In some ways I believe that this is a false argument, because it assumes (wrongly in my opinion) that the matter of authenticity is binary - one either is authentic, or one is not. Not so, I argue. There are degrees involved. In my book the question is not about authenticity per se, but about credibility. And first of all let's knock on the head the matter of having (or not) the "right" to sing songs of a certain tradition. Everyone has the right to sing/play what they like, the issue is how credible they are in doing so. And how does one earn/acquire such credibility.

I joined my first folk club in 1972 and I immediately fell in love with English traditional song. At first, as a floorsinger, I sang only Greek songs. Within months however I became involved in a trio (with a Welsh girl and an English guy) doing English trad material. Was I credible? Not on my own, but in the mix I passed muster, I guess. Did I have the right to do that material? Of course I did!

3-4 years down the line, as a regular floorsinger in clubs I would do songs I liked and felt I could manage. That included much contemporary stuff (the two Taylors provided most of it) but also the odd trad song. Was I credible? Thinking back, no, I still wasn't very credible at all on my own, but people put up with it, bless them.

A further 27 years down the line, by now a member at Herga (well known for its English traditional background), I had a very different appreciation of the material in question, my credibility would have increased after 30 years of listening and singing, and I longed to do it, but faced with some of the stalwarts of the trad scene (Johnny Collins, Dave Webber) I did not dare. Not that I didn't have the right - I respected the material and the audience too much. So I got around it by starting to write my own. Soon enough I started gigging my own material, and slowly I developed further as a performer, until...

...some 3 years ago a radio folk show presenter during an interview suggested that I should attempt traditional songs. She thought I could bring the "Greek lilt" to some of them, to some advantage. It stayed as a back-of-the-head idea until a year ago. Then, with Johnny Collins already sadly gone for one year and seeing that some of the songs he used to do were in danger of being left unsung, I took it upon myself to start learning some of them - the ones that suited my delivery better in my view. I have started singing them occasionally at Herga and I have even sung the Ox Plough Song at festivals a couple of times - in memory of Johnny. I feel that now I have sufficient credibility to do it, and I am even toying with the idea of doing an album of traditional material. In my head I have even selected possible album titles, to give you an idea how seriously I am thinking about it: Either "Trojan" (as in Trojan Horse, alluding to the Greek stealthily entering the English traditional scene) or "None Of My Own" (as in the line "rocking a cradle that's none of my own").

So, if I have earned some English trad material singing credibility in these 33-34 years, to be contemplating such a possibility, how did that happen? I think there are a number of factors involved:

First, increased appreciation of the material itself, its musical, social and historical significance.

Second, listening to the material being sung by many different performers, getting a wide range of perspectives and versions.

Third, improving as a performer myself, mainly through exposure.

Fourth, my own long presence in this society generally, and the folk scene specifically.

Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that these are the hoops everyone has to jump through - only that it took this to make me more credible in my own eyes and ears, so as to dare to do the material at all. I may still not satisfy more purist criteria. And I would NEVER begrudge anyone the right to do such material, coming from a different culture - it's just that if they are not credible enough in my eyes, I might not like their versions. But the have the right to do it.

Because it's LOVE of the material that buys you the right to do it, I believe.

The rest (practice, exposure, appreciation etc) buys you credibility.