The Kimberleys

Click here for debut album!

Top 10 Folk Albums 2018

The Kimberleys - modern British folk music

A unique and modern approach to traditional British folk music

VIDEOS

"Isobel and Jim Kimberley are absolutely knocking it out of the park, and the park next to that park, with these videos.

This is gorgeous."

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY

It has always been the routine of Isobel and Jim Kimberley to rehearse on their balcony, any sunny morning when the couple are not on tour you may well catch them rehearsing outside their modest home. When Corona virus hit the UK in March 2020 and the country went into lockdown, life on the balcony remained as it always had been, on sunny days Isobel and Jim would rehearse outside. We hope that you enjoy these videos, our intention is to post regularly so do check in often, or better still subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Best Regards, Isobel and Jim

>> Read the interview by 853.London on "Balcony Shows and Online Gigs: How SE London's musicians adapted to lockdown" <<

OTHER VIDEOS

The Kimberleys have been known to sing in venues other than their own front porch. There's some documentary evidence below.

TIP JAR

If you've enjoyed our videos, please support your local musicians... paypal.me/thekimberleys.

THE ROSE OF ALLENDALE

Jun 7, 2020

THE ROSE OF ALLENDALE

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Widely believed to be a trad folk song (is it Scottish, is it Irish? Jim thought it was from East Anglia), Charles Jefferys and Sidney Nelson composed this song in the 1830s. It appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine in 1833 and has since become a very popular song in folk clubs countrywide. This is #50 in our series of Songs From the Balcony. We've had a wonderful time doing these but have decided to leave it there to concentrate on starting work

THE DOFFIN MISTRESS / BROOM BEZZUMS

Jun 5, 2020

THE DOFFIN MISTRESS / BROOM BEZZUMS

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY A doffing mistress was the woman in charge of a room of mill-workers; an early instance of health and safety perhaps. Elsie was plainly popular at work. When she left the mill to get married, or to take up a more lucrative job at another mill, the mill-workers escorted her home on her last day, singing and gesticulating. Broom Bezzums: street cries from Tyneside (there are, of course, many more verses). If you've enjoyed this, or any of our other Songs

MY FAITHFUL JOHNNY

I AM A DANCER

Jun 2, 2020

I AM A DANCER

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY An original song written by Isobel Kimberley, arranged by Jim Kimberley and released under the name of BRUISE on their 4th album "In Animal Character". Today we attended a funeral for an exceptional woman and a long time friend Julia Wyatt, this song was a favourite of hers and we sing it in her memory. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #iamadancer #bruise #inanimalcharacter

FAREWELL TO THE GOLD

THE BEGGING SONG

May 29, 2020

THE BEGGING SONG

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY The earliest version of The Begging Song, or A-Begging I Will Go, was printed on a black-letter broadside (a handbill, a proclamations or an advertisement ordinarily printed on one side only) in 1684, and used in a ballad opera, A Jovial Crew, or The Merry Beggars. Versions survived in oral tradition for almost three hundred years in England and, especially, in Scotland. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #thebeggingsong #beggingsong #abe

THE WILD ROVER

May 28, 2020

THE WILD ROVER

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Historically, the song has been referred to in Irish folklore and, since the late sixteenth century, it has been noted in written records - although it is likely that some northern Atlantic fishing crews knew the song before these historical accounts were made. Our version is very much inspired by a wonderful arrangement on Robin and Barry Dransfield's album Lord of All I Survey. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #thewildrover #dransfiel

THE ROLLING HILLS OF THE BORDERS

May 27, 2020

THE ROLLING HILLS OF THE BORDERS

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Written by Matt McGinn (1928-1977) this feels like a love song, written to the beautiful border country of Scotland and the people who inhabit it. Isobel and Jim feel very warmly about The Borders having spent many a Hogmanay in the Border country and played many gigs. It's a beautiful and widely sung song by a great songwriter. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #rollinghills #mattmcginn #theborders #rollinghillsoftheborders

THE BALLAD OF ELEANOR DE MONTFORT

May 26, 2020

THE BALLAD OF ELEANOR DE MONTFORT

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Eleanor De Montfort was a political pawn for most of her life, niece of Henry III and Richard I, she fled to Europe, was kidnapped by Edward I, held in the Tower of London and finally married to Llywelyn the Last as part of a crushing deal for the Welsh Nation. From records it appears that the marriage was a loving one with Llywelyn being a faithful husband at a time when, in these circles, this was rare. Eleanor died giving birth to Gwenllian of Wales

POOR OLD HORSE

May 25, 2020

POOR OLD HORSE

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Popularly known as a Sea Shanty, the land-variant, which Cecil Sharp found as a part of the hobby-horse drama in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire, is older by far. The horse-dancer goes the round of the community, often on May Day, alternately dying and being revived by his companions, symbolising the death of the old year, and the fertility of the earth. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #pooroldhorse #hobbyhorsedrama

THE JOHN B SAILS

May 15, 2020

THE JOHN B SAILS

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY A 1647 colony in the Bahamas included a Welshman named John Bethel. The folk ballad of his crew is believed to have descended through the centuries into the folk song "(Wreck of the) Sloop John B." In 1926 the original wreck of this ship was discovered near Nassau. The Beach Boys sing "I feel so broke up". We've returned to the song's traditional roots. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #johnbsails #johnbethel #sloopjohnb

ALL AROUND MY HAT

May 14, 2020

ALL AROUND MY HAT

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY "All Around my Hat" (Roud 567 and 22518, Laws P31) is of nineteenth-century English origin. In an early version, dating from the 1820s, a Cockney costermonger vowed to be true to his fiancée, who had been sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia for theft and to mourn his loss of her by wearing green willow sprigs in his hatband for "a twelve-month and a day", the willow being a traditional symbol of mourning. #songsfromthebalcony #balconys

THE STREETS OF LAREDO

May 13, 2020

THE STREETS OF LAREDO

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY "The Streets of Laredo" is a classic Cowboy Ballad, a dying cowboy tells his tale and the final chorus sees us all accompanying him to his final resting place. But this song has ancient roots and originated in the British isles as a 19th-century broadside entitled "The Unfortunate Lad". If you dig deep into this song's family tree it was written as a warning to soldiers to avoid loose women and the perils of STDs. Here's an interesting article on the so

THE HANDSOME CABIN BOY

May 12, 2020

THE HANDSOME CABIN BOY

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Cecil Sharp noted a version of The Handsome Cabin Boy in 1905, a fine old song which Isobel first heard sung by Kate Bush 1986 on the B side of "The Hounds of Love". There are a number of ways of viewing this song, from a patriarchal point of view, what a delight to have a beautiful young woman on board your long sea voyage. From the feminine point of view, life for women was so restricted by convention and law that in order to do anything adventurous y

THE BELLS OF PARADISE

NEVER CAME HE

May 9, 2020

NEVER CAME HE

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Bonnie James Campbell or Bonnie George Campbell is Child ballad 210 (Roud 338). The ballad tells of a man who has gone off to fight, but only his horse returns. The name differs across variants. Several names have been suggested as the inspiration of the ballad: Archibald or James Campbell, in the Battle of Glenlivet, or Sir John Campbell of Calder, who was murdered. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #child210 #roud338 #bonniejamescampbe

THE GREAT SILKIE OF SULE SKERRY

May 8, 2020

THE GREAT SILKIE OF SULE SKERRY

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY (Child 113) In this song of love and transformation a selkie (part seal part man) takes human form, woos a Hebridean woman and gives her a child. Sule Skerry (Sula Sgeir) is a rocky islet 25 miles west of Hoy Head in Orkney. This arrangement is based on one that we did for our Wolfscoat collaboration. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #child113 #suleskerry #selkie #silkie

THE HUMPBACK WHALE

May 7, 2020

THE HUMPBACK WHALE

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Scottish born, Australian folk singer Harry Robertson wrote The Ballina Whalers in 1970 and Nic Jones recorded what is perhaps the seminal version as The Humpback Whale on his Penguin Eggs album of 1980. A poetic testament to a grim period of human history. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekimberleys #humpbackwhale #nicjones #ballinawhalers

SMUGGLERS

WALTZING MATILDA

May 5, 2020

WALTZING MATILDA

SONGS FROM THE BALCONY Written in 1895 by Banjo Patterson, Waltzing Matilda is possibly the most famous Bush Ballad. With a smattering of Australian slang obscuring the meaning if you're not in the know so we'll give you a little dictionary. Firstly "Waltzing" is travelling by foot. "Matilda" is a bag which carries your belongings. "Swagman" is an itinerant worker "Jumbuck" sheep. "Squatter" landowner. "Billabong" is a watering hole. #songsfromthebalcony #balconysongs #thekim