Martin Simpson, Michael Chapman & Steve Tilston - Songwriters' Circle, Bush Hall, London, Britain, 3-18-2012

Here's another episode of the "Songwriters' Circle" BBC TV show. Just like other episodes, this one features three singer-songwriters taking turns performing their songs. In this case, the songwriters are Martin Simpson, Michael Chapman, and Steve Tilston. The episode has a theme, because all three of them are famous figures in British folk music.

Martin Simpson's career started in the 1970s. He didn't have any hits or famous albums. But he's steadily built up a following by releasing dozens of albums and touring frequently. He's mostly performed cover songs, especially of traditional music. He's still alive, and 76 years old, as I write this in 2026.

Here's his Wikipedia entry:

Martin Simpson - Wikipedia 

Michael Chapman's music is hard to describe, so I'll just quote the lead paragraph of his Wikipedia entry, which says he was a "British singer-songwriter and guitarist who released 58 albums, displaying a 'fusion of jazz, rock, Indian and ragtime styles [that] made him a cult hero.' He began playing with jazz bands, mainly in his home town of Leeds, and became well known in the folk clubs of the late 1960s, as well as on the progressive music scene." Note the use of the past tense, because he died in 2021 at the age of 80. He's probably best known for his 1970 album "Fully Qualified Survivor," which contains his most famous song, "Postcards of Scarborough."

Here's his Wikipedia page:

Michael Chapman (singer) - Wikipedia 

That just leaves Steve Tilston. Like the other two, his music career began roughly around 1970. Also like the other two, he's had a long career with British folk music, releasing dozens of albums. 

Here's his Wikipedia entry:

Steve Tilston - Wikipedia 

To be honest, I wasn't familiar with the music of any of these three musicians. But this was a nice listen, with the three of them all playing good songs and making interesting comments. It's a bit curious and disappointing that it didn't end with all three of them performing a classic song together, like all the other episodes I can remember of this TV series. But all three of them were/are talented guitarists, and often helped out with songs when it wasn't their turn to sing.

By the way, sadly, this appears to be the last episode of the TV series, in terms of broadcast order. I still have two more that I plan on posting. And there are another three or so that I haven't found, at least not yet. 

This album is 58 minutes long.

01 An Englishman Abroad (Martin Simpson)
02 talk (Martin Simpson)
03 Postcards of Scarborough (Michael Chapman)
04 talk (Michael Chapman & Steve Tilston)
05 Weeping Willow Replanted (Steve Tilston)
06 talk (Martin Simpson)
07 Never Any Good (Martin Simpson)
08 talk (Michael Chapman)
09 In the Valley (Michael Chapman)
10 talk (Steve Tilston)
11 The Road When I Was Young (Steve Tilston)
12 talk (Martin Simpson)
13 Will Atkinson (Martin Simpson)
14 talk (Michael Chapman)
15 Just Another Story (Michael Chapman)
16 talk (Steve Tilston)
17 The Reckoning (Steve Tilston)
18 talk (Martin Simpson)
19 Home Again (Martin Simpson)
20 talk (Michael Chapman)
21 A Cowboy Phase (Michael Chapman)
22 talk (Steve Tilston)
23 The Slip Jigs and Reels (Steve Tilston)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/FszeUKwt

alternate:

The cover photo is from this exact concert, kind of. I couldn't find any good images of the three of them together, since they didn't play a song together at the end, like most episodes. But at the start of the video of this concert there was some footage of the three of them practicing together before the concert, so I took a screenshot of that. From right to left: Steve Tilston, Michael Chapman, and Martin Simpson.