Listening to the Radio Ballads programme on The Archive Hour tonight, with Sam Larner featured, reminded me of the phrase George P used the other day: having a "Sam Larner Moment".

This refers to Martin Carthy's Damascene experience in seeing Sam Larner for the first time: it opened him up to the world of traditional music.

My generation had some of their "Sam Larner moments" on recording rather than live; but it would be nice of you wanted to share yours. These are 5 of mine:

1) Little Musgrave, Christy Moore, approx 1987: it was a recording, but it was definitely a revelatory moment for me. I'd grown up in America, and had never experienced "folk" beyond the 60s singer/songwriter generation. I heard this song and thought it must be a contemporary pastiche - no folk songs existed that could possibly date from Elizabethan times...did they? When I was assured that Musgrave was "the real deal", as it were, it changed how I thought about folk music forever.

2) Silly Sisters, Maddy Prior/June Tabor, approx 1987/88: This collection of songs had a similar effect on me to little
3) Ian Campbell, 1994: my ex-husband interviewed Ian for a piece on his two rather famous sons. During the interview, my ex mentioned that I had developed an interest in English folk music. Ian invited us down to have an evening out with him and his sister, Lorna, at their local. Afterwards we went back to theirs and sat up, singing and talking, till about 3 am. It was only afterwards that I realised exactly how significant Ian had been in the folk movement. But we were invited to his forthcoming album launch, and Lorna, bless her, asked me to sing. It was a very memorable occasion for me.

4) Peter Bellamy, thanks to Jon Boden, approx 2004: I read a piece in Living Tradition magazine where Jon Boden acknowledged the influence of Peter Bellamy on his singing style. I soon sought out some Peter Bellamy recordings, and was blown away. I could see why he's a love him/hate him sort of performer, but I was hooked from the start. I have started learning some songs from The Transports, because I think these songs represent some of the finest work of the folk revival and are not heard nearly enough.

5) Sam Larner! 2005: My dear friends John and Shiela, when realising I was taking on the daunting prospect of organising a folk festival in Loughborough, decided to take my further folk education in hand. Realising that my knowledge of traditional music was paltry, they started lending me CDs. The first one was, without a doubt, one of the best CDs I've ever heard: Sam Larner's Now's the Time for Fishing. I can't even begin to describe how important that CD was in me discovering and assimilating traditional music. It made me hungry for more; it led to the discovery of wonderful Gypsy singers like Mary Ann Haynes and Phoebe Smith, whom I listen to pretty much every day now because their spirit and power sustains me. I still adore Sam Larner, and he holds a special place in my heart.

it seems sad that most of my "Larner moments" are recorded, but they've led me to some spectacular live experiences. I could have had 20, to be honest, but I didn't want to go on too much!

Right then - who's next?