The Blaydon Races: The Story Behind the Tyneside Anthem and Sporting Event

Inhabitants of the Tyneside region are undoubtedly familiar with the 19th-century song, 'The Blaydon Races'. It describes a journey from Newcastle's city centre to Blaydon to see the races, and even became immortalised in art. The song is traditionally sung in the local Geordie dialect, although over time, some of the language has softened to make it more easily understood by outsiders.

Now sung at football and rugby events in the area, the song preserves a slice of history, and the characters that populated the area at the time. Given this month's focus on exploring a city's folk life through its history, looking at a folk song that came to represent the city seems the ideal subject for an episode! 

But what are the Blaydon Races, and why did they end up being the subject of a music-hall song? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore.

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