Photo: Maybesometime · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regionalfull biography
Eliza Carthy
Person · female · United Kingdom · Scarborough · born 1975 · recording since 1993
English folk musician
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Also known as Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy · Eliza Carthy & The Kings of Calicutt · Eliza Carthy & The Ratcatchers · Eliza Carthy Band · Eliza Carthy and The Ratcatchers · Eliza Carthy and the Kings of Calicutt · +2 more
Timeline
19 events▣ Album 17◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1970s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Eliza Carthy and Nancy Kerr
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography819 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1371030908
Biography
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. Carthy is recognized as a fiddle-singing pioneer.
Life and career
Carthy was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. She went to school at Fyling Hall School in North Yorkshire.
She grew up on a family farm along with her maternal aunt and uncle's families who lived adjacent.
At 13, Carthy formed the Waterdaughters with her mother, aunt (Lal Waterson) and cousin Marry Waterson. She has subsequently worked with Nancy Kerr, with her parents as Waterson–Carthy, and as part of the "supergroup" Blue Murder, in addition to her own solo work. When she was 13, Carthy joined the Goathland Plough Stots as a fiddle player. She left school at 17 for a career as a professional touring musician.
She has twice been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for UK album of the year: in 1998 for Red Rice
Red RiceSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 24 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Accordion Song (Accidental Saturday Night Kitchen Mix)4:54210,000 Miles3:003Billy Boy / The Widdow's Wedding5:094Time in the Son3:285Stumbling On3:406Stingo / The Stacking Reel6:147Greenwood Laddie / Mrs Capron's Reel / Tune6:028Walk Away3:369Adieu, Adieu4:3510Russia (Call Waiting)5:5611Red Rice4:20Disc 21Blow the Winds / The Game of Draughts7:542The Snow It Melts the Soonest3:293Picking Up Sticks / The Old Mole / Felton Lonnin / Kingston Girls4:514Miller and the Lass2:035Herring Song4:406Mons Meg5:267Tuesday Morning2:568Haddock and Chips2:449The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away4:4910Zycanthos Jig / Tommy's Foot / Quebecois6:1511The Sweetness of Mary / Holywell Hornpipe / Swedish6:4512Benjamin Bowmaneer4:2313Commodore Moore / The Black Dance / A Andy O3:34, and again in 2003 for Anglicana
AnglicanaSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Worcester City4:482Just as the Tide Was Flowing8:003Limbo4:254Little Gypsy Girl2:115No Man's Jig / Hanoverian Dance / Three Jolly Sheepskins4:116Pretty Ploughboy5:217Bold Privateer7:108Dr MCMBE5:449In London So Fair8:0710Willow Tree4:31. Carthy was a guest on the album Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg and Wilco. Eliza and Billy also recorded together on the song "My Father's Mansions", which appeared on the Pete Seeger tribute album Where Have All The Flowers Gone (1998).
In September 2002, Carthy took part in the tribute concert for Kirsty MacColl, "The Song's the Thing" along with other artists.
In 2003, Carthy swept the boards at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, winning "Folk Singer of the Year", "Best Album" (for Anglicana) and "Best Traditional Track" (for "Worcester City", on the album Anglicana). She was also the first traditional English musician to be nominated for a BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music in the same year (for Anglicana).
In 2004, she was part of Oysterband Big Session, a collaboration with numerous folk artists brought together by Oysterband. They produced an album The Big Session Volume One, and the group as a whole were awarded Best Group at the Folk Awards in 2005. On 29 May 2005, Carthy took part in a tribute to Peggy Seeger at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. A double CD Three Score and Ten (2007) contains highlights of the concert.
In 2006, she contributed three songs (one as lead vocalist, two as backing vocalist) to Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, produced by Hal Willner. Performing as a duo with Richard Thompson, she contributed "The Coo Coo Bird" to a boxed set called The Harry Smith Project (2006), also by Hal Willner. As a duo with Bob Neuwirth, she sang "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" by Bascom Lamar Lunsford on the same boxed set.
Dreams of Breathing Underwater, Carthy's second collection of self-penned songs was released on 23 June 2008. Combining traditional instrumentation with experimental arrangements, and drawing influences from all aspects of her career so far, the album was conceived as the follow-up to 2000s Angels and Cigarettes and was the making for the best part of seven years.
Carthy's 2008 tour was cancelled in November, as a cyst on her throat made singing inconsistent and painful. Because of her pregnancy, doctors delayed treatment until spring 2009.
She became a mother to her son on 24 December 2008, with her Canadian partner Aidan Curran.
The St George's Day Celebrations in Trafalgar Square on 25 April 2009 were opened by Carthy, who performed two songs.
In 2010, Carthy released an album of collaborations with her mother entitled Gift. A BBC reviewer wrote: "The gift in question here, one gathers, is a handing of talent from generation to generation; Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy are, after all, the sublimely gifted mother and daughter who make up part of British folk's great dynasty." Commenting on the final song, "Shallow Brown", the reviewer noted: "Backed variously by other family members, including Eliza’s father Martin Carthy on guitar as well as her cousin Oliver Knight on electric guitar, vocals and cello, there is a real sense of congregation and rootedness about this song, and indeed this record as a whole. Long may the dynasty flourish."
Her daughter was born on 26 November 2010.
In May 2012, a biography of Eliza Carthy written by Sophie Parkes and titled Wayward Daughter was published by Soundcheck Books.
In 2014, she was awarded the honour of an MBE for services to folk music in the Queen's Birthday Honours. The same year, she also marked the 50th anniversary of Towersey Festival and the 75th anniversary of Topic Records with a celebratory concert at the festival, for which she was Musical Director. Discussing the event with Folk Radio UK she said: "Me and my family have long been associated with Towersey Festival and Topic Records and I have great affection for both. Towersey gave me my first ever solo gig, as Topic gave me my first ever solo record ..."
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 23 | 88.2th |
| Studio albums | 17 | 95.5th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 19 | 93.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 30 | 66.1th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (23 release groups · 17 studio albums)
Albums · 17
1993 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 57:03
1Waterloo Fair (The Henryco) / Speed The Plow5:132Lucy's Waltz / Liza's Favourite4:503Alistair's2:294The Unquiet Grave3:005The March of the Kings of Laiose5:336An Old Man Came Courting5:577Swedish Wedding March3:128Whittingham Fair / For Whittingham Fair5:569Bushes & Briars2:5010Tune3:1711The Wrong Favour5:5212Prague / Polly Bishop's Slip Jig / The Storyteller7:4013Black & White Rag1:141995 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 1:02:04
1Edward Corcoran / Black Joke4:402I Know My Love3:463Low Down in the Broom / The Sukebind3:514The Downfall of Paris5:235The Keek (or Ride) in the Creel6:226Paddy's Rambles (Mary Custy Air)4:377Growing (The Trees They Do Grow High)3:008The Poor and Young Single Sailor4:129Batter Svens Parapolkett5:4310Bonny Light Horseman / Michael Turner's Waltz (SS mix)7:1911The Wanton Wife of Castlegate / Princess Royal6:4512The Gypsy Hornpipe / The Hawk / Indian Queen6:261996 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 55:28
1Cold, Wet & Rainy Night / The Grand Hornpipe6:202Cumberland Waltz / Petit Homme / Miss Bowls'6:153What a Beau Your Granny Is / Stone Steps2:594Ten Thousand Miles / Bacca Pipes5:585Clark Saunders5:506Stamps for the Dog2:077Peggy3:398Blind Fiddler2:579Lady Barnsley's Fancy / Trip to Cartmel / Hardy's Crow4:1310By Then4:4411Sheath and Knife5:4212Jacky Tar4:44Eliza Carthy & The Kings of Calicutt
1997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 48:57
1Trip to Fowey / Cuckold Came Out of the Amery / Indian Queen5:262Whirly Whorl2:493Bonaparte's Retreat4:264Little Bear / Wobbly Cat / Upton Stick Dance4:045Mother, Go Make My Bed / Flower of Swiss Cottage6:516Good Morning, Mr. Walker4:117Holm Band Tune / Dave Robert's Tune / Jemima's Jig3:438Sheffield Park / Polly Bishop's Slip Jig / Roger de Coverly7:389Fisher Boy3:2710Storyteller6:221998 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 24 tracks · 1:50:43
Disc 11Accordion Song (Accidental Saturday Night Kitchen Mix)4:54210,000 Miles3:003Billy Boy / The Widdow's Wedding5:094Time in the Son3:285Stumbling On3:406Stingo / The Stacking Reel6:147Greenwood Laddie / Mrs Capron's Reel / Tune6:028Walk Away3:369Adieu, Adieu4:3510Russia (Call Waiting)5:5611Red Rice4:20Disc 21Blow the Winds / The Game of Draughts7:542The Snow It Melts the Soonest3:293Picking Up Sticks / The Old Mole / Felton Lonnin / Kingston Girls4:514Miller and the Lass2:035Herring Song4:406Mons Meg5:267Tuesday Morning2:568Haddock and Chips2:449The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away4:4910Zycanthos Jig / Tommy's Foot / Quebecois6:1511The Sweetness of Mary / Holywell Hornpipe / Swedish6:4512Benjamin Bowmaneer4:2313Commodore Moore / The Black Dance / A Andy O3:342000 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 41:35
1Whispers of Summer4:412Train Song4:033Beautiful Girl3:294Whole4:055Poor Little Me5:276The Company of Men3:387Perfect3:588Wildwood3:149Breathe4:1510Fuse4:452001 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 46:55
1Fen5:062Mr. Preston's Hornpipe5:243Stephen's Leaving / The Jolly Fucker / Rorospols5:444Abe's Retreat / Kielder Castle4:565Jack Warrel's Hornpipe5:356Daniel Wright's Hornpipe / A Bagpipe Hornpipe3:147Lemady4:388Saul's Shoes / Prescott's Punch3:049Presbyterian Hornpipe / Game of Draughts4:5510Young Collins4:192002 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 54:28
1Worcester City4:482Just as the Tide Was Flowing8:003Limbo4:254Little Gypsy Girl2:115No Man's Jig / Hanoverian Dance / Three Jolly Sheepskins4:116Pretty Ploughboy5:217Bold Privateer7:108Dr MCMBE5:449In London So Fair8:0710Willow Tree4:312005 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 50:03
1Turpin Hero5:452King James Version4:243Cobbler's Hornpipe3:594Gallant Hussar4:475Upside Down: Double Lead Through / Highland Mary / Dear Tobacco5:036Mohair3:007The Unfortunate Lass7:008Scan Tester's Country Stepdance / Lemmy Brazil's No. 23:329Maid on the Shore3:2510Mr McCusker and Mr McGoldrick's English Choice4:5911Tom Brown4:09Dreams of Breathing Underwater
2008 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 46:03
1Follow the Dollar3:402Two Tears4:143Rows of Angels3:124Rosalie3:435Mr. Magnifico6:066Like I Care (Wings)3:287Lavenders4:198Little Bigman4:589Simple Things4:1910Hug You Like a Mountain4:3011Oranges and Seasalt3:342010 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 54:18
1Poor Wayfaring Stranger6:282Little Grey Hawk3:213Boston Burglar5:234The Nightingale / For Kate5:565Bonaparte's Lament3:206The Rose and the Lily6:177Bunch of Thyme5:518Ukelele Lady / (If Paradise Is) Half as Nice4:529Psalm of Life6:0710Prairie Lullaby3:4711Shallow Brown2:562011 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 50:28
1Blood on My Boots6:202War5:173Write a Letter5:324Tea at Five4:355Monkey4:526Revolution4:297Britain Is a Carpark4:388Romeo4:579Hansel (Breadcrumbs)4:3110Thursday5:172015 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 53:49
1Buffalo3:282Logan’s Lament6:343Castle by the Sea2:534Cats and Dogs (You Seamen Bold)5:225May Song1:536Prodigal Son3:127Sweet Susan5:158Bottle4:01910,000 Miles4:4810Whitby Lad (Botany Bay)5:0011Sailors Wedding / The Swiss Boy5:0412Traveler2:5913Love Farewell3:202018 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 47:03
1Strange Weather4:002The Elfin Knight3:543The Beast3:514The Widow's Party5:595Lost in the Stars4:356The Galaxy Song2:257Shanty of the Whale5:148The Beast in Me3:459Scarborough Fair3:0210Nelly Was a Lady7:3711Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star2:412019 · studio album
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Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:15:38
Disc 11Friendship3:122The Leaves in the Woodland6:453Helter Skelter2:514The Man Who Puffs the Big Cigar6:335Gentlemen Rankers4:366The Slave’s Lament / Farewell to a Dark Haired Friend6:227Dream of Napoleon4:598Lady All Skin and Bone3:339The Old Sexton3:1610The Last Rose of Summer3:31Disc 21The Announcer's Daughter30:00Through That Sound (My Secret Was Made Known)
2020 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:33
1Ships Passing2:392The Black Queen3:593Our Savage Friends3:194The Lute Girl3:285Musa, Pt 1 (the Death of the King)3:096Neptune (in the Stars Wants His Bloody Pound of Fish)3:497Mean to Me5:038Surrender (Fallow)4:559Hey Joe3:0310Until Then (The Goodnight Song)5:092023 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:06:40
1Ashen Bowl3:542Glad Christmas Comes3:383Beautiful Star4:164King of the Birds2:295The Good Doctor4:076In the Bleak Midwinter5:247Remember Oh Thou Man3:298Mount Zion (While Shepherds)4:379The Holy And The Ivy4:2710I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas4:3411Winter Grace7:5712I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In3:4813Shepherds Arise4:5514Jingle Bells3:5115Fairytale of New York4:3416Glad Christmas Comes (Reprise)0:40
Album · 5
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | On ReflectionSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 1:13:161Gypsy Hornpipe / The Hawk / Indian Queen6:24 2Whittingham Fair / For Whittingham Fair5:53 33/2 Hornpipes3:15 4Bushes & Briars2:48 5Waterloo Fair / Speed the Plow5:11 6The Keep in the Creel6:22 7Dance to Your Daddy / The Flaming Drones3:32 8Prague / Eliza's Favourite6:35 9Fen9:39 10Port 'n' Brandy4:05 11I Know My Love4:22 12Paddy's Rambles2:18 13Growing (The Trees They Do Grow High)2:58 14Reel du pendu2:35 15Bonnie Light Horseman7:19 | Compilation | 2002 | |
| 2003 | The Definitive CollectionSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 13 tracks · 1:08:181The Light Dragoon5:14 2Greenwood Laddie / Mrs Capron's Reel / Tune6:00 3Mother Go Make My Bed / Flower of Swiss Cottage6:51 4Cold Wet & Rainy Night / The Grand Hornpipe6:19 5Fisher Boy3:19 6Billy Boy / The Widdow's Wedding5:07 7French Stroller2:24 8Stumbling On3:37 9Blow the Winds / The Game of Draughts7:51 10Mons Meg5:24 11Diego's Bold Shore7:11 12Go From My Window4:34 13Child Among the Weeds4:27 | Compilation | October 2003 | |
| 2013 | Wayward DaughterSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 31 tracks · 2:28:47Disc 1 1Worcester City4:47 2Great Grey Back2:47 3Two Tears4:14 4The Rose and the Lily6:13 5Mr Walker4:08 6Colourblind3:27 7Jacky Tar4:43 8Grey Gallito5:03 9Newry Town6:33 10Blood on My Boots6:20 11Billy Boy / The Widow's Wedding5:05 12The Forsaken Mermaid5:47 13I Know My Love3:44 14Gallant Hussar4:45 15Space Girl3:55 16May Song2:46 Disc 21Little Big Man4:59 2Child Among the Weeds4:26 3Rolling Sea4:51 4Cold, Wet & Rainy Night / The Grand Hornpipe6:17 5Lemady4:37 6Jack Frost4:33 7Willow Tree4:29 8The Company of Men3:36 9Adieu, Adieu4:31 10Mother6:50 11Crystal Spring3:59 12Blow the Winds / The Game of Draughts7:50 13Mohair2:59 14The Nightingale / For Kate5:56 15Britain Is a Car Park4:37 | Compilation | 3 June 2013 | |
| 2018 | An Introduction to Eliza CarthySearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 1:07:271Cold, Wet & Rainy Night / The Grand Hornpipe6:20 2Clark Saunders5:50 3Good Morning, Mr. Walker4:10 4Red Rice4:21 5Time in the Son3:26 6The Snow It Melts the Soonest3:28 7Miller and the Lass2:02 8Worchester City4:48 9No Man's Jig / Hanoverian Dance / Three Jolly Sheepskins4:13 10Willow Tree4:32 11Turpin Hero5:46 12King James Version4:24 13Mr. Magnifico6:10 14Oranges & Seasalt3:37 15Fade & Fall (Love Not)4:20 | Compilation | 27 April 2018 | |
| 2020 | Live to AirSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 15 tracks · 1:14:581The Light Dragoon4:37 2The Swedish Wedding March3:35 3Bushes and Briars2:46 4March of the King of Laoise5:00 5Whittingham Fair5:10 6Edward Corcoran / Black Joke5:04 7The Light Dragoon5:01 8Speed the Plough5:30 9Bushes and Briars3:22 10Cold Wet Rainy Night7:07 11The Grand Hornpipe3:56 12Untitled / 17 Come Sunday7:07 13Maid Lamenting3:55 14Old Molly Oxford / Princess Royal6:17 15Greenwood Laddie / Mrs. Capron's Reel / Untitled6:31 | Compilation,Live | 13 November 2020 |
Single · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Rivers and RailwaysSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 17:181Rivers and Railways17:18 | Live | 15 June 2018 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Eliza Carthy head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 23 | 88.2th |
| Studio albums | 17 | 95.5th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 19 | 93.4th |
| Recording span (years) | 30 | 66.1th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Member of the Order of the British Empire | won |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Murder(band) | — | present | |
| Waterson:Carthy(band) | — | present | |
| The Imagined Village(band) | — | present | |
| Songs of Separation(band) | — | present | percussion |
| Songs of Separation(band) | — | present | harmonium |
| Songs of Separation(band) | — | present | fiddle |
| Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band(band) | — | present | lead vocals |
| Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band(band) | — | present | fiddle |
| The Waterdaughters(band) | — | present | |
| The Eliza Carthy Band(band) | — | present | eponymous |
| Eliza Carthy Trio(band) | — | present | eponymous |
| The Sorrow Songs Band(band) | — | present |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eliza_Carthy_Wychwood_2011.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/19205396-3f90-4a8b-b085-a795df242a62discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/19205396-3f90-4a8b-b085-a795df242a62core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4581565seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Carthybiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Carthy
Why this artist is in the database
- List of folk musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Maybesometime · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q4581565 · MusicBrainz: 19205396-3f90-4a8b-b085-a795df242a62
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