Michael. They all sang folk songs. Whether they wrote them, arranged an old song that has evolved or borrowed heavily from the latter to write the former, they are all folk

Here in The UK, you and I hardly hear traditional music of many UK citizens, unless we listen to the background music in Indian restaurants.

The folk club scenario is in itself an evolving tradition, and far cry from smug committee types sitting in a smokey room sixty years ago, before most folk music had even been thought of.

The thing is, with UK folk music alone selling in the millions by exciting young acts, selling to a generation who would prefer to squash their balls in a vice than sit with a straight face in many "singarounds", I think the world has decided what constitutes what folk is. The clubs of the '70s onwards did too for that matter.

If you read all that tosh about music of the people, then realise the white middle class academics of the '50s sitting down categorising for future generations who thankfully toss their silly paper in the bin, didn't realise that music of today's "people" has to entertain too, and in many cities, cultural heritage begins a few thousand miles away.

The West Indian bloke in The Spinners realised the problem back in the '60s for crying out loud. Listen to Benjamin Zephaniah and Eliza Carthy play Tam Lin Retold. If you want to make traditional music relevant to "the people" I can't think of a better example.