In the early days their seemed to be lots of folk groups that were a bit like The Spinners and J & B but at some point a sort of "Folk Stalinist" attitude emerged. Perhaps it was something to do with The Singers Club influence and people going to Whitby and hearing lots of 'traditional music'.

It certainly made a lot of us thing a lot more about what was 'folk' and 'trad' and so on and stop singing silly songs made up last week - although some of us still do. I'm not at all sure I, or lots of others, were ever really sure what was what, but one effect was to create a critical attitude in which keeping heads down was often important.

Ring any bells?

L in C