Ian Russell

Ian Russell, MBE (17 February 1947 – 16 May 2026) was a British folklorist, most noted for his research into singing traditions in the English Pennines.

Background Ian Russell was born in Aberdeen, Scotland on 17 February 1947, to William and Joan Russell. He died on 16 May 2026, aged 79.

Research Beginning in 1969, Russell conducted extensive fieldwork in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, particularly on regional folksong and traditional drama.

Whilst working as a teacher, Russell undertook a part-time PhD through the Institute of Dialect and Folklife Studies, at the University of Leeds. His thesis was titled Traditional Singing in West Sheffield, 1970-2 and was completed in 1977.

Russell has made a particular study of village carolling in the Pennines. The emergence of carol singing in this part of England has been dated to the 18th century and consists of a style and repertoire very different to the conception of carols which emerged in the Victorian period. Russell has also compiled edited volumes of carols and compiled CDs of carolling from the Pennines.

From 1994, Russell directed a biennial Festival of Village Carols at Sheffield.

Between 1980 and 1993, Russell was editor of Folk Music Journal, published by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS). His editorship was praised for "raising the stature of the Journal": widening the range of its contributors and increasing in size its reviews section.

Elphinstone Institute Russell became Director of the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen in 1999, a post he held until retirement in 2014.

During Russell's time as Director of the Institute, he convened conferences for the British Forum for Ethnomusicology in Aberdeen in 2004 and 2008 and the 27th meeting of the European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM) in September 2011. In 2013, Russell co-edited a published collection of papers from this conference, Taking Part in Music: Case Studies in Ethnomusicology.

He was also key to the creation of the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention, conferences of which were held at the Elphinstone Institute, with proceedings from them appearing in print, co-edited by Russell.

The Elphinstone Institute "specialises in the ethnology and folklore of Northern Scotland"

Recognition The Folklore Society awarded Russell its Coote Lake Medal in 1987, for "outstanding research and scholarship". In 1998, he was awarded the Gold Badge of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, the Society's highest honour. The Points of Light award "recognises outstanding individual volunteers who make a positive change in their community and inspire others".

In 2020, Russell was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday honours.

Selected publications Russell, Ian (1979). "'Here Comes Me and Our Old Lass, Short of Money and Short of Brass': A Survey of Traditional Drama in North East Derbyshire 1970-8". Folk Music Journal. 3 (5): 399-478. Russell, Ian (1987). “Stability and Change in a Sheffield Singing Tradition.” Folk Music Journal. 5 (3): 317–58. Russell, Ian (2003). "The Singer’s the Thing: The Individual and Group Identity in a Pennine Singing Tradition". Folk Music Journal. 8 (3): 266-281. Russell, Ian and Atkinson, David (eds). (2004). Folk Song: Tradition, Revival, and Re-Creation. Aberdeen: The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen. . . Russell, Ian (2006). "Working with Tradition: Towards a Partnership Model of Fieldwork". Folklore, 117 (1): 15-32. Russell, Ian and Alburger, Mary Anne. (eds.) (2006) Play It Like It Is: Fiddle and Dance Studies from around the North Atlantic. Aberdeen: The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen. . . Russell, Ian (2006). "Competing with Ballads (and Whisky?): The Construction, Celebration, and Commercialization of North-East Scottish Identity". Folk Music Journal. 9 (2): 170-191. Russell, Ian (2009). "Scotland's Traditional Music and Song as Cultural, Social, and Economic Assets". Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies. 2 (2): 123-137. https://www.abdn.ac.uk/riiss/content-images/JISSv2.2_OpenAccess.pdf Russell, Ian (2010). "Songs for the Bothy: Re-Creating Realities for a Fictive World". Folklore Historian, vol. 27, pp. 27–50 Russell, Ian (2011). "Negotiating the Sacred and the Secular: Vernacular Performance in a North-East Scottish Coastal Community", Musiké: International Journal of Ethnomusicological Studies. 3 (5-6): 165-180. Russell, Ian (2011, new edn 2018) The Sheffield Book of Village Carols. Sheffield: Village Carols.. Russell, Ian (2012, new edn 2020) The Derbyshire Book of Village Carols. Sheffield: Village Carols. . Russell, Ian and Ingram, Catherine (eds.) (2013) Taking part in music: case studies in ethnomusicology. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press. . .

Related material Benjamin Botkin folklife lecture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, 'The "Hidden" carols: a Christmas singing tradition in the English Pennines', 7 January 2014