This is one for UK Mudcatters a few years older than me, as I spent the 70s being between 6 and 16 years old, so know nothing.

I’ve been going down a bit of a rabbit hole of UK folk albums from the 70s that were either self released or released on independent/specialist labels. One thing I noticed is that many of these labels - Westwood, Midas, Folk Heritage, Sweet Folk & Country (which has a clue in the name) also released UK country albums as well as traditional and contemporary folk.

What was going on here? Is it simply that Alan Green & co saw a gap in the market that wasn’t being filled by existing labels and filled it, or were these country bands part of the folk scene? Did country acts play at folk clubs in the 70s or did they have their own separate circuit - but shared the same record labels? Was there a sub set of folk clubs that had a broader repertoire of acts - I am aware some clubs booked comedians and entertainers, so I guess why not country bands? Or were you more likely to see these acts at working men’s clubs and other venues?

I’m not trying to start a discussion about whether country bands should play folk clubs, or what is a folk club etc. I’m just intrigued about whether there was a folk club/country music crossover in the 70s and would love to hear from people who were part of it, if it existed. Thanks in advance for your insights and memories!

Cheers
Nigel