The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #166178 Message #3993531
Posted By: GUEST,Pseudonymous
23-May-19 - 03:52 AM
Thread Name: When UK Folk Music Was Illegal ...
Subject: RE: When UK Folk Music Was Illegal ...
Quite a story!
However the situation is not so bleak as all that in Belper!
Belper Folk Club has a current facebook page and appears to be actively involved in quite a lot of folk music. Derbyshire is a lovely area of the UK for anybody thinking of visiting, far less busy and wet than its more famous cousin the Lake District, if less dramatic perhaps than the Yorkshire Dales.
I seem to remember people being concerned about new licensing regulations, so for more information here is a link to some government information pages about them.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/entertainment-licensing-changes-under-the-live-music-act#do-i-need-a-licence-for-music-entertainment
The most recent guidance relating to licensing and clubs does state that immediate membership of the sort apparently given to the police is not allowed.
I'm thinking, from having read the guidance, that enforcing alcohol licencing laws rather than banning folk music may have been the purpose of the intervention.
I suppose that all club members will want to feel confident that whoever is in charge ensures that licensing regs are complied with to avoid such situations arising!
But it really does seem an odd priority for law enforcement!