one thing is certain. it is this belief that those who feel themselves possessed of analytical and critical faculties - and feel this confers upon them the right to abuse the creative individuals of the folk club movement - this is what has holed the movement below the waterline.

In the past, no doubt MacColl was guilty of this himself - numerous people have attested to it. At that point though, the movement was a mass movement and he felt there was headroom to reorganise and refine his purpose.

But the writing has been on the wall for two or three decades now. We need unity within our movement if we are to succeed. We are under threat, under represented and the future does not really look good. I see very few young people interested in fingerstyle guitar accompaniment for example.

Think how few really good articles there have been about the players of distinction that our generation produced. How the skill has been relegated and abused as not 'in the tradition'. The chickens are coming home to roost for this bloody silly factionalism.

And the slur implicit in this thread title on a great contributor to the folk club movement is just SO typical.