Anne Briggs - Early Life

Early Life

Anne Patricia Briggs was born in Toton, Beeston, Nottinghamshire on 29 September 1944. Her mother died of tuberculosis when she was young. Her father, Albert, was severely injured in World War II and she was raised by her Aunt Hilda and Uncle Bill in Toton, who also brought up Hilda's youngest sister, Beryl, and their own daughter Betty. In 1959 she cycled with a friend to Edinburgh. They stayed overnight with Archie Fisher, who was at that time prominent in the revival of folk music in Scotland, and through him she met Bert Jansch, who had just begun to compose his own songs. Jansch and Briggs had an instant rapport and were to remain influential on one another for several years.

In 1962, the Trades Union Congress passed Resolution 42, a resolution to develop cultural activities outside of London. To implement this resolution, playwright Arnold Wesker was appointed as the leader, with Ewan MacColl and A.L. "Bert" Lloyd heavily involved, and Charles Parker on production. Calling themselves Centre 42, they organised a tour around the Britain, hoping to involve local talent at each stop.

At Nottingham Ewan MacColl heard Briggs singing "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" and "She Moves Through the Fair" and promptly invited her to perform on stage that night. She became a full member of the tour and recorded the same two songs on an album recorded live in Edinburgh later that year. By this stage, Briggs decided to leave home, just four weeks short of her eighteenth birthday. Centre 42 gave her an administrative job in their offices, liaising with theatres and galleries. She soon acquired the contacts she needed to pursue her own musical career.