The Free Reed "Revival Masters" Box-set of Peter Bellamy's masterpiece Ballad-Opera 'The Transports - The Silver Edition Box-Set' (FRDCD 2122), was released on 29 th March 2004

It's just over 25 years since the release of Peter Bellamy's masterwork "The Transports - a Ballad Opera" - a work that is now recognised as one of the true masterpieces of the Folk Revival.  

Bellamy's masterwork, unavailable for some time, is now released as a 2-CD/Book/Box-set 25 th anniversary 'Silver Edition' of the ballad opera, on Free Reed's Revival Masters box set label.  

Its 1977 vinyl release was voted 'Folk LP of the year' - and 25 years on, it's still way up there, recently in:  

• MoJo Magazine's 'Top 100 Recordings of the 20th Century'  
• BBC 2's "Best folk albums of the 20th century" !  

CD1 of this lavish Silver Edition box-set features the remastered original 1977 recordings, performed by singers who are a veritable time-capsule of the front rank of the 1970s folk revival

• Martin Carthy, Nic Jones
• Mike & Norma Waterson
• A L Lloyd, June Tabor
• Cyril Tawney, Dave Swarbrick and many more) ?

The set's second CD 'The Transports 2004 ? Peter's Friends' is all new recordings by many of Peter's close friends who have revisited and reinterpreted his classic Transports songs, and their startling performances feature as CD2 of the set.    Performers include:

• Coope Boyes & Simpson , John Kirkpatrick, Steve Tilston
• Fairport Convention and Fairport's Simon Nicol and Chris Leslie.
• Grace Notes, Witches of Elswick, Tom McConville
• Pete Morton, Damien Barber, and Bacca Pipes folk club.

The Set's fine 136-page book details the History of the First Fleet and of the English 'Transported Convicts' . There's a full discography, detailed artist biographies of both the 1977 and 2004 casts, with reminiscences, many interviews, and a Recording The Transports rare picture archive of Tony Fisher's previously unpublished photographs of the1977 sessions.