interesting guy. he had something of the Tony Hancock's 1950's aspirational bohemian about him. i liked him.

but the folkscene was on its arse in the 70's. much worse than now. due to pure civil war between the factions on the English scene.

the jasper carrot lot on one side - all trying to replicate Billy Connolly's success. the ones Jim Carroll thinks were the bees knees singing real folk music and boring the arse of everyone.

entertainer/minstrel folksingers - my ownparticular favourites - Campbell, Brimstone, Murphy, |Lockran. for the most part they supplemented the dog rough English venues with work in Europe.

people are more tolerant nowadays. just because you find youself attracted to a certain kind of folkmusic - it doesn't preclude you from playing and enjoying another. nothing excuses or necessitates rudeness or unpleasantness.

it was that ferret pit of the English folkscene in the mid to late 1970's where i started off as an entertainer. i saw my heroes abused and treated roughly, struggling to make a living, they weren't at home in either venue. the crowd at Jasper's Boggery quickly grew restive if someone sang a sad folksong. i recall Noel Murphy trying to sing Freeborn Man - by the second verse half the audience were talking about something else;

i recall shit for brains traddies thinking they were so superior to Gerry Lockran at a club in Sutton Coldfield - they weren't fit to lick his boots.

However if Elijah Wood's biography of Dave Van Ronk is to believed - Van Ronk in his later years suffered the same sort of smart arse audiences over in the states.

ignorance and rudeness are truly international.