Only heard the sad news today ...

Some people were asking about recordings of Ralph, and I find he's put some online here:
https://sites.google.com/site/theattictapes/collaborations
I found it a lovely reminder of some his other collaborations ...

Other memories include him as sound engineer for "Andy Cronshaw and ...", most memorably at a concert which my memory insists was in the Shaw Theatre, which almost certainly means it was somewhere else ... It was one of the gigs where June Tabor was the star of the "and ...", and Ralphie was particularly pleased with it (June's encore of "Catch a Falling Star" sticks in my mind. Then there was the Jumpleads gig in Carenas at Sidmouth where Ralph did the PA "as a favour" ... His christening of Carenas as "The black hole" stuck ...

We must have met him more than 30 years ago ... Chris, my wife, had not been playing very long and was busking on the terrace at a Bracknell Folk Festival. Ralph came along, recognised her McCann duet, said "I've got one of those ...", fetched it, joined in, and in the most encouraging way showed something more of what you could do with the instrument. Too soon he had to go off to do something, saying "We must get together and do this again next year." Despite that not happening, that musical exchange was a great boost to Chris's playing. On a few of our many many meetings over the years they found themselves in the same session, most recently all-too-briefly at the Stowmarket East Anglian Traditional Music day a couple of years ago. Sadly they'll never play together again ...

I note the Folkipedia site suggests Ralph provided PA for many bands ... That made me laugh, 'cause whatever may have happened recently, for many years Ralph would act as sound engineer, providing someone else was providing the PA. I remember him telling me of turning up at one gig (it might have been another Andy Cronshaw one) with two mics and no other kit, and having problems persuading the venue that he really WAS the sound engineer for the evening's gig, and they really should let him in ...

Excuse the ramblings - shocked reaction to the news ...