Vic, thanks for the info about Cyril Phillips (a 'foldaway gate', no less!). I was making no judgement on him, just pointing out what some might see as the irony in Fred Jordan disapproving of another singer hamming up an agricultural persona. My present line of research concerns the thorny question of 'authenticity' in regards to the Folk Revival, so questions over the self-conscious or even self-parodic performance styles of some traditional singers are of great interest. As is the development of the style of an influential revival singer like Ewan MacColl.