The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #146180   Message #3548275
Posted By: Jim Carroll
12-Aug-13 - 04:17 PM
Thread Name: Bill Leader/Dave Bulmer
Subject: RE: Bill Leader/Dave Bulmer
"Jim Carroll said he was more concerned about Field singers"
You've said this at least once before Dick - I would be grateful if you didn't say it again, it is neither my belief nor did I say it.
When you said "I am saying everybody should be treated equally"
My esact reply was "So am *******" - fairly memorable I would have thought - stop making things up.
We are not talking about 'degrees' of concern - we are talking about extremes - on the one hand a great deal of attention being given to one group of younger, folk-wise performers experienced enough to look after themselves, being ripped off compared to a number of usually elderly visitors to the folk scene, mostly unaware of its customs and practices and by and large, totally out of their depth - the first is highly regrettable, the second unforgivable.
The response her falls equally into two parts - extreme concern of one group (about a dozen threads worth) to total indifference verging on hostility when the other is mentioned - treated equally or what!!!.
This in no way is to say it is more or less acceptable to rip either off, both are wrong - that is what I said and that is what I believe - do not misrepresent me again.
I believe our older singers need(ed) to be more protected from bad mannered thoughtlessness (I think we once discussed septuagenarians - plus being given beds on the floor when they were booked at a club), underpaid (want to compare album and club and media fees of folk-star guests to some of our great field singers -happy to oblige with that), and how they are treated critically (I'll give you examples of a couple of reviews from one of the leading British folk magazine who's reviews of field singers would have brought tears to the eyes of their relatives had they stumbled across them on line).
I haven't mentioned the protection they need from brain-deads (mentioning no names) who describe them as "acting like gods" when they jocularly express a firmly held opinion on how a tune should be played or a song should be sung
They are/were (most of them are dead now) not of our folk world; they are'were our guests, and good manners, if nothing else, demands they be treated as such.
I certainly believe that the most mediocre of them contributed far more to my understanding of folk song that most folkies I ever met - company not excluded.
Guest,
To finish my response to your distasteful display of emotional blackmail
"The man is dead - let the family grieve!"
As I remember it, Peter Bellamy is dead, Rosie Hardman is dead (think I'm right about this - I used to know her in Manchester) Nic Jones has been out of action due to ill health for some time now and is somewhat restricted in his ability to perform - don't know if you have ever expressed your disapproval of the fact that they have all fallen foul to the behavior of the LATE Dave Bulmer -perhaps you would like to now. You would certainly make your case sound more convincing if you had done or were prepared to do so now.
Jim Carroll