The Sweet Primeroses

Topic Records are proud to present here for the first time the Original Shirley Collins album The Sweet Primeroses plus bonus material by way of the From Heros Of Love Topic E.P. with sleeve notes by Colin Irwin and photos by Brian Shuel and packaged with the original album artwork.

During the 1960s and '70s Shirley Collins was regarded by many as the first lady of folk music, the subsequent decades have only served to enhance that reputation. Between 1955 and 1978 she recorded for the Folkways, Argo, Harvest and Topic labels. After the release of 'For As Many As Will' in 1978 she withdrew from performing and the music world after developing dysphonia. Shirley recently returned to recording after a very long hiatus and is still widely acknowledged as one of the finest singers and ambassadors to have emerged during the Folksong Revival of the 1960s.

Few singers of the English folk revival have attempted as much on record as Collins an extraordinary combination of fragility and power. "I like music to be fairly straightforward, simply embellished the performance without histrionics allowing you to think about the song rather than telling you what to think." Through an impressive series of experimental recordings Shirley established an extraordinarily sympathetic marriage of traditional songs handed down through generations of rural labouring people with ground breaking contemporary arrangements recordings that have scarcely been equalled in subsequent decades. Topic Records are proud to announce the release of the classic Topic album The Sweet Primeroses album as part of its Topic Treasures releases in 2019. Featuring original artwork and sleeve notes by respected folk journalist Colin Irwin as well as additional photos of Shirley and Dolly Collins by Brian Shuel.

All Things Are Quite Silent
Cambridgeshire May Carol
Spencer The Rover
The Rigs Of The Time
Polly Vaughan
The Cruel Mother
The Bird In The Bush
The Streets Of Derry
Brigg Fair
Higher Germanie
George Collins
The Babes In The Woods
Down In Yon Forest
The Magpie's Nest
False True Love
The Sweet Primeroses
The False Bride
Locks And Bolts
Rambleaway
A Blacksmith Courted Me