THE songs of Nick Drake have long been a source of inspiration for musicians all over the world, writes JOHN ANSON.

But now it is the work of his mother Molly which has attracted the attention of one of the UK's leading folk outfits.

Singing sisters The Unthanks have recorded a series of songs which Molly recorded at home in the fifties and produced Diversions Vol 4 - The Songs And Poems Of Molly Drake.

And now, with their band, the Unthanks are heading out on the road to bring the work to audiences around the country, including shows at Kendal and Barrow.

"People will be familiar with Nick Drake for his really thoughtful and introspective songs," said Rachel Unthank. "But the songs and poems which his mother Molly wrote will surprise people I'm sure.

"They are so beautiful and witty and she wasn't afraid to shy away from revealing her feelings. But the amazing thing was that she just did them for family and friends, they were recorded at home on a reel to reel tape recorder and were never intended to be anything more."

Rachel and sister Becky became aware of Molly's work after becoming friends with actress Gabrielle Drake, Nick's sister.

"Becky sang one of Nick's songs, River Man, on our first album," said Rachel. "As a result Gabrielle and Kelly who runs the Nick Drake estate came to see us and we kind of made friends through that.

"They had these old recordings of Molly which led to them putting out an album of her songs a few years ago and they sent us one. We thought it would be might be interesting to see what her songs were like and we thought we might learn a bit more about Nick as well.

"But actually we connected with the songs straight away. She was a marvellous songwriter."

Nick Drake was only 26 when he died in 1974 with Molly dying 19 years later aged 78.

"Molly is definitely an artist in her own right and we were really excited by the songs," said Rachel. "We wanted to do something with them and give them a different life. The estate have been very supportive of us doing that."

The Unthanks are no strangers to tackling unusual projects. Previous Diversions projects have seen them release an album with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, cover the songs of Robert Wyatt and produce an album inspired by the shipyards of their native north east.

"I think we are quite magpie like," laughed Rachel. "Although Becky and I were brought up singing folk songs we were encouraged to sing songs that we connected to or we enjoyed. We've always done that when we've collected songs together.

"It doesn't matter what genre they come from, it's just songs that we wanted to sing and which have a story to tell.

"I think we are just music lovers and we just love to explore music that interests and excites us. Molly really struck a chord especially as a woman and a mother as well. To have so many rich songs from a woman's perspective is a real treat."

For the live shows the songs will also be reworked to include some of Molly's poetry.

"Gabrielle has very kindly agreed to record some of her mum's poems for us to incorporate into the show - they are very beautiful," said Rachel. "There is a real kind of thoughtfulness which she shares with Nick."

The tour will keep the sisters on the road until the end of May.

"We've got some festivals this summer," said Rachel, "and we're also hoping to release another Diversions album before the end of the year. We did some shows last year with orchestras which were recorded so we're hoping to use those for Diversions 5."

The Unthanks play Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre on Friday, April 21 (7.30pm) and The Forum, Barrow, on Sunday, May 7 (7.30pm).