Folk singer and folk music collector, writer, painter, journalist, art critic, whalerman, sheep station roustabout, Marxist, and much more - this is the story of A. L. (Bert) Lloyd's extraordinary life.

A. L. Lloyd played a key part in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 60s, but that is only part of his story. Dave Arthur documents how Lloyd became a member of the Communist Party, forceful antifascist, trade unionist and an important part of left-wing culture from the early 1930s to his death in 1982. Following his return from Australia as a 21-year-old, self-educated agricultural labourer, he was at the heart of the most important left-wing movements and highly respected for his knowledge in various fields.

Dave Arthur recounts the life of a creative, passionate and life-loving Marxist, and in so doing provides a social history of a turbulent twentieth century.

List of photographs
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Richard Thompson
Introduction
1. The Beginning
2. A Telegram to Hitler
3. 1936 and All That
4. Down to the Sea in Ships
5. Working for Auntie
6. Bertie Badfruit
7. Picture Post and Army Life
8. The Singing Englishman
9. Croom’s Hill
10. The English Folk Song and Dance Society
11. Ramblers and Bold Miners
12. Back to the Beeb
13. Writing and Recording in the Fifties
14. The Folk Survival of the Fittest
15. The Radio Ballads
16. The Folk Revival
17. The Singing Sixties
18. Teaching and Filmmaking
19. Fare Thee Well
20. A Final Assemblage of Memories
Notes
Bibliography and Select Discography
Index