Peel discovered June Tabor when Tim Hart, member of Steeleye Span, was due to perform a session for his show with his usual singing partner and fellow Steeleye member Maddy Prior in 1975 (Hart and Prior had already done previous sessions for Peel, beginning on Night Ride in 1969). However, she had a sore throat and Tim Hart decided to call June Tabor, who he knew from her work with other folk artists, to invite her to perform with him. After the session was performed, Peel said he very much liked her voice and, once she had begun her solo recording career with Topic Records, played her music regularly on his shows. He was impressed by her 1976 debut album, Airs and Graces, particularly the track "The Band Played 'Waltzing Matilda'", which he played repeatedly. Tabor recorded a total of sev