Interesting thread.

I was about halfway through reading it when I remembered I had a CD of William Kimber. Now I know he played an Anglo not English but this isn't going off the subject of Alf Edward's concertina accompaniments, honest.

William Kimber was a very strong concertina player but I had forgotten that he was also a fine singer. My point is that he sang unaccompanied. His repertoire was mainly tunes but when he sang he did not accompany himself with the concerina. When he played tunes he included harmony lines and some chords so he was quite capable of accompaniment but chose not to do it when singing.

So the question is, was this a personal foible or was it the 'common practice'? If it was the latter then the Bob Thompson point made in MGM.Lion's second posting can still be valid. The concertina was used for playing tunes and dancing but not for accompanying singers. And the 'tradition' of playing concertina whilst singing is, in fact, an invention of Bert Lloyd and the revivalists.

Not that I think there is anything wrong with the way we now sing and play at the same time but can anyone think of any pre revival singers who played concertina and sang at the same time?