All in the Downs review – a memorable Shirley Collins celebration

Queen Elizabeth Corridor, London

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

This emotional live performance 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 viewers, and eventually arrived on stage earlier than the encore, to be greeted with a spontaneous Completely satisfied Birthday to You. She has suffered from dysphonia, and infrequently sung in public because the early 1980s, but now she joined in the sing-along finale of Hundreds Or Extra, the cheerful Copper Household track about not needing riches to be comfortable.

Shirley Collins has had a unprecedented profession, as song-collector, author 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 continuing affect was shown by the forged 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 Cruel Mom, Alasdair Roberts providing a strong unaccompanied rendition of Lord Gregory, and Olivia Chaney at the piano for a cool transforming of All Things Are Quite Silent.