well when big ticket prices become involved. it does get prohibitive to people who are pensioners or , just a bit skint.

twenty quid for a concert ticket isn't unusual, but for a couple that's forty quid before you've paid for a coffee in the interval.

its unrealistic, if you think its not going to stop some people attending.

I used to see Ralph McTell at the Cousins Allnighter for 7/6. It was so cheap - people used to buy a ticket just to doss in the coffee bar. Ronnie Scotts actoss the street was £1. 18shiilings and sixpence to see the Alan Haven Duo and Selina Jones. Tony Crombie on drums.

What I'm getting at is that - folk music used to be a night out most people could afford. Last year Ralph sold out that bloody horrible big tent at Sidmouth. 25 quid a pop, and the tickets were gone weeks in advance.

I think people are 'putting their hands in pockets'. But its mainly for the folk dinosaurs....I think theres some great young players and singers around - but somehow they all seem to crave the audience of pensioners paying twenty quid a ticket. The shabby bohemian outlaw chic that made folksingers exciting characters doesn't appeal to the younger set.