The Young Tradition was formed on 18 April 1965 by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood . Most of their repertoire was traditional British folk music, sung without instrumental accompaniment, and was drawn especially from the music of the Copper Family from Sussex, who had a strong oral musical tradition. They augmented the pure folk music with some composed songs which were strongly rooted in the English folk tradition, such as sea shanties written by Cyril Tawney, of which "Chicken on a Raft" was the most notable. In the late 1960s, London became the centre of the English folk music revival and The Young Tradition moved there, sharing a house with John Renbourn, Bert Jansch and Anne Briggs. They recorded three albums as well as an EP on the Transatlantic Records label. Allegedly, the group also had an uncredited cameo appearance singing the Marat, We're Poor chorus on Judy Collins' 1966 In My Life album. They also collaborated with Shirley Collins on an album recorded in 1969 called The Holly Bears the Crown. A single of The Boar's Head Carol was released from these sessions in 1974, but owing in part to the band's 1969 break up, the full album was not released until 1995. Transatlantic also released a compilation record in 1969: The Young Tradition Sampler. Their later work became more influenced by mediaeval music. "Galleries", their last album released during the life of the band, was musically augmented by Dolly Collins, Dave Swarbrick, David Munrow and The Early Music Consort. It included a version of "Agincourt Carol". In 1969, the group split up on account of their different musical preferences, with Bellamy wanting to pursue pure traditional music. Their final concert was at Cecil Sharp House, home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, in October 1969. Royston and Heather Wood continued to work together after the split with Peter Bellamy in 1969, but they did not record again until 1977 when they released No Relation, an album which included Peter Bellamy as guest singer on three tracks and also appearances by guitarists Pete Kirtley and Simon Nicol and bass guitarist Ashley Hutchings. Royston Wood sang briefly with Swan Arcade and died after a car accident in 1990, and Peter Bellamy committed suicide in 1991. Heather Wood has lived in New York City since 1977.
Discography
The Young Tradition - 1965
So Cheerfully Round - 1966
Chicken on a Raft - 1968
Galleries - 1969
The Young Tradition Sampler - 1969
Galleries Revisited - 1973
The Holly Bears the Crown - recorded 1969, released 1995
