Phil Tanner

Phil Tanner (16 February 1862 – 19 February 1950) was a traditional singer from Llangenith in the Gower Peninsula (South Wales).

Phil Tanner
Background information
Birth namePhillip Tanner
Born(1862-02-16)16 February 1862
Llangennith, West Gower, Glamorgan, Wales
Died19 February 1950(1950-02-19) (aged 88)
Eventide Home, Penmaen,
South Gower
GenresTraditional folk, lilting, music hall
Occupation(s)Singer, weaver, farm labourer, pub host, organiser of folk customs, raconteur
Years activeca.1880–1950

Songs and singing style

Tanner was an invaluable source of several once popular English language folk songs, such as the Child Ballads "Barbara Allen"[1] and "Henry Martin",[2] as well as the songs "Sweet Primroses"[3] and "The Bonny Bunch of Roses",[4] all of which were recorded in the 1930s and 40s. His performance of the local Gower wassailing song became known as "Gower Wassail" and was printed by A.L. Lloyd and covered by popular folk groups including Steeleye Span.

His songs were all in the English language, using the Gower dialect, since the Gower of his youth was still culturally distinct from the rest of Wales, and his style of singing is compared to that of English singers.

Audience and broadcasts

Renowned locally as "the Gower Nightingale", he reached a national audience in his seventies with recordings for Columbia and the BBC and an appearance on the BBC radio programme In Town Tonight.[5] Shortly before he died, he was featured in an article by John Ormond Thomas for Picture Post,[6] and recorded once again by the BBC.

Legacy

In 1976, he was remembered in a BBC Radio 4 tribute by the Welsh radio broadcaster Wynford Vaughan-Thomas recalling "the voice of the sanest, happiest, kindest eccentric I ever knew, the voice of Phil Tanner, the Gower Nightingale".[7]

His recordings have been reissued several times, most notably on the CD The Gower Nightingale,[8] which also includes the Wynford Vaughan-Thomas radio programme.

The editor of one reissue, the eminent folklorist Alan Lomax wrote: "When Phil died, England lost her best traditional singer".[9]

Folk revival musicians were inspired by Tanner's songs, particularly "Gower Wassail".[10]

Further reading
  • Phil Tanner in the Peter Kennedy Collection, British Library Sounds
  • You Tube "Welsh Folk Singer Phil Tanner Didles the Gower Reel and Sings the Wassail Song 1947"

References
  1. "Barbara Allen (Roud Folksong Index S136912)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  2. "Young Henry Martin (Roud Folksong Index S166628)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  3. "Sweet Primroses (Roud Folksong Index S162563)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  4. "The Bonny Bunch of Roses (Roud Folksong Index S170053)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  5. Fraser, Doug. Phil Tanner, 1862-1950, in Taplas, the Voice of Folk in Wales February/March 200. Reproduced at Folkwales Online Magazine
  6. Thomas, John Ormond. The Old Singer. Picture Post; March 19, 1947. Reproduced at Folkwales Online Magazine
  7. Vaughan-Thomas, Wynford. Amiable Eccentrics. Programme 4 The Gower Nightingale. Broadcast February 15, 1976 on BBC Radio4. Reproduced on CD The Gower Nightingale (2003)
  8. Phil Tanner The Gower Nightingale. 2003. Veteran VT145CD
  9. Lomax, Alan. Note to Columbia World Library of Folk and Primitive Music. Volume I England. Columbia SL-206 (LP) 1955. Reissued as World Library of Folk and Primitive Music. Volume I England. Rounder CD 1741 (1998)
  10. "Wassail Song / Gower Wassail (Roud 209)". mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
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