Making July Morning for BBC Radio 4
I was talking to my close friend, Kami, who first mentioned Uriah Heep. I’m not exactly a big prog rock fan and I had never heard of them. She was adamant I’d know their song, July Morning, and played it out loud on her phone. It was totally unfamiliar.
But it turns out this British band has a huge following in Bulgaria. As unlikely as it seems, their song July Morning inspired a summer tradition on the Black Sea coast that has been going for over four decades.
I thought the story of this song having such a significant second life in the Balkans deserved more research. It reminded me a bit of the podcast Wind of Change, about the Scorpions, the CIA and the Soviet Union.
I was hoping to make something that felt more like being taken on a meandering road trip than a purely informational history of the song, so I was really happy when it was commissioned for BBC Radio 4’s Illuminated - the network’s home for surprising and one-off documentaries.
Last June, I went to Bulgaria and with my friend Kami and musician Milenita, we drove from Sofia to the coast. Along the way, we interviewed the “metal mayor” Kmetal Tsonko Tsonev in Bulgaria’s Rock capital, Kavarna, who told us about his friendship with late Uriah Heep singer John Lawton.
We then went to one of the country’s easternmost points, Kamen Bryag, which is one of the key places people celebrate July Morning. On the last night of June, Kami, Milenita and I wandered around the site speaking to people there - musicians, organisers and revellers. It was a blur of conversations with strangers while waiting for the sunrise.
We spoke to teenagers who knew little about the tradition’s origins, and who were born long after the cultural restrictions of 80s state socialism. Leather-clad rockers in their 70s. People from France and Scotland, there with their Bulgarian partners.
For Milenita, the July Morning tradition is a spiritual moment of greeting the sun. As we stood on the cliffs, the sun peeking over the sea, she spoke beautifully about what it meant for her. And then, of course, the Uriah Heep song which inspired it all, started blaring from huge speakers by the stage.
When I was back home, and going through hours of material, I decided I wanted to make something which brought the listener into our car and even into the recording of the programme. I wanted it to feel full of the colour of a hot summer in Bulgaria - trams, birds, crickets, waves, footsteps on gravel, barking dogs and sudden unexpected rain.
I worked with brilliant sound designer Jonathan Webb on the sound identity. He really helped to bring this all to life.
July Morning was produced by Carys Wall. The executive producer was Dave Howard and it was a Bespoken Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Listen to July Morning on BBC Sounds or on any other podcast app
