I agree completely with that Gavin.

the traddy/contemporary divide was so destructive. at one time it seemed like every hamlet in England had a folk club with john Denver/spinners type residents. one of the saddest things was hearing Wizz Jones say forlornly from the stage at Sidmouth last year - towards the end of the '70's and into the 80's - there was no work for singers like me in England.

we won't recover from an era of treating our major artists so shoddily in five minutes.

when a songwriter like Gaz Brookfield is not really reaching the folk clubs - I think the situation has gotten away from us. he reminds me of a young Harvey Andrews. quite brilliant in his way.