"Of course no one here would agree at that point it had become a 'folk song'....."
And there is no reason that it ever should be, as its catchiness is based on pre-war American pop song form which, as enjoyable as it is, bears no relation whatever to folk song in either style or content.
"So long as every few weeks you turn up at your local folk club with your trousers up to your tits and appear authentic"
And once again you feel it necessary to distort our attitude out of all recognition with your offensive descriptions of what folk song is - a pretty clear example that you have no honest argument of your own.
As far as I'm concerned, traditional song is valid enough as an entertainment not to need the phoniness of mock-countrified uniforms (despite Al's dishonest claims that the Birmingham crowd all wore "fishermen's smocks") - that was the stuff of the folk boom - not the Singers Club or The Musical Traditions Club ot The Grey Cock, or the Wayfarers in Manchester or any of Harry Boardman's clubs or the Victoria or the Trawler in Liverpool, or any club I have been associated with.
That has nothing to do with folk song as I knew it - it is a figment of your own invention and is dishonest of you to claim otherwise.
You want to show that either Mike or I have put forward such an idea, please do so, otherwise PLEASE STOP MAKING THINGS UP - YOUR DOING SO ONLY SHOWS THE WEAKNESS OF YOUR OWN ARGUMENTS AND ITS EXACTLY THIS THAT HAS LED TO ANY BITTERNESS AND ACRIMONY HERE
Folk-song is also powerful enough to be used to create new songs which might have become folk songs had the situation still existed to make that possible.   
All the singers Mike mentioned largely based what they did on the folk tradition and any new material they made or sang on traditional song was identifiable as stemming from folk song - which is not what is being argued for here.
MacColl certainly never claimed his songs as 'folk' - he went out of his way to say they weren't - he always described them as 'contemporary songs' in public performances.
NEW BRITON GAZETTE
At the same time he argued that, without new songs being written and performed, the clubs would become little more than museums - I go along with that entirely - but it is not until thoese songs take a life of their own out of the rarefied atmosphere of the folk scene that they will become folk scene - the 'folk' decide what is theirs by making it part of their culture, just as the record-buying public decide what will be 'a hit' - this is not a decision for song writers or club organisers to make.
By the way - missed a bit earlier Bryan:
" Jim would have us believe, there are no other traditional clubs in the country."
It seems you have joined Muskie in inventing attitudes on my behalf - from the beginning I have actually argued that the tradition side of the scene has seriously declined, not that it has disappeared altogether
To suggest otherwise, as you have here, puts you squarely on Muskie and Al's level.
If you disagree with what I have to say, have the decency and honesty to to address what I have to say and not make things up.
Jim Carroll