Never heard of Alex Campbell

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,akenaton.
Date: 23 Apr 18 - 12:59 PM

Damn! forgot to sign in again

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Apr 18 - 12:12 PM

Alex was a wonderful person and entertainer, he also had a very healthy distrust of politicians and political ideologies of all shades. He understood life, as John says, "warts and all"

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 23 Apr 18 - 07:39 AM

Alex was a unique performer, and I loved him, warts and all.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,MikeOfNorthumbria (sans cookie)
Date: 23 Apr 18 - 06:48 AM

Dear Akenaton,

In reference to your comment above:

"The Alex that I remember was neither a revolutionary Marxist nor a wishy washy "liberal"....far from it! ;0)"

Perhaps you misunderstood my comment If so, I apologize for not putting "wishy-washy liberal" in inverted commas - it was meant to be ironic.

Just for the record, the WWL tag was often applied by revolutionary Marxists (among others) to those who believed that the current political and economic situation could be improved by gradual increments, without resorting to violence. It (WWL) became such a familiar cliche that some of us occasionally adopted it (ironically of course!) as a badge of honour. Is that clear enough now?

As to whether Alex was 'apolitical' - well, I knew the man reasonably well over a period of nearly thirty years, and the conversations we had indicated clearly to me that he was both knowledgeable and concerned about many political issues.

To take the most obvious example, Alex supported the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - he wore the badge and went on marches. And as you might expect of a singer whose repertoire included many songs learned from black artists such as Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy and Gary Davis, he was a vehement opponent of racism - abroad or at home. Many other songs that he performed - from Woody Guthrie's dust-bowl ballads to the songs of Scottish traveling people - also highlighted the inhumane treatment of the poor and powerless by the rich and powerful. That's being 'political',isn't it?

Finally, why not take another look at two of the best-known songs he wrote himself - 'My Old Gibson Guitar' and 'So Long'. Both of them give a pretty clear indication of what Alex felt was wrong with the world as it is, and the kind of world he would like to see replace it. If you think they aren't 'political' songs then you and I have a different understanding of the word 'political'.

Finally, I'd like to endorse The Sandman's comment - Alex was a kind and very generous man, as well as a truly great entertainer. None of his recordings - good though some of them are - convey the magic he could generate in a live performance. As I said before, you had to be there.

Wassail!

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Apr 18 - 03:43 AM

Alex was not apolitical, he criticised the singers club policy because it meant that he as a scotsman could not sing woody guthries songs,Alex was a wonderful raconteur and entrtainer and a kind man

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 05:54 PM

I seem to remember Alex doing gigs for UCS...or is that my memory playing tricks. i certainly remember him talking from the stage trying to explain to English audiences what the occupiers of the yards were trying to achieve.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,akenaton
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 11:46 AM

Sorry Mike the last guest post was from me.
The Alex that I remember was neither a revolutionary Marxist nor a wishy washy "liberal"....far from it! ;0)

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,MikeOfNorthumbria (sans cookie)
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 10:56 AM

Dear Mr or Ms GUEST. You say that:

"Alex was apolitical like most of the revival and post revival singers."

Well, the Alex I knew was certainly not 'apolitical', except perhaps in the eyes of the far left.   But for them, of course, the only way of being 'political' was to be actively committed to the Marxist revolution.

The Stalinist of the 1950s (like Maoists in the '60s, and Trotskyites in the '70s) insisted that if you weren't part of the solution, you had to be part of the problem. And for them, there was only ONE solution. So, they dismissed those of us (Alex included) who campaigned for peace and social justice on different terms from theirs as mere dupes or stooges of the ruling class. (Naturally, we disagreed.)

Both camps - the hard-nosed Marxist revolutionaries and the wishy-washy liberal humanists - did a lot of valuable work in promoting greater knowledge and understanding of the folk tradition. If the historians choose to argue about who made the greater contribution, let them get on with it. The important thing is that people continue getting together to sing the old songs - and new songs in the spirit of the best of the old ones.

Wassail!

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 09:37 AM

Alex had little in common with the "Right on PC" crowd personified by Mr Bragg and his ilk.
Alex was apolitical like most of the revival and post revival singers.
That is what disappointed Mr MacColl and his fellow travellers so much, "folk music" was to be a vehicle for the revolution which never came.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,MikeOfNorthumbria (sans cookie)
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 08:25 AM

What more is there to say on this thread that hasn't been said already? My own 2p worth went in ages ago, and I don't have much to add to it now. Except for this...

To anyone who wasn't around in Alex's best years - between the rise of British Skiffle and the acceptance of 'Folk' and 'Folk-Rock' as a niche product in the entertainment industry - to all of you youngsters, I warmly recommend Billy Bragg's new book 'Roots, Radicals and Rockers'.

The phrase 'you had to be there' is often used to explain why recordings of artists who were revered in their own day sound unimpressive to modern ears. Sometimes it's just a cop-out, but in this case, I believe it's true. To appreciate how much performers like Alex (and a few others) meant to their audiences back in the day, you need to understand the world we lived in then. Billy's book captures the grim, grey, gritty monotony of post-WW2 Britain, and contrasts it with the hopes for a brighter (and more just) future that seemed to be promised by the Skiffle craze of the 1950s, and then by the folk-club boom of the '60s.

All of that is history now. How much impact it had on the 'real world' is a matter for historians to argue over. But for better or worse, Alex was one of the key actors in that drama. Along the way, he gave a lot of pleasure to a great many people, while opening their ears and minds to songs and ideas they might never have encountered otherwise. For that he deserves a great deal of credit - more than enough, I believe, to outweigh the consequences of his all-too-human flaws and failings.

Wassail!

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,akenaton
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 06:47 AM

It has long been my opinion that "folk music" depends on participation and emotion to show its magical properties.
Alex Campbell and Jez Lowe both had/have the ability to connect instantaneously with their audience on an emotional level. They were first and foremost entertainers for whom the emotion packed genre of "folk" was perfect.
I have seen Alex bring a rowdy drunken crowd of hundreds to order by simply striking gently on the strings of his old Gibson.He had what used to be known as a "presence".....the black open necked shirt, the black denims, the cowboy boots, the thin figure with the timeworn pale face and a voice,which though flawed, had the mark of truth all over it.
Jez Lowe is one of the few performers I have seen lately with that great gift......

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: The Sandman
Date: 21 Apr 18 - 04:27 PM

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Will Fly - PM
Date: 18 Apr 18 - 03:59 AM

And who would those folk contemporaries of Jez Lowe (b. 1955) be? "
I am a contemporary, he played guitar on my first lp about 1980

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 21 Apr 18 - 09:49 AM

I saw Davy a few times. I've got to admit - I never wanted to do anything he did. I liked Rock Me Baby - I bought two albums of him posthumously - intrigued by what everyone said I missed.

I loved his image - he was always photographed playing a weird unidentifiable chord in Beat Instrumental and all those 1960's adverts. I remember he said his favourite singer was Mary Wells.

When I first got to see him - couldn't work him out at all. Weird time signatures. The choice of nylon strung guitar. the strange things he said in interviews.

I acknowledge the fault is with me. Carthy , Wizz Jones - people I revere talk reverentially of Davy Graham. Latterly I heard he lived in Hinkley for a while as a kid - just outside of Leicester. I thought maybe the privacy of his vision was something to do with being foreign looking in a very insular village.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Will Fly
Date: 21 Apr 18 - 04:31 AM

Idolise is an interesting word, Al. Taking its true meaning, to adore, revere, worship, etc., I think there's only ever been one musical figure like that in my life - well over 50 years ago - and that was Davy Graham. "The Guitar Player", "Folk, Blues and Beyond" and "Folk Routes, New Routes" turned my thoughts about the guitar and musical styling on their heads. The idea of crossover and bringing diverse musical genres together was, for me, incredibly interesting and has stayed with me ever since. Sadly, as we all know, Davy flowered and withered in a comparatively space of time, but he was the major musical influence for me in those days.

And, returning to the thread topic, Alex - seasoned entertainer though he was - was, by comparison, old school. Just my personal opinion.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,Observer
Date: 20 Apr 18 - 05:42 PM

"Singers' Afternoon", the last event at the Skagen Festival, is a valued and long-standing tradition. This years "theme" is "The Songs of Alex Campbell".

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 20 Apr 18 - 01:52 PM

and Hamish Imlach!

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 20 Apr 18 - 11:47 AM

I think you must be quite a hard man to impress Ray.

I've got to admit both Ewan and Alex had me rather starstruck.

Mind you I also used to idolise Pete Quinn, Dan Fone , Ian Campell ( in fact all the Campbell group), Derek Brimstone, Gerry Lockran, Noel Murphy, Tommy Dempsey and many others.

I really enjoyed all those people and I would have loved to have been a tenth as good.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Will Fly
Date: 20 Apr 18 - 10:01 AM

I met Alex several times - mainly as a floor performer at clubs where he was the guest. He was always fairly affable, on the whole. One thing I noticed was that he liked to be the star of the show. If other performers on the bill competed with him in any way - and I remember him grumbling about the new wave of 1960s fingerstyle guitar players in the Davy Graham, Bert Jansch mould - he could get a bit huffy and dismissive. But he was a good entertainer in his heyday.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 20 Apr 18 - 09:37 AM

I've probably come a bit late to this thread but I remember (back in the 60's) people predicting a great night 'cos Alex Campbell was coming. Turning up in anticipation and having crossed paths with him several times in subsequent years, I must admit to always feeling underwhealmed. So, to those of you who admit to never having heard of him, I don't think you missed that much.

.... and whilst this thread is open, is anyone else sick of Jim Caroll banging on about Ewan McColl? I only met him once; not many years before his death. I spent some hours with him before and after the concert we played and found that he (and Peggy) was a pleasant and approachable person, not some god as some might have us believe.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 19 Apr 18 - 04:58 PM

I suppose Johnny Handle was the main geordie folksinger I knew in that time. He did solo gigs and played a fourstring guitar and accordion and he had a band called the high level ranters.
Bob Davernport. Louis Killen...


I hereby apologise publicly to Jim Carrol for any perceived nastiness, three years back in this thread. I suppose it was a sadness I have never really gotten over seeing the factionalism of the 1970's kill off the public's desire to engage in folk music.

I felt like a passenger in a train where the drivers were intent on derailment. I had places I wanted to go.

The music the period gave me will live with me as long as I've got any purchase on reality. I am doing three gigs this weekend. I never got where I wanted to go, but I got somewhere.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 18 Apr 18 - 11:50 AM

Steve Tilston, Bob Fox, with both of whom, on separate occasions, Jez has collaborated.
Don't see the resemblance between Alex's and Jez's "delivery" myself, however, much as I like both artists.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 18 - 11:44 AM

Martin Simpson?

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Johnny J
Date: 18 Apr 18 - 06:18 AM

I'm not sure.
Ant and Dec are a lot younger..
;-))

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Will Fly
Date: 18 Apr 18 - 03:59 AM

And who would those folk contemporaries of Jez Lowe (b. 1955) be?

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,akenaton
Date: 17 Apr 18 - 11:02 AM

Just been to see Jez in concert and in conversation with him I remarked that his delivery reminded me very much of Alex whom I knew quite well in my misspent youth :0).
Jez Lowe is a consummate entertainer, excellent musician and a songwriter of quality......unlike some of his modern folk contemporaries.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 17 Mar 15 - 02:37 AM

Please Dick! don't go there.

you know theres a thing in Woody Guthrie's writing where he says the first time he came to New York - the sight of someone with a guitar case was as unusuak as seeing someone carrying a kayak.

i think that period - i suppose post war up the early sixties. there was atime when there were so few people trying to promote the interests of folk music - they must have had a sort of freemasonry - one that crossed continents.

i suppose as time goes on, people like Alex will become strange disembodied voices. the swathe he cut through the bohemian folk clubs, skiffle cellars will die with our memories of him.

the period is already being turned into legend - the inside lewin davis film, surely just the start.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 10:52 PM

you should know that no one is allowed to make jokes that remotely mention MacColl.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,David E.
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 07:22 PM

I just finished Alan's book (Noose of Light) and no, no mention of Alex. Fortunately, no mention of Ewan MacColl either, so no fights break out in the book. That was a joke. (smile)

David E.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 01:40 PM

i remember Paul Snow - he used to play an old Levin. He's a friend on Facebook

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 12:28 PM

Ralph McTell sings 'National 7'. I think he's actually recorded it - am pretty sure it's on his 'National Treasure ' CD.
I saw Wizz last week. He did a gig at Topsham with John Renbourn. What a treat!
Going back to Alex Campbell, Paul Snow ( who knew Alex well and drove him around to gigs for a long time) would be worth contacting. He lives in Tiverton and I see him every now and then. I'll quizz him.
Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 08:35 AM

is wadebridge a good one?

bit ofa schlep down there, but I love seeing Wizz.
I didn't know Ralph had done any of Alan's songs.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: breezy
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 06:06 AM

Wizz will be appearing at the Cornwall F F in WAdebridge

So their was a Alan Tunbridge after all !

But not as well known as Alex Campbell

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 05:41 AM

Yes. Alan Tunbridge wrote some great songs but I only know them through the singing of Wizz Jones and Ralph McTell. Just about to order a copy of 'Noose of Light'.
I enjoyed the clip from 'Tonight' of Wizz surviving the welcome in Newquay in 1960....
Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Mar 15 - 05:14 AM

hi al, my cousin is a good friend of wizz jones an is one of the girls [sue], interviewed in the bbc clip where he sings the song about newquay, hard times in newquayhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDsQSOf6_ow

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 15 Mar 15 - 10:22 PM

i think so.   there was a great little music shop down the arcade. i got this lp for ten bob lightnin hopkins and sonny and brownie.

i am reading Alan Tunbridge's biography Noose of Light, Alan was a hippy in 1959 with Wizz in Newquay. he later went on to write many of Wizz's great songs like Teapot Blues and National 7.

i don't know if alex comes into the story yet - only just started it.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 15 Mar 15 - 07:08 PM

I had quite a few LP's of Alex and I seem to remember an EP too but never came across that single of 'On The Road So Long'. I wonder if anyone's got a copy.
Was El Zamba at the far end of the Fore St Arcade? I think it finally became Harley's Cafe.
Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 15 Mar 15 - 06:34 PM

in Exeter in the 1960's there was a particularly fab groovy coffee bar called El Zamba.

Alex was on the juke box singing been on the road so long. i was familiar with song - cos Bert had sung it on the It Don't Bother Me.

somebody must have put it ut as a single.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 15 Mar 15 - 06:18 PM

No. To my shame I just kept it .......and poured myself a gigantic whiskey!!
Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: breezy
Date: 15 Mar 15 - 04:22 PM

so did you give it back to him then ? I guess no.
I'll give it a nose test and if it has a faint whiskey odour .......

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 14 Mar 15 - 05:07 PM

Yes, I think you've got a good point there Al. Forty or fifty years ago you usually had to pay a lot of money for a reasonable sounding, playable guitar but now a few hundred quid buys a Korean or Chinese built guitar that's both those things, has onboard electrics .....and looks good too!
Oh dear I think we've rather strayed from this thread. Back to Alex Campbell, the last time I saw him was in about 1972 at, I think, the Shakespeare's Head in Soho.   It seems he'd had his Gibson stolen or damaged and he was using another guitar. When he saw my guitar he just shook his head slowly saying 'It breaks my heart'. A very sad moment.

Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Mar 15 - 04:49 PM

sell the gibson and get twenty of the epiphones - you cold have ones in different tunings and with different gauge strings!

either that or you could have a couple of cruises.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Mar 15 - 02:02 PM

yes, i remember the Original folk club at the star and garter, never saw Alex there but did see him at Dartford 1974, He was really good that night.I believe Pete Twitchett did a floor spot and sang with her head tucked underneath her arm, can you confirm this twitch, old chap?

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 14 Mar 15 - 05:24 AM

Great photos of the Troubadour. It was all a long time ago but, yes, I can still hear Redd singing 'I live In Trafalgar Square' and Martin singing his quite magnificent version of Merle Travis' 'Loading Coal'..... and you never knew who would turn up to do a floor spot. Amazing evenings!

On the subject of Alex Campbell's guitar, I've tried one of those Epiphone J200's and I think they are good. Although I've still got my old 1957 Gibson j200 (that still gets played most days) If I was buying one now I think I'd opt for the Epiphone. Why pay more....??
Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Jim McLean
Date: 14 Mar 15 - 04:25 AM

There are two pages of photos but sometimes only one comes up from that link. If that is the case, go to the bottom the page where there is a link back to Dick Farino's home page and under "Further Viewing" go to Troubadour where the first page can be viewed and from there, the second.
I first met Alex in 1960, in London, when he asked me if I was Josh MacRae.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 15 - 08:08 PM

i have a modern epiphone j200. very cheap - not my best guitar. but its a lovely guitar all the same.   £230 with electrics and inbuilt tuner. i love it and the headstock has the same design Alex's gibson had.

from the photos - theres only really Martin Carthy who still looks like a youngster.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: GUEST,Guest Betsy
Date: 13 Mar 15 - 07:25 PM

Thanks Jim for those photos - nice to see one of Bob Davenport .
Also, I can almost hear myself singing (to Redd and Martin ) "I live in Trafagar Square with 4 Lions to guard me .........
Continue to keep a cool head Breezy - cheers mate.

Betsy

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: tritoneman
Date: 13 Mar 15 - 06:19 PM

I saw Alex quite a few times in the mid and late 1960s and he always played his beloved Gibson J200. I was a big fan of his - so much so that I was inspired to scrape the money together to buy a rather old J200 myself in 1969!   
Graham

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 15 - 05:55 PM

i seem to remember Alex was on english tv in the sixties. a folksong programme on around teatime. is that right, or is my memory playing tricks on me.

its really strange. the more you you think - the nore you perceive Alex's importance.

somehow he made folksong attractive and entertaining and possible. its so easy to say - this is something not in the province of ordinary people who have lost their roots.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: breezy
Date: 13 Mar 15 - 04:56 PM

Hello Betsy, see it hasn't taken the hint.

Must have the hide of a rhino.

Alex was the first I heard sing Tom Paxton's 'Last thing on my mind' and it was in the upstairs folk club of the Star and Garter , Bromley.

Kent

Which brings me back to where I came in.

Subject: RE: Never heard of Alex Campbell
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 13 Mar 15 - 04:49 PM

amazing photos - they all look so young!