All in the Downs review – a memorable Shirley Collins celebration

Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

An emotional star-studded tribute to a people legend, with a uncommon appearance by the singer herself

This emotional concert featured a exceptional array of celebrities and one people legend, who was celebrating her 80th birthday in type. Shirley Collins spent a lot of the night within the audience, and eventually arrived on stage before the encore, to be greeted with a spontaneous Glad Birthday to You. She has suffered from dysphonia, and infrequently sung in public because the early 1980s, however now she joined in the sing-along finale of Hundreds Or More, the cheerful Copper Household track about not needing riches to be completely happy.

Shirley Collins has had a unprecedented career, as song-collector, writer and a singer who revived long-forgotten songs together with her pure, haunting voice, and who was all the time prepared to experiment. Her best-known recordings have been made in the 60s and 70s, however her persevering with influence was proven by the forged right here. The show opened with eight artists performing songs (principally) from her repertoire, with Blur’s Graham Coxon including impressive people baroque guitar to his sturdy acoustic remedy of Merciless Mother, Alasdair Roberts offering a strong unaccompanied rendition of Lord Gregory, and Olivia Chaney at the piano for a cool transforming of All Things Are Fairly Silent.