Matt Westcott talks to Becky from The Unthanks about the band’s latest work which combines music and archive footage to commemorate Britain’s shipbuilding heritage

FOR someone to whom our nation’s past means a great deal, Becky Unthank is understandably proud of her band’s latest work.

The North-East folk singer, who together with her sister, Rachel and fellow members Niopha Keegan, Adrian McNally and Chris Price, make up Northumberland folk band The Unthanks is about to go on tour with Songs from the Shipyards.

Commissioned by the Tyneside Cinema and made in conjunction with internationally acclaimed filmmaker Richard Fenwick, the film breathes new life into a century of archive footage of shipbuilding on the rivers of the Tyne, Wear and Tees. As well as gigs in her native North-East, the quintet is also travelling to other former shipbuilding strongholds such as Barrow-in-Furness, Belfast and Southampton.

“It was a really organic process from the beginning, nothing like what we had done before,” said Becky of making the film. “We talked to Richard, went back and forth with ideas and footage and songs.

“Some of the songs dictated what Richard would look for footage-wise and we’d see some songs and look for footage that would compliment that.

“It was a great project to be involved in.”

Songs from the Shipyards, she said, had been a learning process for all involved.

“There aren’t as many songs that we know of about that industry.

We didn’t know about it in much detail so it was really nice to learn about it,” she says.

“We found some great songs written by North-East songwriters, so it was a great learning experience.

We sat in a dark room for a week watching the film because we had to get the timings exactly right.”

Heralded as “emotional, beautiful and unforgettable”, Becky says it would rewarding if Songs from the Shipyards was regarded as an important memoir of a fastdisappearing industry.

“It would be an honour to be looked upon as being involved in something important,” she said.

“It is important to us because we are proud to be from the North- East and proud of our history and of what the region has achieved.

“The biggest challenge was to portray these people and tell this story without romanticising or glorifying what was for them such a tough and dangerous way of life. At the same time we wanted to celebrate and remember what those communities had achieved.

“It’s not easy watching – it’s not all ‘look how wonderful it was’ – it points out the political decisions that were made that caused devastation among communities, for example. Whole villages and towns were built for the sake of the ship-building industry and it shows what was left when that industry was gone.

“There is a hard balance to strike. It is both a celebration and a remembrance, but is not portrayed through rose-tinted glasses.”

  • The Unthanks, Tyneside Cinema, October 16 and 17, 6.45pm and 8.45pm, Box Office: 0845-217-9909 and the Arc, Stockton, on October 20