In a recent CD review (Rum and Raspberry - Jeff Wesley) on the Musical Traditions web mag., Rod Stradling uses (for me at least) a new term to describe singers who he feels are neither "Traditional" nor "Revival", ie.. He calls them "Successors".

As I know, and have known for many years, the singer in question -Jeff Wesley; it started me thinking.
As I said I know Jeff from Nether Heyford Folk Club back in the 1970's & 80's and he used to often come to the Banbury Folk Club when I sang regularly there.

Jeff is a lovely singer and a wonderfully kind and gentle man - and to boot a farmer, right in the mold of the singers of old. However, it is my general belief that Jeff, much like many us, sang songs he liked from any source he had access to.
BUT - because he was a farmer and not in computing or the ilk, etc. he was more accepted into fold by those who wish to categorize.
Maybe if I had continued to be a sheet metal worker/welder I too could be classed as a successor?
Please DON'T take my comments in anyway as being critical of either the singer, whom I admire and like immensely and hopefully can still call a friend, nor Musical Traditions - who I think generally do a great job all round,even when we don't always agree on everything.

However - does anyone else have an opinion?

Tim Radford