When Karine Polwart learned that a man in the next town was in the end stages of cancer in the early days of covid, she offered to do something to celebrate his life - and inadvertently change her own.
“It was partly because I really liked him, and partly because I had absolutely nothing to do,” said Polwart, of offering the gift of live music to a dying man. “It was that early period of the pandemic, between March and June 2020. I was fishing around for purpose.”
In the spring of that year, the folk singer, who lives in Pathhead, Midlothian, wrote to Al Beck who lived in the neighbouring village of Humbie with an offer of the gift of music.
“Al ran the cafe, the shop and the local cinema club. He did the ceilidhs and the gigs and the art exhibitions. I’d only known him for about four years, but I knew how sparky and supportive a character he was, the sort of guy who made stuff happen in a community.
“When I heard he was at the end stage of cancer, I wrote and said I would do a wee gig in the garden or through the window. He replied saying he would love that, so I asked him to pick 15 songs and what they mean to him.”
The acclaimed songwriter’s act of generosity led not only to a bespoke micro-festival, but also a life-affirming, candid exchange between the pair, exploring the connection and meaning associated with songs tethered to the chapters of a life.
Now, four years after dad of two Al’s death aged 67, their communication forms the basis of Forever Songs, a new five-part series presented this week by the singer on BBC Radio 3.
“Within 24 hours, Al came back with a five-page photo-illustrated document about his first five songs, everything from the Incredible String Band and John Martyn, to Joan Armatrading and Louden Wainwright III. Every song had a reason, and every one took me into one wee episode in Al’s life,” said Polwart.
“He was basically writing a memoir for his wife and his kids, and he was doing it through songs. We ended up corresponding with each other, he would send me more songs and more stories. And then at the end of July 2020, I arranged to do a gig in his back garden.”
The homespun happening, which the family dubbed Becktival, took the form of a scaled-down festival featuring VIP bars, exclusive backstage areas, exclusive wrist bands, all organised at Al's home in Humbie within the covid restrictions of the first summer of the pandemic.
“Al had been an events organiser and his daughter does high-end events in Ibiza, so the family have it in their DNA,’ said Polwart.
“There was a big banner, we called in Beckstival 2020, and everyone went for it, dressing up with a real Woodstock feel. Everyone really embraced it. It became a real collaboration, a tiny gig which became a festival between me and a family.
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“Al and his wife Janet got up and danced at the end, in what was actually their last dance together. It was an opportunity for me to do what I am made to do, but Janet said it was also an opportunity for Al to acknowledge the end of his life and to talk about it in a way that was creative, honest and funny.
“And it enabled him to cry, which she said was one of the greatest gifts, being able to acknowledge the end of his life while he was alive.
“The gift that I gave was blown out the water by the exchange, and something that became collaboration, a tiny gig which became a festival between me and a family. He gave back his candour, wit and tenderness.”
Polwart was invited by Beck’s family to sing at his woodland funeral later that year.
“My communications with Al have become a proper treasure,” she said. “They’re filled with wry observations about his life, his family and the generations that have come before.”
The gift of music is one the singer has since given to other families in a similar situation to the Becks.
She said: “Last week I sang in a back garden in Edinburgh for a family whose mother is dying of cancer. These are invisible gigs that happen in the background, and I am increasingly aware of the importance of them.
“They enable people to get together as a group of friends and family, doing something joyous and sad, something that feels normal, and allows people to acknowledge the situation. The way Al’s family embraced this idea was really beautiful, and for me too because I didn’t know at that time if I would ever have any more gigs again. It had a bigger emotional impact on me than any gig I’ve ever done.”
Forever Songs, 1-5 July, BBC Radio 3, 9.45pm.
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