Yes, some of his ideas were fanciful, but I applauded his brave attempt (which never stood a chance against the power of American monoculture) to start a movement whereby Europeans in general, and the Celtic nations in particular, would develop their own popular music based on their own roots, rather than rolling on their backs with their legs in the air and swallowing everything that America fed them.

I remember, at the Kemper festival in Brittany some ten years ago, seeing young Breton bands playing modern Breton music, sung in Breton, with terrific energy and vitality, to a huge, enthusiastic audience of young local people. Not only was it thrilling stuff to watch, but while I was watching it, it occured to me that without Stivell and his associates, it's unlikely that that kind of event would ever have happened.

I picked up a replacement copy of his Live in Dublin CD at the Lorient festival this year. Well worth it. "From Celtic Roots" is also worth a listen.