He was extraordinary but I can't really say why.

Let me tell you why - because like Peter Bellamy & Seamus Ennis before him, Jim Eldon is one of the few true masters of the Traditional Craft; like them he is idiosyncratic, single-minded and a taste worth acquiring because once acquired it leads to untold treasures of which he is a veritable font. In Jim Eldon once senses the true essence of Traditional Popular Song and the artistic genius, mastery & self-effacing humility that gives it substance. Storyteller, fiddler, entertainer, singer of Traditional Songs, collector of Traditional songs, song writer, unique interpreter of Popular Song and one of our nations last remaining truly unique Treasures with a record legacy of staggering variety and consistency. Jim Eldon is, quite simply, the pure drop. I've been in awe of the man forever really - 30 years - though rarely have our paths crossed. One time they did was after a storytelling gig in Newcastle about 15 years ago. We sat eating pizza in someone's front room and he asked me if I knew the words to Born to Be Wild.

Along with Michael Hurley he keeps my folk fires burning. If you don't like Jim Eldon, you don't like life, it really is that simple.