Elaine "Lal" Waterson (15 February 1943 – 4 September 1998) was an English folk singer and songwriter. She sang with, among others, the Watersons, the Waterdaughters and Blue Murder. She was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1998, she died suddenly in Robin Hood's Bay, of cancer diagnosed only ten days before. Radio Times stated "Lal Waterson's voice was stark but captivating, her songs lyrically ambitious and melodically powerful."

Lal Waterson was the sister of Norma Waterson and Mike Waterson, the aunt of Eliza Carthy and the sister-in-law of Martin Carthy. She was married to George Knight and had two children, Oliver Knight and Maria Gilhooley, with both of whom she recorded albums.

Biography

Lal, Norma, and Mike Waterson were orphans and brought up by their grandmother who was of part gypsy descent. Always very close, they began singing together, with cousin John Harrison, in the 1950s, with Lal 'singing unexpected harmonies.' Having opened their own folk club in a pub in the fishing port of Hull where they grew up, by the mid-1960s they had developed their own unaccompanied style singing harmony style re-workings of traditional English songs. In 1968, they stopped touring and became geographically separate for the first time – Norma went to Montserrat, and Lal to Leeds where her husband George lived, while Mike stayed in Hull. Both Mike and Lal were writing songs and when Lal returned to Hull they began working together. When Martin Carthy heard Lal's songs, he found them extraordinary. At this time Carthy was in the folk-rock band Steeleye Span and he told the bass player Ashley Hutchings about Lal and Mike's songs and together they arranged to have them recorded, not unaccompanied, but with a backing band that included Carthy, Hutchings and Richard Thompson. Bright Phoebus was released in 1972 and "caused a quiet sensation".

Her songs sometimes echoed traditional material but also involved a variety of other influences – 'some veered towards jazz and ragtime, others like Winifer Odd had a quirky charm worthy of the Beatles, but with bleak lyrics added. Another favourite Fine Horseman, made use of unexpected chords and structures.' Lyrics were as important to her as the music. The writer she admired most was the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud.

Migrating Bird: The Songs of Lal Waterson (2007) is a tribute album, with contributions from James Yorkston, Alasdair Roberts, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Vashti Bunyan, Victoria Williams and others. Jo Freya's album Lal (2007) is another tribute to her.

Her songs have been covered by a series of singers including June Tabor, Billy Bragg, the Fatima Mansions, Lady Maisery, the Unthanks, and Boiled in Lead. Rachel Unthank said: "Her lyrics are so descriptive and evocative... the melodies twist and turn in ways I wouldn't expect, and yet each line seems to melt into each other."

Bright Phoebus, released in 1972 by Lal and Mike Waterson, was reissued in 2017 by Domino. The reissue included previously unheard home demo recordings, and was remastered from the original tapes.

Discography

  • Lal and Mike Waterson – Bright Phoebus (1972)
  • Lal and Norma Waterson – A True Hearted Girl (1977)
  • Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight – Once in a Blue Moon (1996)
  • Lal Waterson & Oliver Knight – A Bed of Roses (1999)

References

  • Obituary – Bright Phoebus Dimmed by John Pilgrim