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The Ballad of Bethnal Green
Last updated: 11.10.23
I first heard and learned this "ballad" as a young lad from a BBC radio broadcast, Paddy Roberts being the performer. It may well have been a hit because I heard often enough to memorise it by heart. Paddy Roberts was a very funny, engaging Irish aristocrat who spoke however with a gentle stutter with a very British upper-class accent (or am I getting mixed up with a chap called Campbell?). He was also, I believe, a columnist and could often be seen and heard in the early talk shows on TV and radio. I finally came across the lyrics and melody in Strictly for Grown-Ups which I found in a second-hand book shop in Malvern, England in 1992. It was a nice surprise to find that my memory had not let me down and my version over the years had remained a faithful copy of what he had originally broadcast.
  Issue Instruments Performer
       
  DBE MP3 Sample    
audiodbemp315.gif Ditty Box Voice, Concertina Geoff Grainger
     Performer CD Title Supplier
       
cd15.gif Geoff Grainger Ditty Box dbe15.gif
cd15.gif Paddy Roberts Strictly For Grown Ups flag15us.gif flag15uk.gif flag15de.gif flag15fr.gif flag15ca.gif flag15it.gif flag15es.gif
     Title Performer Composer
       
youtube15.jpg The Ballad of Bethnal Green (2:37) P. Roberts