| AdminHistory | This is the fourth of the BBC Radio Ballads about miners of the Northumberland, Durham, South Wales, and East Midlands coalfields. During this project Parker, Seeger and MacColl were introduced to the legend of the Big Hewer, after whom the ballad was titled, a superman of the British coalfields. This figure was recognised in various regions by different names; Jack Tempest and Bob Temple in Northumberland; Bob Towers in Co. Durham; Jackie Torr in Derbyshire; and Isaac Lewis in South Wales. The ballad explores the lives of miners and their communities, and the demands, dangers, and rewards of mining.
The Big Hewer Radio Ballad was broadcast on the BBC on 18 August 1961. On 9 May 1974, a documentary version for television, also called 'The Big Hewer' was broadcast on BBC 2. It was adapted and produced by Philip Donnellan, edited by Oliver White, with singers Ewan MacColl, A.L. Lloyd, Isla Cameron, Louis Killeen, Joe Higgins, and Ian Campbell. The documentary was filmed at Bettws Colliery, Ammanford; Bettshangar Colliery, Deal; and Bilsthorpe Colliery, Notts (information from the British Film Institute Film and TV database at www.bfi.org.uk). |