Editing June Tabor (section)

== Early life ==
June Tabor was born and grew up in [[Warwick]], England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003380/June-Tabor.html|title = June Tabor Biography|website=Musicianguide.com}}</ref> As a young woman of 18, she was inspired to sing by hearing [[Anne Briggs]]' EP ''[[The Hazards of Love (EP)|The Hazards of Love]]'' in 1965.
<blockquote>"I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I started singing. If I hadn't heard her I'd have probably done something entirely different."<ref>Liner notes on the album ''A Collection'' by Anne Briggs.</ref></blockquote> 

Discussing in a 2008 interview how she developed her characteristic style, she said, <blockquote>"I have no musical education whatsoever...I just learned the songs and copied the phrasing by playing those records ad nauseam, trying out both [Anne Briggs and [[Belle Stewart]]] singers' styles. Then I tried putting the two together, and missing a few bits out – and that's approximately what I've been doing ever since. It's also why I don't do singing workshops, because that's about as much as I can tell anyone."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/art-of-the-interpreter-1.835677 |title=Art of the interpreter (From Herald Scotland) |work=The Herald|location=Glasgow |date=2008-01-26 |access-date=2015-11-24}}</ref></blockquote>

Her earliest public performances were in the mid 1960s at the Heart of England Folk Club, in the Fox and Vivian pub in [[Leamington Spa]].

She attended [[St Hugh's College, Oxford]] University and appeared on ''[[University Challenge]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.martin-kingsbury.co.uk/articles/june%20tabor.htm |title=June Tabor |website=Martin-kingsbury.co.uk |access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref> in 1968, as captain of the college team. She joined the Heritage Society at Oxford University and sang with a group called Mistral. 

After she performed at Sidmouth Folk Festival, she was booked in folk clubs and contributed to various recordings. One of her earliest was in 1972 on an anthology called ''Stagfolk Live''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netrhythms.co.uk/reviewst.html |title=A to Z Album and Gig reviews |website=Netrhythms.co.uk |access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref> She is also featured on [[Rosie Hardman]]'s ''Firebird'' (1972) and ''The First Folk Review Record'' (1974). At the time she was singing purely traditional, unaccompanied material.

In 1976 Tabor collaborated with [[Maddy Prior]] on the ''[[Silly Sisters (album)|Silly Sisters]]'' album and tour, with a full band that included [[Nic Jones]]. It provided the launching pad that same year (1976) for her first album in her own right, ''Airs and Graces''. She later joined again with Prior, this time using the name [[Silly Sisters (band)|Silly Sisters]] for their duo.  

Starting in 1977, [[Martin Simpson]] joined Tabor in the recording studio for three albums before he moved to the United States in 1987. (Since his return, Simpson has been a guest artist on albums released in the 2000s. After Simpson's departure, Tabor started working closely with pianist [[Huw Warren]].

After working for decades as a singer, Tabor stopped performing professionally for a time. She made some guest appearances with [[Fairport Convention]] during this period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mainlynorfolk.info/fairport/records/theotherbootthethirdleg.html#thethirdleg |title=Fairport Convention: The Other Boot / The Third Leg |website=Mainlynorfolk.info |date=27 April 2014 |access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref> She also worked as a librarian.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brightfieldproductions.co.uk/june_tabor_biog.htm |title=June Tabor short biography |website=Brightfieldproductions.co.uk |access-date=24 November 2015 |archive-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414051642/http://www.brightfieldproductions.co.uk/june_tabor_biog.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abctales.com/node/147154 |title=Richard Thompson |website=Abctales.com |access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/charts/50rhythms.html |title=Charts |work=The Wire |access-date=24 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200650/http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/charts/50rhythms.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/maddyprior/albums/album/183396/review/5945160/silly_sisters] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002074920/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/maddyprior/albums/album/183396/review/5945160/silly_sisters|date=2 October 2007}}</ref> With her husband David Taylor (they have since divorced), she ran a restaurant called "Passepartout" in [[Penrith, Cumbria]]. In the 1990s she returned to music professionally.{{cn|date=May 2023}}