"What put the supposedly arbitrary limit of three minutes on songs was a relatively recent thing:"
According to BBC producer Charles Parker, his employers had a 'three minute' rule and he found himself having to 'fade' songs, before the end or use short ones in his programmes. He argued, and I think, won the right to play longer ones.
The idea that people could not listen to long songs was one promoted by broadcasters and sometimes performers.
MacColl described how, in the early days of the revival, he would break long ballads into two parts, singing the first bit in the first half of the evening, and take it up again after the interval. He did this on several occasions until, one night, after having sung Gil Morris in this way at the Singers Club, one of the members complained and asked him to sing them all apiece. MacColl suggested that it was his own lack of confidence in the listener rather than their inability to concentrate.
"restraining order"
Nope, couldn't continue the discussion after the adjudicator closed your thread and told you to behave yourself.
Jim Carroll