With roots going back hundreds of years, British folk music has always been a showcase for many voices and dialects, but it was a 10-year period starting in the mid-1960s that really transported these ancient songs into modern life. Inspired by the American roots boom, song archivists such as Ewan MacColl and Shirley Collins reinterpreted old texts from London’s Cecil Sharp House with maudlin intensity (“Wild Mountain Thyme”, “Scarborough Fair”), and subsequently caught the imagination of songwriters and traditionalists alike. Acoustic folk clubs became hugely popular, which led to further crossovers when rock bands such as Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span started playing ballads, jigs and reels on quicksilver electric guitars. Since then British folk has offered a fascinating tension between tradition and innovation, with artists either using modern forms to interpret old words (“New York Girls”), or finding new things to say using time-honoured musical forms (“Pink Moon”).