Month: April 2014

The folk boom of the sixties carried on into the seventies, but became a lot more commercial in the process.  The three big female folk stars in the UK were Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior and June Tabor.  Of the three I think most people would agree that the one with the best voice was June Tabor.  She also had a seriousness of purpose and a sort of honesty.  Whereas Sandy Denny worked with Fairport Convention and  Maddy Prior fronted Steel Eye Span, June Tabor always seemed more concerned with expressing herself and never really went in for the compromises attendant on being part of a group.  Consequently she was the darling of the critics and didn’t sell that many records.

Ulster, Texas, Algeria, Crimea are all examples of one of the things that empires do.  A good way of expanding your authority is to move populations around.  Ideally you move people who are reliably on your side and get them to live where people who don’t recognise your authority are currently living.   It’s just how empires operate.  I imagine that they have done it since empires have started.  It is good to have this historical perspective on the current crisis in the Ukraine.