Rachel Unthank

Steeped in the musical heritage and folklore so abundant in the northeast of England, Rachel Unthank and her younger sister Becky found a fresh way of presenting the songs, stories, and customs of their home area around Ryton, Newcastle, to a young new audience. Oddly given their rich traditional credentials and proud determination to show off the pure roots of their music, they quickly gained acceptance and acclaim beyond the established folk scene, yet were initially regarded with suspicion by the folk music heartland. This was perhaps due to a dual maverick spirit that fully manifested itself in experiments with left-field pop material when they formed a four-piece band the Winterset, as likely to perform the songs of Robert Wyatt, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and Antony and the Johnsons as traditional ballads. Brought up in a musical environment (both parents sang), Rachel and Becky were raised with folk music and strongly influenced as children by the storytelling properties of folk song and seeing great traditional singers like Sheila Stewart. In addition to an enthusiasm for singing and playing (Rachel plays cello, Becky plays fiddle), they both became adept clog dancers. Rachel learned her craft at the famous folk club run by the Elliot family of Birtley, Durham, but hid herself in various bands until Becky (eight years younger) was old enough to appear with her and she found the courage to take center stage. Rachel's full-on, unaffected Geordie vocal style contrasted sharply with Becky's more melancholy, seductive approach, and their arresting harmony singing brought them much attention when, mostly unaccompanied, they sang at festivals like Sidmouth, Whitby, and Bromyard. Heading for Manchester University, it was by no means certain that the teenage Becky Unthank...