I once received a letter from Peter Kennedy about an article that I had written in Folk News edited by Karl Dallas threatening to take me to court for what I had written unless I wrote another for that publication withdrawing my claims. The claims were that Kennedy has released a number of casstte recordings of traditional singers on his Folktrax label. My claims were that Kennedy had made these releases without reference to or contract or arrangement with these singers. The singers that I knew about in Scotland and Sussex were people that I knew well and had volunteered the information to me off their own bat, not on any prompting or questioning from me. I was pretty sure of my facts, so I wrote back telling to go ahead and sue and that my barrister brother had volunteered to represent me free of charge [confession time - neither of my brothers are trained in the law!] I never heard from him again on the matter.
In the next issue of Folk News there was a retraction from Dallas saying that 'some of the facts' in my article had not been properly checked. I was furious. I phoned Dallas and asked him what facts he meant. He replied that the paper was losing money hand over fist and that it was nearly bankrupting him and he could not face the cost of a court case that he might not win. Folk News only lasted a couple more issues. Dallas immediately started a newspaper devoted to punk which was the rising musical fashion of the time. It was truly appalling and only last two issues.
IN RETROSPECT I feel that everything that I know or have heard about Peter Kennedy makes me thing that he was an out and out rogue but I am hugely grateful for the wonderful recordings that he made of so many aspects of traditional songs, music and culture of the UK. He is by far the most important collector since the 2nd World War. His Folk Songs of Britain & Ireland stands as an amazing testimony of his achievements. It is just sad that the importance of his legacy has been marred by some of his actions.