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Creating 'Ready to Fly'

Kerry Sanson

Colum Regan

Author Anthony Cutler writes:

The idea for 'Ready to Fly' was prompted when I witnessed a student-teacher counselling session a few years ago. Both counsellor and student were deeply frustrated by the lack of any material that would allow learners to take a structured and intelligent approach to exploring and learning English through popular music.

'Ready to Fly' was created to fill this gap. It is not only for students who spend a good deal of time listening to music and poring over lyrics in English. Nor is it based on 'trivial, time-filling' activity. It sets out intelligent approaches to exploring the English language and the culture of English-speaking countries through songs.

Behind every set of lyrics are multiple texts: disputed histories, biographies, legends, myths, tragedies, comedies and competing versions. There are themes that students love to discuss. Lyrics, the briefest of texts, can lead to almost 'all life' if teachers and students are prepared to see and exploit the connections. Many teachers seem to think that students have to 'like' any song they hear in the classroom in order to 'maintain interest'. That may be so, if the song is being used as an entertaining time-filler. However, in the world outside the classroom, our critical faculties are constantly being challenged. The songs on 'Ready to Fly' are a starting point. Students don't have to like them. But they can react to them and to all the texts that lie behind them. That is where the fun and the learning begins.

Once I had the germ of an idea, I had to find a musician who understood it, and was lucky enough to find two. Colum Regan and Kerry Sanson have impressive records in performing, writing and musicianship which is highly valued by their peers. They have performed all over the world, and they also know about working with children of all ages and backgrounds. Watching them create a drumming session from scratch with a class of 30 hyperactive young teens is something to behold. Teamed up with producer Lawson Dando (of The Incredible String Band) they went into the studio and came up with a tracklist of impressive variety which was also carefully tailored to language learners' needs. The styles and arrangements are varied but the lyrics are never obscured by the music.

What the critics say about Kerry Sanson and Colum Regan

'Sensational talent…they never fail to energise and enthuse an audience. It's a habit of theirs to upstage all comers - but then again, they're so good they can't help it.' Tunetown

'..free flowing and accurate. Stunning song structures.' Central Station Review

'Superb.' Mono

1 Ready to Fly - Pop (Leaving home/changing your life)
2 My Mama Said - Rap (All about schools and rules)
3 Carrigfergus - Folk (A beautiful Irish lament)
4 Fast Track - Rock (A song about injustice)
5 Before I go _ Ballad (A love song)
6 Iko iko - Trad (Upbeat traditional song from New Orleans)
7 House of the Rising Sun - Trad (Sung by Colum. What does it mean when
xxsung by a man?)
8 House of the Rising Sun - Rock (It can mean something quite different
viwhen sung by a woman.)
9 Velvet Revolution - Ballad (A song about civil disobedience)
10 Holding On - Ballad (Parent-child relationships)
11 Ka-ka Yikki - Trad (All-action frontier shenanigans, USA)
12 Waltzing Matilda - Trad (The Australian favourite explained)
13 The nonsense the animals and me - Pop (Crazy animal capers)
14 Raggle-Taggle Gypsies - Trad (Rousing, traditional and Scottish)
15 Lifelong Friend - Pop ballad (A song about friendship)
16 The Travel Song Reggae (On the move across borders and cultures)

Colum and Kerry with Lawson Dando in studio

Visit Colum and Kerry's web site