Live at the BBC

Description

Dick Gaughan – Live at the BBC: 1972–79

This is the first release of any BBC recordings made by the legendary Scottish singer, guitarist and traditional music interpreter – 10 tracks selected for wider release from the forthcoming limited-edition Dick Gaughan box set R/evolution: 1969/83 (released by Gaughan Recordings via Last Night From Glasgow in February 2026).

Dick Gaughan was professionally active from 1970–2016, retiring on health grounds and living now quietly in Edinburgh. While Handful of Earth (1981) remains his most lauded single body of work, it marked, for the artist himself, the end of an era – the absolute best that he could do within traditional music. From then on, he focused on contemporary songs.

With most of Gaughan’s 1970s albums long unavailable, Live at the BBC presents 10 fabulous performances from that ‘lost decade’ taken from BBC master tapes, all remastered and pitch-corrected exclusively for this release by Eroc – and revealing the magnificence of Dick Gaughan’s early music for the twenty-first century listener.

The booklet contains a new appreciation of Dick Gaughan in the 70s written by fellow folk legend Martin Simpson along with rare period photos and an essay by Colin Harper.

The download version of the album represents the only part of the R/evolution: 1969/83 audio content that will be made available in this way – available exclusively from: https://talkingelephantrecords.bandcamp.com/

1. Floo’ers o’ the Forest (trad arr Bain, McConnell, Gaughan, Morton) 3:52
2. Rigs o’ Rye (trad arr Bain, McConnell, Gaughan, Morton) 4:03
3. Farewell to Whisky (trad arr Gaughan) 3:46
4. Freedom Come All Ye (Hamish Henderson) 2:34
5. My Donald (Owen Hand) 4:10
6. Rashy Moor (trad arr Gaughan) 3:33
7. Raglan Road (Patrick Kavanagh) 4:37
8. Fair Flower o’ Northumberland (trad arr Gaughan) 4:30
9. Willie o’ Winsbury (trad arr Gaughan) 7:25
10. MacCrimmon’s Lament (trad arr Gaughan) 3:50

Sources:

Track 1 Listen Here Awhile, Radio 4, 16/11/72

Track 2 Listen Here Awhile, Radio 4, 29/12/72

Tracks 3–6 John Peel, Radio 1, 27/7/77