In 1957 Parker commissioned folksinger and activist Ewan MacColl (pictured above) to write the script for a radio feature about the steam-locomotive driver John Axon, whose act of railway heroism earlier that year had cost him his life and earned him the posthumous award of the George Cross. Returning from the field with over forty hours of recorded material from Axon's widow and workmates about his life and death, MacColl saw the strength of the material and persuaded Parker to use the real voices rather than actors, an unheard-of practice at the time. Then - and this is what really sets the Ballads apart - MacColl wrote songs inspired by the stories, with music directed by Peggy Seeger and performed by orchestral and folk musicians. A new, hybrid format emerged, in which the original voices, carefully edited and interwoven with the music, could tell the story without the need for actors or additional script.
"People were really moved to hear John Axon's wife talking"
"At that time working class voices were virtually unheard at the 成人快手"
"They broke the mould of radio programmes"
