The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff

“If they were expecting any rewards, they didn't get any rewards. They were the first people to be victimised,” we hear Johnny Longstaff spit towards the end of this recording. It's much more than just a folk album and the life it reveals was much more than just a single story.

Teesside folk trio The Young'uns are known for their immaculate harmony-singing and eye for resonant stories of ordinary folk. But this time they've upped the ante. The story of Johnny Longstaff came to them from his son, after a show one night in 2015. From this encounter, a 16-song suite developed around the life of a man who was born into poverty in Stockton-on-Tees before joining first the Hunger Marches, then the Battle of Cable Street, then the Spanish Civil War and finally World War II.

The heart and soul of this album – and the trio's current touring show – is Longstaff's time in the International Brigades in Spain. He was recorded by the Imperial War Museum before his death in 2000, and his spoken narrative weaves among the trio's close harmonies to stirring effect. This is proud, humbling, funny and moving stuff, lovingly conceived alongside a 40-page dossier of lyrics, biography and photographs. A great piece of work.