In the end, these claims actually boil down to suggestion that there is no such things as 'folk song'(JC) Absolute poppycock!

My research on fakesong predates Harker's book by quite a number of years, so wrong again! I too was a big critic of the book because of its political spin, (much like yours) but that was the major criticism of reviewers and CHRIS Bearman's critique was solely on what Dave had to say about Sharp. Unfortunately the excellent research carried out was overshadowed by the politics and the criticisms of Sharp, and Chris's stink kicked up. Most researchers who are left actually think that Dave & Chris were at opposite ends of a spectrum and both had their own agendas.

More anon.