Peggy Seeger: “Ageing is a process of watching yourself decompose slowly”
The 85-year-old folk legend reflects on a life in music and why she feels “invisible”.
When Peggy Seeger first performed in London folk clubs in the late Fifties, she would sing in a very high pitch – because she had to make sure she was heard in the back. “They had no microphones, and you had to sing to this huge hall that was packed with people,” she said. “You’re singing into 200 pieces of bone – other people’s heads.” Now aged 85, Seeger is unable to reach that upper octave, so she sings “down in my boots”. “I’ve actually recorded songs where I sing C below middle C. And woo!” she threw her hands in the air, “it feels good to the heart.”