QUOTE 'The main thing it has to express for most of its followers is - hey I'm not a working class oik. Therefore I sing in a funny way.'

Now, call me old fashioned, but (speaking here as someone who loves traditional folk but also has lots of what you could call contemporary folk in his collection) I think that's a bit unfair. I don't understand how the singing style of present day singers of traditional songs can be construed as somehow 'anti-working class'... especially considering those styles are in part influenced by the singing styles of source singers and by the singing style of people like Ewan McColl who as far as I know wasn't exactly a Daily Mail reading suburban middle class Tory! And if some of the singers are from middle class backgrounds, should this somehow mean they should be excluded from singing?

And if we cherish our traditional music, should we not support its study at our universities, its funding by our arts bodies and its elevation to the status of national treasure? They don't struggle with this in other countries, I believe. I don't see how supporting our traditional music can or should have an iota of negative or problematic impact on anyone who wants to write or play contemporary folk at their local folk club or anywhere else. It's not as if anything is being taken away from anyone, is it?

Cheers

Nigel