Oh dear - just when I thought this thread was beginning to climb the ladder along comes a snake and - bang - down in the gutter again; ah well!
Accommodation:
MacColl and Seeger were fanatics about giving a good performance at a club and in order to do so they persisted with voice and relaxation exercises to keep their voices in form. I know they both did this for a short period each morning as I was woken up by ahhhh and eeee noises on several occasions when I stayed with them. They also recommended it to Critics Group members - whether we took their advive is another matter.
When they were on tour (they seldom did single bookings outside the Home Counties) they asked for accommodation roomy enough to have space to work. MacColl's persistant bad health made some of the longer tours fairly stressful. They also liked to be able to invite people back to ther room after the show occasionally.
5 star Hotel my arse.....
Their booking form (I have one somewhere) explained the situation and asked that accommodation included working space - that's it.
I visited their accommodation when they appeared at the MSG in Manchester, a club sucessful and wealthy enough to have put them up in the Piccadilly Plaza, should they have requested it. They were staying at a somewhat run-of-the-mill guest house next to Salford Cathedral, a few minutes walk from the venue. Any information to the contrary would be gratefully received.
Am also happy to give information on any othey bit of salacious gossip - the songs MacColl stole and claimed as his own, the ripping off of traditional sinegrs, the auditions floor singers had to undergo - even the one about the hedgehog!
Plouter away folks!
Jim Carroll