shepherdlass:"And NormanD, to liken it to the deeply offensive Black and White Minstrels is surely a bit extreme..."

Not guilty, I never said that. I said: "It was like watching a car crash of a previous life. Truth is, though, it was mainstream entertainment that used trad. music - and that's the closest TV got to broadcasting folk music in 1960."

The Black & White Minstrels analogy said "Terrible at the time, worse now". I agree with that completely. I couldn't watch it - I squirmed for 10 minutes, it was even beyond mockery. I presumed the programmers put it on as a piece of high-camp piss-taking. 46 years later, we're oh so much more sophisticated....

norman