"Genius" is a much over-used word and I'm not sure it applies to PB. However he was a supremely talented performer and musician, and surely that is worth celebrating. On the other hand, the other singers Jim mentions are/were surely giants too, and Karl Dallas was not entirely wrong in recognising that in the folk world mediocrity is all too often accepted.

It is undoubtedly true that PB's idiosyncratic style was not to many people's taste. However I wonder whether, if he had had a more mellifluous voice and more conventional style of playing concertina, whether he would have had half the impact he did. For those who manage to get past the bleating voice, he stands out as a stunning interpreter of songs, with a superb sense of timing - so many times he managed to put just the right amount of emphasis on exactly the right word.