I first became aware of all of this from Dick Gaughan, when I asked him after one of his shows if his "Kist O' Gold" Cd would ever be made available. He told me that it and what amounted to a "national treasure" of traditional recordings would possibly never be made available to the public. He was not happy about the situation and pretty much said what George and Ralphie have said in this thread. If you go to his web site right now you will see this message concerning his "Kist O' Gold" Cd:

"At the time of writing this, the master tapes of this album appear to be in the possession of CM Distribution, England. As is the case with most of the vintage recordings they own, they do not seem interested in releasing it so I believe it is currently unavailable. Their address is Hookstone Park, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 7DB England. Tel: (+44) 01423 888979 Fax: 01423 885761"

The next time I heard about it was when Martin Carthy suggested that I listen to Nic Jones first 4 lps. He told me that they were out of print and told me why. Once again saying pretty much what George and Ralphie have said in this thread about it.

They are not the only ones. I have had quite a few very well known traditional musicians tell me the same things.

It seems that almost all of the great traditional musicians are aware of this situation and have either been affected directly by it, or know someone personally who has.

They have not forgotten it, and won't unless and until the situation changes.

Any time in the future when someone like me tries to find one of these lost treasures on Cd, they will find out it is out of print, and find out why.

Nic Jones is not the only musician affected by all of this. His case is definitely the one that makes Dave Bulmer look the worst though.

Dave could do wonders for his public image just by releasing Nic Jones material to back him. Surely he knows this.

Terry