The Knotty - A Musical Documentary (1969) (Full album)
Argo Transacord, the now-defunct record label that existed to issue Peter Handford's field recordings of steam locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s, produced in 1969 this cast recording of a rather unconventional musical. The play is a very early piece of verbatim theatre, produced by the Victoria Theatre Company in Stoke-On-Trent, England, UK. It features text from primary historical sources intermingled with guitar-accompanied original folk songs and brief field recordings of trains, among other things. Here is an imperfect digitization of the record; I hope you enjoy.
From the liner notes:
\"A musical documentary about the great days of the railways and particularly the North Staffordshire Railway, 'The Knotty'; from the stage coach era of the 1820's, to the railway amalgamation of 1923.
Adapted from Peter Cheeseman's 1969 production of 'The Knotty' for the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent; with the cast of the Victoria Theatre and the voices of railwaymen who worked on the North Staffordshire Railway.
Based on information from historical research by Peter Terson and originally created in 1966, by the Victoria Theatre Company under the direction of Peter Cheeseman.\"
The cast: Christopher Bond, Gillian Brown, Alan David, Anjula Harman, Geoffrey Larder, Christopher Martin, Jeff Parton, Ann Raitt, Susan Tracy, Arthur Whybrow, and Brian Young; with the voices of N.S.R. workers Fred Adams (passenger guard) and Charles Edward Dawson (engine driver). Sound effects by Transacord Ltd. Produced and recorded by Peter Handford and Kevin Daly.
Track Listing (this track breakdown is my own)
(Side A)
0:00 - \"Three Merry Men of Kent\" / Pre-Railway Days
4:19 - Coaches without horses
5:26 - \"Geordie Stephenson\"
9:32 - \"Towns upon a Hill\"
11:56 - Crewe Junction Melodrama
17:23 - \"Railway Boom Song\"
20:23 - The landowners' complaint
21:18 - \"Paddy Works on the Railway\"
(Side B)
23:48 - The Cutting of the First Sod of the North Staffordshire Railway as Described in a Staffordshire Advertiser Report
26:27 - \"Song of the Navvies\"
32:14 - \"Hurrah for Steam!\"
36:17 - \"Railway Lines\"
38:34 - An Interview with the General Manager of the N.S.R. from the Railway Magazine of February 1899
41:20 - \"First Day on the Lines\"
44:01 - \"Lament of the Footplatemen\"
46:46 - Fred Adams scoffs at an engine
47:37 - \"Amalgamation Song\"
Credits for songs (all words not credited here are, as far as I can tell, drawn from primary historical sources and compiled by Peter Terson):
\"Three Merry Men of Kent\" - Anonymous broadside, 18th century.
\"Geordie Stephenson\" - Words and music by Peter Terson.
\"Towns Upon A Hill\" - Words by Peter Terson. Music by Anne Raitt and Gillian Brown. Sung by Anne Raitt and Gillian Brown.
\"Crewe Junction Melodrama\" - Written by Robert French (former cast member) after an account in the Staffordshire Advertiser of the period.
\"Railway Boom Song\" - Words by Dick Barton. Music traditional (Banks of the Roses).
\"Paddy Works on the Railway\" - Traditional.
\"Song of the Navvies\" - Words by Jeff Parton. Music traditional (Earlsdon Sword Dance Song).
\"Hurrah For Steam\" - Words by Dick Barton. Music by Jeff Parton.
\"Railway Lines\" - Words and music by Gillian Brown. Sung by Anne Raitt and Gillian Brown.
\"First Day on the Line\" - Words by Christopher Martin. Music by Anne Raitt and Gillian Brown.
\"Lament of the Footplatemen\" - Words from two poems by F.W. Skerrett (\"Engine driving as it is\" and \"The Fireman's Growl\"). Music traditional (The Beggarman).
\"Amalgamation Song\" - Words by Christopher Martin. Music by Jeff Parton.
