"When McColl and Seeger played a folk club nearby in 1985 they had to be called upstairs for their two spots."
Interesting on two counts Musket.
For the reasons I said, MacColl usually insisted on staying through the whole proceedings of a club - his habit of remaining on stage during the interval was somewhat cattily described as "holding court"
He requested that members of the Critics Group followed the same practice and "let us know what's happening out there".
The fact of their having a driver also interests me as it was their practice to provide their own transport so as not to be tied down to leaving when their 'lift' did or of imposing on anybody to leave when they wished to.
One of the pleasures of their visits to Liverpool and Manchester was to get an eyeful of their beautiful old black French Citroen, complete with running boards.
It certainly wasn't because they were worried about the drink-drive laws - neither of them drank to excess while performing, Ewan usually confining himself to one pint throughout the evening
Peggy, on the other hand, was a fanatic about not drinking alchohol while singing because she insisted it ruined her singing voice.
I remember the hilarity on the night when the late Bruce Dunnet weaved his way through a crowded Singers Club, dubiously eyed her half full pint of water and asked, "Fid ye like me tae tap up yer glass o' gin there lassie?"
I would be very interested in the interview you recorded with them if it's still in existence Musket.
I'm still hoping to persuade Salford Working Class Library to add our collection of MacColl material to theirs in order to expand it into a full blown and accessible archive of his work in time for his 100th anniversary.
Still looking for a go-between in the UK if anybody is interested.
Jim Carroll