Episode 1

Available for over a year

An eerie tale of forgotten songs and vengeful spirits by Belfast author Colin Carberry (‘Good Vibrations.’) As read by Aoibhéann McCann ('Blue Lights.') ‘The Song Thief’ follows Harry Probyn on his journey across Ireland to find Aislinn Byrne, the woman who started his songwriting career. After recording her sing years before in Ireland, Harry stole her song ‘Bluebell Wood’. He shared it with the world and made his fortune. Now penniless and on the run from the violent Shanks family, Harry must return to Ireland and find a new hit song. Song-collectors – hobbyists who collect sound recordings, usually of music, but sometimes poetry, readings, historical speeches, and ambient noises – are responsible for most of what we now know as traditional folk music that has been preserved down the years. However the practice has a darker legacy and is littered with examples of artists being exploited by unscrupulous recordists. While the ‘Folk Revival’ of the 1960s saw many artists from the traditional music communities become famous, most of them were men. Women artists were silenced at a time when men’s voices were encouraged to sing loudest. Featuring traditional folk music from the BBC Archives recorded on location in Ireland and America in the 1950s. Author Colin Carberry is a writer of screenplays and fiction from Belfast. With Glenn Patterson he co-wrote the film ‘Good Vibrations’ for which the pair were nominated for Outstanding Debut at the 2014 BAFTA Film awards. ‘Good Vibrations’ has since been adapted into a stage musical. A frequent contributor of new fiction to BBC Radio 4’s Short Works series, he is currently working on a collection of short stories and developing a number of projects for film, television and theatre. Reader: Aoibhéann McCann Writer: Colin Carberry Music: Gerard O'Kane Music: Patrick O'Kane Producer: Michael Shannon Editor: Andy Martin A BBC Northern Ireland production.