"have you heard martin simpson"
Yes I have - do not attempt to impose your own questionable tastes on others.
My point is - not particularly with Simpson but all those 'superstars' who made instrumental accompaniment an object in itself rather than what it what it claims to be - 'accompaniment'
I couldn't count the number of times I've wondered whether I had time to nip down for a quick pee while the singer is getting it off on those long, interminable and unnecessary guitar breaks, before getting on with the next verse.
I particularly remember one of the electric groups (Steeleye maybe) playing a reel in the middle of a long, narrative ballad - utterly ludicrous!
I find this obsession with superstars very reminiscent of all those somewhat pathetic talent programmes designed to get youngsters to emulate Justin, or Robbie or whoever happens to be the flavour of the month.
The clubs began to career downhill when they filled with Waterson wannabes, or Joanie clones or Martin mimickers and when singers stopped trying to sound like themselves.   
The joy of folk singing is giving your own interpretation of a song and not somebody else's - that was the privilege performing in clubs gave us.
Jim Carroll