Isla Cameron

Isla Cameron (5 March 1927 – 3 April 1980) was a Scottish actress and singer. AllMusic noted that "Cameron was one of a quartet of key figures in England's postwar folk song revival - and to give a measure of her importance, the other three were Ewan MacColl, A. L. Lloyd, and Alan Lomax".[1]

Isla Cameron
Born5 March 1927
Blairgowrie, Scotland
Died3 April 1980(1980-04-03) (aged 53)
Islington, London, England
GenresFolk
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1945–1974

Early life and experience

Isla Cameron was born in Blairgowrie, Scotland,[2] but was brought up in Dorset and Somerset.[1] While trying to become an actress she joined Joan Littlewood who had co-founded the Theatre Workshop in 1945.[1] Joan's husband at the time, Ewan MacColl was to become Cameron's singing partner for much of the 1950s.[1] Peter Kennedy produced a series of Sunday morning BBC radio programs in 1953 and 1954, called As I Roved Out. Two of these were later issued on the Folktrax label, with Cameron singing three folk songs, Seamus Ennis playing uilliann pipes and tin whistle, Ewan MacColl singing some songs and Ron and Bob Copper also singing. In 1956, she appeared in another radio program, Ballads and Blues: Sea Music. In 1960, "The Singers Club" opened in The Princess Louise public house in Holborn, London. It was run by MacColl and his new wife, Peggy Seeger. Cameron became a resident at this folk club, but by this point her film career had taken off.

Acting career

In 1959, Cameron appeared, uncredited, in the film Room at the Top. Her most memorable cinematic moment was in 1961 in the spooky thriller The Innocents where she imitated a child's voice and sang "Oh, Willow Waly". The composer Georges Auric incorporated her singing into the orchestral soundtrack. Another horror film, Nightmare, followed in 1964.[1] She acted in the 1967 version of Far From the Madding Crowd but her contribution was left on the cutting room floor. However, her voice appeared on the soundtrack album, singing "Bushes and Briars" (Julie Christie mimed in the film) and "The Bold Grenadier". Trevor Lucas, later to become the husband of Sandy Denny also sang on the album, and Dave Swarbrick played on some of the tunes.[1] Her biggest acting role was as the stern librarian Miss McKenzie in the 1969 version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, where she could use her Scottish accent to advantage.

Singing career

In 1956, Cameron released a solo album of British folk songs, Through Bushes and Briars,[3] on the Tradition label run by Patrick Clancy of The Clancy Brothers. In 1962, Cameron and Tony Britton recorded Songs of Love, Lust and Loose Living. The following year Peter Kennedy recorded her singing with accompaniment by Jack Armstrong on Northumbrian pipes. She sang songs by Bob Dylan and Bertold Brecht but rarely sang after 1966, when acting took over her life.[1]

Death

She died in her home in Islington, London on 3 April 1980, having apparently choked to death while eating; an obituary in a 1981 issue of Folk Music journal states that she "died after mis-swallowing some food."[4]

Discography

Solo albums
  • 1956: Through Bushes and Briars and Other Songs of the British Isles Tradition TLP 1001
  • 1962: The Best of Isla Cameron Prestige International INT 13042
  • 1964: Lost Love (EP, 5 tracks) Transatlantic TRA EP 109
  • 1966: Isla Cameron Transatlantic XTRA 1040

Peggy Seeger, Isla Cameron and Guy Carawan
  • 1957: Peggy Seeger presents Origins Of Skiffle (EP, four tracks) Pye Jazz NJE 1043

Rory and Alex McEwen and Isla Cameron
  • 1958: Folksong Jubilee HMV CLP 1220

Ewan MacColl and Isla Cameron
  • 1958: Still I Love Him Topic Records 10T50

Isla Cameron and Louis Killen
  • 1961: The Waters of Tyne Prestige International INT 13059

Isla Cameron and Tony Britton
  • 1962: Songs of Love, Lust and Loose Living Transatlantic TRA 105; also issued as Transatlantic XTRA 1042, 1966

Isla Cameron, Bob Davenport, Jack Armstrong & The Rakes
  • 1964: Northumbrian Minstrelsy Concert Hall AM 2339

Singles
  • 1951: "Poor Paddy Works on the Railway" (Ewan MacColl) / "Cannily, Cannily" (Isla Cameron) Topic
  • 1951: "Moses on the Mail" (Ewan MacColl) / "The Fireman's Not For Me" (Isla Cameron) Topic

In 2009, "The Fireman's Not For Me" from the second single was included in Topic Records 70 year anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten as track fifteen on the fourth CD.

Anthologies
  • 1958: English and Scottish Love Songs[5]
  • 1964: Folk Songs: Topic Sampler 1[6]
  • 1967: The Best of Scottish Folk Music[7]
  • 1968: 100 Folk Songs and New Songs
  • 2000: The Best of Scottish Folk[8]
gollark: I would say it is best to just use "they" in all cases ever, yes.
gollark: And since I made a decision, it must have been right.
gollark: I objected to them for some reason I forgot ages ago.
gollark: Distinct from ant**i**unschooling of course.
gollark: No. I undergo anteunschooling.

References
  1. "Isla Cameron | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  2. uncredited liner notes to 1957 EP Peggy Seeger presents Origins Of Skiffle (Peggy Seeger, Isla Cameron and Guy Carawan)
  3. "Isla Cameron | Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  4. Abicair, Shirley (1981). "Isla Cameron 1927-1980". Folk Music Journal. 4: 189–190 – via JSTOR.
  5. "Blackbirds and Thrushes / The Lover's Complaint (Roud 12657)". Mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  6. "Topic Sampler". Mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. "The Best of Scottish Folk [Essential] - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  8. "Various - The Best Of Scottish Folk". Discogs.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
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