Are we still discussing Ewan MacColl’s singing?
If so were I to be pressed on what is the finest thing that I have seen or heard in a folk club over the last fifty four years then the answer would have to be MacColl’s rendition of “James Herries” in The County Hotel, South Shields in 1970.
Over the preceding and ensuing years I have enjoyed many a great night listening to both traditional and revival singers and musicians but a performance by MacColl and Seeger always stood out from anything else. Maybe it was theatrical or maybe because it would be a mini - concert but each time I saw them it was unforgettable. Only once, when we booked them in 1972, he appeared to have trouble remembering his words which surprised me a lot but on the two occasions that I saw them afterwards he was as sharp as ever.