Martin Carthy was my proper introduction to folk music, so I feel i owe him a lot. Perhaps the best lesson I learnt was that in folk music it is perfectly acceptable to take an old tune and put new words to it, and that that is a way in which folk music can pass information across generations. Mind you, I've heard people at festivals describing him as boring and as a poor guitar player. I guess I can see why some might find some of the songs dull, but a poor guitar player?! He's a bit of an icon all round. It's nice to have a role model, even though I'm dead old myself.

Paul