Ruth, certainly some morris tunes came from the minstrels, but it wasn't just border - there are quite a few Cotswold tunes but there's no tradition there of blacking up. They were the pop songs of the time and it's not surprising they were adopted by folk musicians.

But that was the reason behind my OP, to try to establish whether there was actual evidence that sides blacked up before the minstrel craze. I'm told there is, although no one has said exactly what evidence.

However it is also apparent that other colours besides black were used, which suggests to me that they simply used whatever was readily available, including not only soot and burnt cork but also raddle, and that the actual colour was less important - which supports the view that it was a disguise and nothing to do with the minstrels.

In which case Les has a valid point, why should modern sides object to changing to a colour which is less open to misinterpretation?