Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Prize-winning Roller Derby song to debut at music and sport conference
The conference, in partnership with the Fields of Vision sport and art network, features a diverse programme of events including performances and academic papers investigating the links between music and sport.
Roller Derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller-skating anti-clockwise around a track. Although the sport is played mainly in the United States, it has an increasing following here in the UK.
Peter Spafford said: “I had the idea for the song after I talked to a young musician I know. She's a new convert to playing Roller and particularly likes the competitive, highly physical aspects of it.
“I did a phone interview with her and was struck by how central a place the sport had come to occupy in her life, as a contrast to the more cerebral activity of making music. I was also curious to hear how quickly the sport had become established in her weekly routine, both as a necessary physical outlet, but also as a social ritual.
“The lyrics are entirely verbatim from that interview. I was also keen to incorporate phrases that players shout to each other. As a male writer and singer, I wanted to include female voices in the piece, which is why I have woven in the two voices reciting names from the Roller Hall of Fame and the titles of British Roller teams.
“‘I’m really honoured to have won this commission and to be part of this exciting and innovative conference’.
Peter Spafford is an artist and songwriter based in Leeds. Six years ago he joined up with Richard Ormrod, multi-instrumentalist and arranger and singer Jacqui Wicks to form Schwa, a trio of musicians and writers from West Yorkshire.
Schwa have made three albums and toured arts festivals around the north of England. Peter Spafford has also collaborated with double-bassist Dave Bowie Jnr on two projects, including last year’s The Weight of Smoke.
The Music & Sport Knowing the Score Conference will take place between 09:30 and 17:15 on Wednesday 26 June in the Lewis Jones Suite at The Emerald Headingley Stadium. Further information on the conference is available on the university’s website.