Some thoughts on the people/groups mentioned in this thread:-

•        Threadbare Consort was where this family of groups started (we need a Pete Frame family tree) Can't remember the entire line-up. It was Max Johnson; wasn't there an Eric…. And I think Dave East was in the line-up.
•        Dead Sea Surfers - not to be confused with the American rock band of the same name that have a website at http://www.deadseasurfers.com/
•        Spring Chickens the group that rich-joy could not quite remember the name of but remembered an article that could've been in an old Folk Roots, or even Southern Rag, magazine. Indeed it was in Folk Roots No. 46 pages 25-27 (April 1987) written by….. Vic Smith. To me they were one of the most adventurous and able groups of the times, superb singing and musicianship and a fantastic repertoire of compositions by May/Mitchell. I booked them several times for folk clubs and for Lewes Folk Day. I always wondered why they did not make it big on the alternative cabaret/comedy circuit which was very big at the time. They told me that they found it difficult to break away from their roots in folk clubs, but really they had a much broader appeal
•        The Self-Righteous Brothers was the short-lived, very vibrant duo of Adrian May and Dave Mitchell the followed the break-up of Spring Chickens. One of the few bookings that they did was for our club in Lewes, but they were outstanding, a real opportunity missed
•        Dave Mitchell Geoff Wallis writes The last things I heard about Dave were a)that he'd taken up a career as a jazz guitariast, and b) that he was also working as a guide at the Imperial War Museum's aircraft site in Duxford. I've no idea if he's still undertaking either pursuit. Adrian has more or less lost touch with him and is pretty sure that he does not play in public any more (though he can certainly play some fine Django-style guitar.) Adrian still gets a Christmas card from him and tells me that they are often cards of the Duxford Museum.
•        Ann Wiseman & Dave Mitchell Ann wrote David Mitchell and I formed a duo after Surfers split but it never really took off which was a shame. It was bloody good! I was reminded just how good they were together last year when I was digitising a whole loft-full of reel-to-reel BBC session tapes that had been recorded for the BBC local stations in the south folk music programme, Minstrels Gallery - six songs recorded on 5th September 1989. All good songs and the most impressive twenty years on was Anne's own composition and passionate performance of a song about an abandoned lover, Listen
•        Dave East has been living in South London for many years now and has been running the excellent Court Sessions folk club there and having sustained bad luck with his venue pubs closing/changing use of room etc.
•        Adrian May is a close friend and I am in frequent contact with him. Still living in Essex, he now teaches creative writing at the University of Essex. Still writing excellent songs, probably a bit more serious in their content of late. Does not do many gigs but we always book him. Taking a greater interest in the tradition than he used to. Is always telling me what a great singer Jeff Wesley is – as if this was news to me!