I am only speaking of the Folk Clubs I've been to, but in 35 years of attending any amount of them I think I'm well acquainted with the limits of The Revival and the various delusions going down as a consequence - delusions which, I might add, I've only got a problem with if they get passed off as being somehow superior to more natural forms of popular cultural expression of which Karaoke is but one of the more recent manifestations. Sing your Child Ballads and 1954 Approved Folk Songs (as I do myself) - just don't go thinking that what you are doing is any way, shape or form more Traditional or indeed Worthy than what goes on at your local on Karaoke night.

The X-Factor manipulates this natural quality of human musicality by feeding on the equally natural emotions of both performer and audience alike; by offering a fast-track to celebrity status it perverts something which is fundamental to our humanity.