Kae Tempest on Performance

Poet, playwright, rapper and activist Kae Tempest joins Lemn Sissay to discuss the power of live performance.

Inspired by recordings in the British Library Sound Archive (see below for a full list) their conversation explores why Kae starting performing spoken word, what the atmosphere of a gig means to them and why they think we love to hear words performed live.

Kae has won the Ted Hughes Award, their albums Everybody Down and Let Them Eat Chaos were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and they’re known for their transporting performances on stage. Kae is currently touring their latest album The Line is a Curve.

Please note this episode contains moments of strong language.

Recordings in the episode in order of appearance:

‘Goodman’ by the Smoke Fairies, 2007 demo submitted to the Glastonbury New Bands Competition, donated to the British Library sound archive.

British Library shelfmark: C1238/3268

Jamaican dub poet and activist Linton Kwesi Johnson speaks to Sarah O’Reilly in 2015 for the National Life Stories oral history project ‘Authors’ Lives’.

British Library shelfmark: C1276/60

Paul Simon introduces his song Sparrow in a folk club in Bebbington, Wirral, in 1965.

This recording is part of the Stan Mason collection and was digitised as part of the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project.

British Library shelfmark: UAP004/4 S2 C3

An acapella performance by a group of women from the Divis Community Centre Drama Group, recorded in 1985 near Belfast. Copyright of Linda Ballard and performers; National Museums NI.

British Library shelfmark: UNMNI002/474 C1-C6

Benjamin Zephaniah performs his poem Thirteen Dead at the Poetry Olympics festival that took place in 1983. This was recorded by the British Library at

the Young Vic Theatre.

British Library shelfmark: C92/2 C43

Malika Booker speaks to Dr Hannah Silva in 2016 as part of a collection of interviews called Black British Poets in Performance.

British Library shelfmark: C1874/12

Susan Musgrove performs her poem Taboo Man the Poetry Olympics festival that took place in 1983. This was recorded by the British Library at the Young

Vic Theatre.

British Library shelfmark: C92/1 C22

Roger McGough performs his poem Writer of this Poem at the Poetry Olympics festival that took place in 1983. This was recorded by the British Library

at the Young Vic Theatre.

British Library shelfmark: C92/2 C56