"I suspect the producer of that record, Phil Coulter, was the culprit Jim referred to."
Thanks again Peter - he was
Christie is one of the most principled people I have ever met, both when it comes to giving credit and his humanity
His support for Travellers is exemplary
"Who decides if a John Tams, Dougie MacLean, Dick Gaughan or Kate Rusby song is a folk song."
Nobody does - liking something doesn't make it a folk song - not any more
Does it matter that a song is not 'folk' if it's a good one - not to me, it doesn't
What matters in relation to this discussion is how it is identified
"middle classes"
I'm talking about the origins of our song Al, not who helped popularise it
Charles Parker was one of the most middle-class people I ever knew but he did more for folk song than most
I'll tell you some stories of Charles's middle-classness some time - kept us entertained for hours (some of them came from him) - did you know he once bombarded King Farouk's Palace by mistake when he was in the Navy?
Never considered Ewan Middle Class, there again, I spent many happy hours talking to his mam who was a cleaner during the Depression - I know his old man was an iron moulder who had the distinction of being 'transported' out of Australia for his Trades Union activities
Luke the same - a working class lad made good
Jim Carroll