Anne Briggs

The Profile

Anne Briggs (born 1944, Nottinghamshire) is an English folk singer central to the 1960s British folk revival, renowned for unaccompanied traditional songs and an influential, natural voice. After a brief, impactful run of recordings—including two albums in 1971—she withdrew from the music scene in the early 1970s.

Key figure of the British folk revival; active mainly in the 1960s–early 1970s; English, from Nottinghamshire; noted for unaccompanied traditional singing; recorded a small, influential body of work (including Anne Briggs and The Time Has Come) and then retired from public performance in her late twenties.

Two admiring reviews portray Anne Briggs as a singular voice of the British folk revival. They celebrate her unadorned, wild, and intimate singing, and the aura of mystery around her brief discography. Focus falls on the albums Anne Briggs and The Time Has Come, with nods to early recordings. The pieces stress memory, tradition, and an artist who chose freedom over fame.