Folk-singer, composer, and writer, born in Salford, Greater Manchester, NW England, UK. As a playwright, he collaborated with Joan Littlewood in forming the experimental Theatre Workshop in the 1940s, and reviving street theatre. Later he became a pioneer of the British folk-music revival. His series of Radio Ballads, begun in 1957, combining contemporary social comment with traditional musical forms, had a powerful influence on songwriting and performing in subsequent decades. As a collector of traditional folk-song, he has published several anthologies. Among his own compositions are "Dirty Old Town', "Freeborn Man', and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'.