‘it put a big smile on my face.’ Tom Robinson, BBC6 Music
‘A treat – witty, wistful, wonderful.‘ Gyles Brandreth
‘Marriage Song #1 is a quiet masterpiece.’ Sunday Times
‘ Sharp satirical thinking put into song… You’re going to love it. ’ Folkwords
‘ A delight in every way…. precise and with compassion – a rare delicacy to be able to combine expert satire with the longing of humanity.’ Liverpool Sound and Vision
‘Like dry Jake Thackray and American Tom Lehrer, Blacker has the ability to look at the ordinary everyday that nobody writes about and turn out gems of social observation…This is knowing writing with the laughs masking depths and intelligence.’ Northern Sky Magazine
‘ Hilariously entertaining. ‘ Mary Dickinson, Everyman Folk Club
I first heard 'The Ballad of the Sad Young Men' in the mid-1960s, sung by Davy Graham on his astonishing second album Folk, Blues and Beyond, and it has stayed with me ever since. I've always loved its opening lines, 'Sing a song of sad young men/ Glasses full of rye/ All the news is bad again/ Kiss your dreams goodbye.' (Those last two lines have been particularly resonant in recent weeks and months). The lyrics for the song were written by Fran Landesman, with music by Tommy Wolf, for their 1959 off-Broadway musical The Nervous Set. The story was...
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