It’s been a sad day, but one in which it’s also been heartening to see the community sharing happy memories of Norma Waterson, who has died at the age of 82.
We’re fortunate to have lots of recordings and video clips of Norma singing, though of course they can never quite capture the real thing: being there to witness a live performance, where it felt like she could vibrate the room. In a local newspaper review of the Bright Phoebus Revisited tour of 2013, I struggled to capture it: “Norma shone on Red Wine Promises, singing about cheap plonk and lies in a voice as rich and rewarding as the finest Beaujolais.” My features editor, somehow intuiting what I was driving at, changed the wine, to Bordeaux – “something with a bit more guts”, she said. Well… correct.
There are countless examples. Red Wine Promises is as good a place as any to start: somehow she made it wry, romantic, mournful and warm, all at the same time. Listen to her sing Sweet Loving Friendship in harmony with her brother, Mike, from Peter Bellamy’s folk opera, The Transports – it’s bright-eyed, hopeful and lively. Then consider her version of Michael Marra’s The Beast, from 2018’s collaboration with her daughter Eliza, Anchor. It’s dignified, weighed with sorrow… and completely devastating. What connects all these performances (and many, many more, of course) is her humanity – I never met Norma, but she always radiated wit and warmth on stage. During a Waterson:Carthy show, she once related to the audience the belief that when one sang, one didn’t age. Then, looking around at her family, she laughed. “What happened to us, then?”
Others have summed up the many other facets of Norma’s life and career better than I could – and if you don’t know about her pioneering, fascinating story, I recommend looking into it. But for now I’m off to raise a glass of something in her memory. Something red. With a bit of guts. Cheers, Norma.
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