Tayla shares details of this upcoming Isle of Wight premiere taking place at Quay Arts. Ed
A new documentary about a folk music legend, made with the help of two Islanders, is to get its Wight premiere on Monday (27th November).
‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’ chronicles the singer’s battle, at the grand age of 80, to reclaim the singing voice that she lost in mysterious circumstances years ago. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Shirley was heralded as one of the most important figures in British folk – and her legendary status is upheld to this day.
Monday night screening
The award-winning feature-length film about her, which premiered at the BFI and Raindance film festivals in London last month, will be screened at Newport’s Quay Arts on Monday evening.
There to watch will be Quay Arts manager, Paul Armfield, who recorded a song for the album that helped raise funds for the movie project, and Andy Barding from Cowes, who worked on the shooting of the film earlier this year.
Paul said:
“I heard through a friend about the fund-raising album ‘Shirley Inspired’ and submitted my version of ‘Adieu To Old England’ a song that she used to sing, and was pleased to have it included.
“Her story is so fascinating and her approach to music and song is so refreshingly honest and true, a real inspiration to me and so many others. And it’s not just musicians that she inspires, comedian Stewart Lee and graphic novelist Alan Moore are both fans who have been proactive in helping to get the film made.”
Can’t wait to see what people make of it
Andy added:
“It was thrilling to meet Shirley and to work on the production of what has turned out to be a deeply moving and poignant film.
“My role was to transport the cast and crew around the south of England, where directors Rob Curry and Tim Plester did a staggeringly good job of making the rainy English countryside appear like the American South in the late 1950s!
“I’m absolutely thrilled that the movie is being screened on the Island, and I can’t wait to see what people make of it.”
Where and when
‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’ is screened at Quay Arts on Monday, 27th November.
Paul Armfield will be joined by a handful of other Island performers singing a selection of songs from Shirley’s repertoire before the screening at 7.30pm on Monday Nov 27th.
Tickets are £10 and are available from Quay Arts.
