The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #126764 Message #2823522
Posted By: Bryn Pugh
28-Jan-10 - 10:46 AM
Thread Name: Folk Clubs, Greater Manchester 1960-99
Subject: RE: Folk Clubs, Greater Manchester 1960-99
I have posted above about a particular calendar date I remember - October 9th 1966, when I first saw Martin Carthy 'live' (in concert) at the Navigation, Lancashire Hill, Stockport : my "Sam Larner" moment.
(To let you know, I had been playing bass guitar with a 'rock group' [that dates me, don't it ?] and, "we" had been doing Peter Paul and Mary numbers in gigs - and they were going down. I became more interested in "folky" stuff
which, inter alia, led to the break up of the outfit. The next incarnation, with me still on bass, gave birth to the Hollies.)
There is just one other calendar date I can be positive about : December 6th 1971, Poynton FC, where I was the support for the Johnstons, and fell arse over earholes in love with Adrienne.
Strange, that no one seems to remember the club at the Saddle, Bradshawgate, Bolton, with Meic Stevens and Ian Chisholm, and John Roberts (oh, and your correspondent).
Ian Chisholm was the only guitarist (and he had a Gibson J45 - in 1965 !!) I ever heard, before and since, who could "bend" a harmonic in the style of Davy Graham.
Meic Stevens looked like an ape, sang like an angel and could play 12 string guitar like Lead Belly - and then some.
I still have the single he made for Decca "Did I see or did I dream", backed with "Gathering Clouds of Black and Grey".
Whether it would play or not is another matter.
There seemed to be a fashion for "Folk Groups" at this time - there was the Frank Duffy FG, and the Meic Stevens FG - and I will swear that dramatis personae were Meic, Ian Chisholm and ANNA FORD - yes, that one.
Someone mentioned the "Cavalcade" Didsbury. When it was the host for the Didsbury Training College FC it was the "Wellington", surely ?