Lox - read again... I didn't say that anyone who sings a song not from their background or experience was a hypocrite.

I said that in my personal opinion "if someone insists you can only sing songs from your own personal background, but then sings a song about a job they never had, under a name they weren't born with, in a town they don't come from"... THEY would be the hypocrite.    I have never been so arrogant as to demand that only people who come from Nottingham are allowed to dance the Nottingham Swing, neither do I insist that Linden Lea is only ever sung in Dorset (or strictly speaking, NOT in Dorset as it's a song about homesickness for a particular place), in dialect and wearing a frock coat, parson's gaiters and a wide brimmed curate's hat.

Although to be honest... that would improve some performances a lot.. not everyone can wear gaiters!

LTS