Shirley Collins (A-side)

Shirley Collins discusses her 1971 classic album, 'Love, Death and the Lady'.

Series in which leading performers and songwriters talk about the album that made them or changed them.

Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes - the A-side and B-side.

In the A-side, Shirley talks to John Wilson.

Released on the Harvest label (also home to Deep Purple, Kevin Ayers and Pink Floyd), Love Death & the Lady exuded a darkness that reflected Shirley's own personal loneliness at the time. With tracks like The Outlandish Knight, The Oxford Girl and Geordie, the album revolves around the themes of murder, class conflict and betrayal.

Shirley Collins began the 1970s releasing what is now regarded by many as one of her finest albums... and she ended the decade by losing her singing voice through dysphonia.

Yet she remains revered today by the likes of Graham Coxon, Billy Bragg, Stewart Lee, Jonny Greenwood and Angel Olsen.

In the B-side of the programme, it's the turn of the audience to ask the questions.

Producer: Paul Kobrak

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2017.