Then theres pensioners day at B and Q.

The scraps at the checkout between all these old farts who won't wait for each other to be served is far more angry and argumentative than any folk clubs.

By and large, us musicians are not very rude. At least, not to each others faces.

I think theres two aspects really. Namely what you're trying to do and what your background is.

I really admire Noel Murphy. I saw him play one of the best folk club gigs I have ever seen in my life to a tiny audience. the passion to communicate and perform were quite undiminished by the tiny audience - one of which was dim sixteen year old kid (namely me) And may be five other people.

Although I'd seen him other times in between - I saw him about twelve years later as my pro career was taking off. he was doing the guest spot at The Boggery in Solihull, and he was just about getting by. (I wasn't even doing that.) And I know that Les Ward booked him after that - so Les must have been quite pleased - but the noisy audience weren't his cup of tea, and they weren't getting the best from him.


Anyway fast forward a few years and i saw his name in the Irish Times writing an article for that prominent organ. By then there was an Irish theme pb on every street corner and I assumed that he was making a fortune - like every other Irish singer, who had the stomach for that kind of thing.

I wrote him and got this charming letter back. he seemed enchanted that he occupied such a warm place in one of his fan's memories. he said alas no - he found he couldn't work in the noisy audiences of the theme pub. And to be honest I thought that was damnanbly sad. for him and the audiences.

Similarly I started a folk club in a mining village and got Derek Brimstone play a guest spot. the local folk were noisy and ignorant. And it was a shit experience for Derek. i folded the club not long after - I didn't want to run anywhere where Derek couldn't play.

my wife said afterwards, you know if you or Bob Stokes (the Dublin Busker) had been doing that gig - you would simply have brushed that sort of stuff away. cos you both know about noisy audiences and how to work them.

In a way the folk clubs had made Noel and Derek kind of dependent on that very attentive audience.

And I think similarly when people are asking for special consideration for unaccompanied singing and monologues - these things must have worked in noisy music halls and alehouses.

Don't get me wrong - the whole business of performance - like that of teaching, presupposes some basic act and spirit of cooperation. But ask any teacher - no class is a pushover. You must labour mightily to impress your personality as a performer or teacher, sometimes against the odds.