B-Side of a previous vinyl single release, Winter Hill Trespass, though this time as a main single release.
Originally starting as a lockdown project on Patreon in mid-2020, the album is the final part of a trilogy of releases that explore our connection (and disconnection) to the land around us, including Winter Hill Trespass (2021) and A Right to Roam (2022). With 92% of England out of bounds, the album shines a light once again on the issue of land access. One of the recordings was even made on MOD land, which Campbell had to apply to walk on, further underlining the issue at hand.
The search for ‘True North’, is also part of the concept of the album and refers to a personal and collective journey that has driven mankind for millennia. From religious texts across all faiths, to the Holy Grail and the belief in a better place somewhere, mankind has always searched for truth, meaning and something more.
Speaking about the release, Johnny says, “This album is about living in the present, and feeling the connection between traditional songs and the world around us. Each track captures a moment in time, and these moments are fleeting and precious. For me, that’s what life is all about.”
Alongside his music-making, Campbell’s knowledge of radical histories, landscape and geography have earned him a freelance writing role with Britain’s most popular walking magazine, Country Walking, as well as praise from author Nick Hayes, a feature on BBC Radio 4 ‘Open Country’ and an episode of the award-winning Folk on Foot podcast.
True North will be released on 26th January 2024.
Pre-order today via Bandcamp – Digital/CD/Vinyl
Live Dates
6 March – Nether Edge Folk Club, Sheffield
9 March – Cwtch Coffee, Pembroke Dock
10 March – Old King Arms, Pembroke Dock
14 March – Lightship, Blyth
15 March – Flowergate Hall, Whitby
18 March – Stirling Folk Club
20 March – Harrogate Folk Club
22 March – Kings Place, London (Supporting Angeline Morrison)
23 March – UpCo, Otley
28 March – Live To Your Living Room (Online)
1 April – Green Note, London
2 April – Dartford Folk Club
4 April – The Victory, Hereford
6 April – The Fleece Inn, Bretforton
27 April – Kinder Trespass event
28 April – Polegate Bluebell Roots
All tickets at www.johnnycampbell.co.uk/tour