Bill Leader (born 26 December 1929) is an English recording engineer and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He is particularly associated with the British

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

revival of the 1960s and 1970s, producing records by

Paddy Tunney Paddy Tunney (28 January 1921 – 7 December 2002) was an Irish traditional singer, poet, writer, raconteur, lilter and songwriter. He was affectionately known as the ''Man of Songs''. From Glasgow to Garvery Tunney was born in Glasgow to Ir ...

, Davey Graham,

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

, John Renbourn, Frank Harte and many others.

Biography

Leader was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, of British parents. His parents returned to the UK while he was still young and he was brought up in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

, Mottingham and Shipley. Even as a child, he wanted to be a recording engineer and he moved back to London in 1955 to work in a film library at the Polish Embassy, with the intention of working in the film industry. He began working for

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...

and particularly recorded some of the Irish folk musicians who were in London in the late 1950s, as well as releasing a Rambling Jack Elliott record for Topic. To supplement the meagre income from his recording work, he took a job in Collett's record shop (specialising in folk, blues and jazz records) in

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

, London. Through his work in the shop, he met Nathan Joseph who had set up Transatlantic Records and, from 1962, began working with him, part-time, as a producer. The early days of recording folk artists in England were characterised by low budgets and improvised technology. In the 1960s, Leader lived in Camden and, using a semi-professional Revox tape recorder, recorded a number of artists in his own flat, sound-proofing the room with blankets and egg boxes. John Renbourn described the early recordings of himself and Bert Jansch, in which Leader proceeded by "setting up the tape machine in the sink and having us play in the broom cupboard".Sleeve notes from ''The Definitive Transatlantic Collection''. In 1969, together with his second wife, Helen, he set up two record labels:

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

and Trailer Records. The Leader label was intended for recordings like those made by

Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, s ...

, with extensive academic liner notes. The Trailer label was focused on the revival scene. A recent compilation of Trailer tracks is ''Never The Same – Leave-Taking From the British Folk Revival 1970–1977'', in which some biographical details are given. Leader was in charge of the Audio Department at University College Salford. In 2009, the accompanying book to the Topic Records 70 year anniversary boxed set ''

Three Score and Ten ''Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People'' is a multi-CD box set album issued by Topic Records in 2009 to celebrate 70 years as an independent British record label. The album consists of a hardback book containing the seven CDs and a paper ...

'' provides Leader's biography. The book lists classic albums, including some engineered or produced by Leader such as ''Her Mantle So Green'' (with Ewan MacColl), '' The Iron Muse'' and ''Frost And Fire'' (both with A.L. Lloyd), and ''Paddy In The Smoke''. He is now retired and is concentrating on transferring his huge collection of 78, 33 and 45 rpm records onto more modern systems. Leader was honoured with a "Good Tradition" award, for his contributions to continuing the tradition of folk music, at the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at The Lowry theatre in Salford on 8 February 2012.

Discography

* '' Woody Guthrie's Blues'' (1955) – Rambling Jack Elliott * ''Her Mantle So Green - Irish Street Songs And Fiddle Tunes'' (1965) – Margaret Barry & Michael Gorman. ote: Recorded By – Bill Leader in 1955-1957 (tracks: A1, A3, A6, B1, B3 to B6), Ewan MacColl in 1965 (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B2)*''John Gibbon's Disc'' (1957) – John Gibbon *''Peggy Seeger'' (1957) – Peggy Seeger * ''Nancy Whiskey Sings'' (1957) – Nancy Whiskey *''3/4 A.D.'' (1962) –

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major i ...

& Davey Graham *'' The Iron Muse (A Panorama of Industrial Folk Songs)'' (1963) – compiled by

A. L. Lloyd Albert Lancaster Lloyd (29 February 1908 – 29 September 1982),Eder, Bruce. (29 September 1982A. L. Lloyd - Music Biography, Credits and Discography AllMusic. Retrieved on 2013-02-24. usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English fo ...

with Anne Briggs, Bob Davenport, Ray Fisher, Louis Killen, Matt McGinn and The Celebrated Working Man's Band *''Bert Jansch'' (1965) –

*''A Wild Bees Nest'' (1965) –

*''Jack Orion'' (1966) – Bert Jansch *''The Irish Edge'' (1965) –

*''The Watersons'' (1966) –

The Watersons The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies. They have been called the "most famous fam ...

*''The Young Tradition'' (1966) –

The Young Tradition The Young Tradition were an English folk group of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voic ...

*''Ireland Her Own'' (1965) –

and Arthur Kearney, with Joe Tunney and Frank Kelly *''So Cheerfully Round'' (1967) – The Young Tradition *''Morning Stands On Tiptoe'' (1967)

Dave and Toni Arthur Toni Arthur-Hay (born Antoinette Alice Priscilla Wilson; 27 December 1940) is an English theatre director, former folk singer and television presenter. Early life and education Arthur was born in Oxford, England. She describes her childho ...

*''Mason's Apron'' (1967) –

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...

*''Mainly Norfolk'' (1968) – Peter Bellamy *''Matt McGinn'' (1968) – Matt McGinn *''Humble Beginnings: The Complete Transatlantic Recordings, 1969–74'' – Billy Connolly *''The Humblebums'' (1969) – The Humblebums *''Fair England’s Shore'' (1969) – Peter Bellamy *''The Lark In the Morning'' (1969) Dave and Toni Arthur with Barry Dransfield *''Young Hunting'' (1970) – Tony Rose *''Cruel Sister'' (1970) – Pentangle *'' Hearken to the Witches Rune'' (1970) Dave and Toni Arthur *''New Humblebums'' (1970) – The Humblebums *''Mr. Fox'' (1970) –

Mr. Fox Mr Fox were an early 1970s British folk rock band. They were seen as in the 'second generation' of British folk rock performers and for a time were compared with Steeleye Span and Sandy Denny's Fotheringay.K. Dallas‘Electric Folk The Second ...

*''Reflection'' (1971) – Pentangle *''He Came From the Mountains'' – Bob & Carole Pegg *''Rosemary Lane'' (1971) – Bert Jansch *''Tir Na Nóg'' (1971) –

Tír na nÓg In Irish mythology Tír na nÓg (; "Land of the Young") or Tír na hÓige ("Land of Youth") is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it. Tír na nÓg is best known from the tale of Oisín and Niamh. Other Old Ir ...

*''Tear and a Smile'' (1972) – Tír na nÓg *''Prosperous'' (1972) –

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Ireland, Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first ...

*''A Lancashire Lad'' (1972) – Mike Harding *''Bright Phoebus'' (1972) – Mike and Lal Waterson *''No More Forever'' (1972) –

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow ...

*''The Boys of the Lough'' (1973) – The Boys of the Lough *''Swan Arcade'' (1973) –

Swan Arcade Swan Arcade were a British folk music vocal group formed in 1970. "A leading light of the British folk revival" they sang a wide variety of songs, including blues, pop and rock and roll, as well as traditional folk music, mostly performed a ca ...

*''Tell It Like It Was'' (1975) – Peter Bellamy *''The Barrack Room Ballads of Rudyard Kipling'' (1976) – Peter Bellamy *''Kist O'Gold'' (1977) – Dick Gaughan *''The Noah's Ark Trap'' (1977) – Nic Jones *''Gerry Rafferty'' (1978) –

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was " Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in th ...

*''From The Devil To A Stranger '' (1978) Nic Jones *''Oddfellows''; The Oddfellows (2011) *''Shreds''; Ian Reynolds (2012) *''That Was Then This Is Now'' (2013) – Hunter Muskett

Credited as engineer

*''Jack Takes the Floor'' (1958) –

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

*''Chorus from the Gallows'' (1959) –

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

*''Red Hot from Alex'' (1964) –

*''Bert and John'' (1966) – Bert Jansch & John Renbourn *''Another Monday'' (1967) – John Renbourn *''Sweet Primeroses'' (1967) –

Shirley Collins Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935) is an English folk singer who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s. She often performed and recorded with her sister Dolly, whose accompaniment on pi ...

*''Rags, Reels & Airs'' (1967) –

Dave Swarbrick David Cyril Eric Swarbrick (5 April 1941 – 3 June 2016) was an English folk musician and singer-songwriter. His style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players who have followed him. He was ...

*''True Hearted Girl'' (1977) – The Watersons *''Her Mantle So Green'' – Margaret Barry & Michael Gorman

Other credits

*''Across the Hills'' (1964) – Ian Campbell (credited as Supervisor) *''Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lost Topic Tapes: Cowes Harbour 1957'' – Ramblin' Jack Elliott (credited as Assistant Engineer) *''Ramblin' Jack Elliott Lost Topic Tapes: Isle of Wight 1957'' – Ramblin' Jack Elliott (credited as Assistant Engineer)

Leader/Trailer labels listing

A full listing of titles on the Leader and Trailer labels
is in preparation o
Folkopedia

References

English record producers Academics of the University of Salford 1929 births Living people

Bibliography

Butler, Mike (2021) ''Sounding the Century: Bill Leader & Co.: Volume 1 – Glimpses of Far Off Things: 1855-1956'' {{ISBN, 978-1800460768