Ah yes, Folkweave! I could never decide whether that was a genuine attempt to display the grass roots of the folk movement, or just a way to do a programme on the cheap (but was it cheap, as they had to take an Outside Broadcast team all over the country?)

For the uninitiated, or those too young or too American, in the early 1970s Folkweave went round the UK folk clubs and broadcast the floor singers' performances. It sounds a dreadful idea, but this was when the folk clubs were at their peak, and the standard was often pretty high. There was some editorial control, and the clubs themselves were probably quite selective about who they allowed to perform.

I remember when Folkweave came to my (then) local folk club at Blackmore, Essex. The tiny room was even more packed than usual. There were a couple of mics in the corner and a big bunch of cables leading out of the window to the OB van. The organisation that night was tight as a drum: get on, two songs, get off, no messing, and they got through far more acts than in a normal evening.

As one of the performers who was later broadcast, I received a detailed multipage BBC contract, full of clauses about copyright and repeat fees (which regrettably never materialised), and eventually a cheque for, I think, £5, from which they'd deducted 5p National Insurance! To my everlasting regret I can no longer find the contract document.