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30 Sep 22 - 05:00 AM (#4154227) Subject: Les Barker retirement From: bradfordian From Jamey Bedford Agency “ Les Barker is retiring as of 1st October 2022. He will continue writing and uploading to youtube. We'll miss him, and we wish him well” |
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30 Sep 22 - 05:50 AM (#4154232) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Roger the Skiffler Great man, Guidecats for the Blind still makes me laugh. RtS |
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30 Sep 22 - 06:09 AM (#4154234) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST,Ray ‘Bout bloody time! Most of us who were around in the 70s already have and, despite what it said on the sleeve notes, I’ve never actually had a wardrobe! |
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30 Sep 22 - 07:38 AM (#4154240) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: r.padgett Les has been an ever present and professional performer all the time I have known him ~ He admits to being 75 and as such has had a good innings ~ his sense of folk humour noted in his multitude of Les Barker "books" have been used by many people in sing arounds especially when they were not singers I suspect his books are still available Hope you get fit again Les and have a great quiet life Honours for your dedication to folk entertainment should flow ~all the best to you Ray |
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30 Sep 22 - 07:53 AM (#4154242) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Dave the Gnome Brilliant man. I wish him well. "I can't find my camoflauge net..." |
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30 Sep 22 - 09:13 AM (#4154249) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST,Jon Heslop There's got to be a poem in that! |
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30 Sep 22 - 09:30 AM (#4154252) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Mrrzy Detritus. Words to live by. |
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30 Sep 22 - 09:50 AM (#4154258) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Dave the Gnome I can't find my camoflauge net |
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30 Sep 22 - 10:45 AM (#4154266) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: bradfordian Les Barker YouTube channel |
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30 Sep 22 - 04:21 PM (#4154300) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST,Peter Cripps No MBE! Never on UK television! Shame! (Probably because "Why Dachsunds cannot climb stairs" deemed not suitable for family audiences!) |
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30 Sep 22 - 05:47 PM (#4154306) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Brian Peters A comic genius. It's become clichéd to say 'we'll never see their like again', but in Les's case this is indisputably, undeniably and absolutely bloody literally true. |
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05 Oct 22 - 07:13 PM (#4154322) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST,Nick Dow I spent half an hour with him at Cleckheaton Festival, and I thought this was on the cards. It's not so much the gigs as the pure exhaustion of the road that is the problem for most of us on the circuit. Les has done his bit and is safely at home and online. Enjoy! and thanks, Les! |
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06 Oct 22 - 02:11 AM (#4154337) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: r.padgett Yes, I last spoke to Les at Warwick ff 2022 ~ time and the travelling takes its toll as the folky professionals in UK know and audiences tend to be, as it is, small unless booked at festivals and successful clubs , Have a long retirement and look after yourself! Ray |
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06 Oct 22 - 06:39 AM (#4154353) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST,Vin2 All the best to you Les in your well earned retirement and thanks for all the joy you have given to us over the years |
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06 Oct 22 - 06:49 AM (#4154354) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Sandra in Sydney Les's last visit to Oz was in mid summer many years ago, & naturally he wore his normal cardigan - far too heavy even for a Sydney winter, he suffered for his art. Retirement is good, & definitely well earned, enjoy it Les. sandra |
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06 Oct 22 - 09:41 AM (#4154377) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: Mo the caller We could probably have a Les Barker event at most festivals from audience participation alone. But however well we know them those lines are still hilarious. |
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09 Oct 22 - 06:20 AM (#4154425) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST,Jenny the Steggie As a small kid I remember crying over "Have you got any news of the Iceberg".... it's not funny, it's TRAGIC :( |
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09 Oct 22 - 06:38 AM (#4154430) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: GUEST I love his stuff. Saw him several years ago. Les is a poetic genius. |
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09 Oct 22 - 09:15 AM (#4154458) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: MoorleyMan After several days of Mudcat-downtime, I finally got to see this thread! The announcement is no surprise, the road touring takes its toll for sure, and Les has done more than his share. Thankyou so much Les, I wish you well, peace and contentment in your richly-deserved retirement from the "stage". Brian Peters' assessment is absolutely spot-on. Yes, Les is unique, a masterful observer of the human condition, the comic and tragic. And although he's truly irreplaceable on the live circuit, we can rejoice that he will not be hanging up his pen, and that he will be carrying on with his writing and his YouTube channel. And of course, we can be glad that we now have even more chances to explore and celebrate the many and varied aspects of Les's poetic genius, since his writings are being given wider exposure through the passing of the interpretive torch to sympathetic practitioners (e.g. Pelagie Crofton, whose insightful performances have become a regular feature of a number of zoom sessions especially the Mudcat Worldwide Singaround). |
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09 Oct 22 - 03:12 PM (#4154497) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement From: BobL My partner first encountered Les at Sidmouth, the year she had to lay off dancing for a while due to an injury. Not the ideal entertainment for someone with a cracked rib... |
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10 Oct 22 - 03:25 AM (#4154551) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement - Oct 2022 From: Sandra in Sydney Les in Australia in 2010 Les Barker at Humph Hall 2010 Note that the program is listed in the description enabling you to jump to a particular item. |
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10 Oct 22 - 04:33 AM (#4154560) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement - Oct 2022 From: GUEST,Brimbacombe We revere the brilliant musicians and singers on the folk scene, and rightly so, but for me Les is up there with anyone I've ever encountered at festivals and clubs for bringing enjoyment to us all. A lovely, modest, clever man who has made me cry with laughter on many an occasion. My endearing memory of Les is the year at Whitby between the old Spa being torn down and the new Pavilion being built. He kind of finished things off for the week in the old concert hall attached to the Spa, and still managed to make it special with a packed audience holding toilet roll aloft singing Earwig-O, which made up for the lack of Wild Mountain Thyme and heather. Quite a feat. Thanks Les. Enjoy the rest. |
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29 Dec 22 - 10:37 PM (#4160666) Subject: RE: Les Barker retirement - Oct 2022 From: GUEST,Malcolm White I've seen Les a couple of times 30 years ago and he was brilliant. Live long and prosper |