Bert Lloyd was president of The North East Folk Federation while I was secretary and as he wanted to be an "active figurehead" we corresponded on a number of occasions and I found him teriffic to work with. I also saw him live on various occasions and he was a captivating performer either singing, storytelling or lecturing. In conversation, mainly about songs or music, he spoke with an undisguised enthusiasm and never simply gave a one word answer. We also talked about football once and he proved knowlegable on that subject as well! Regarding his work and relationship with Ewan MacColl, MacColl always described him as "a very gifted man". To get a more detailed insight it is worth reading MacColl's autobiography "Journeyman" (Sidgwick & Jackson - London).Plus T.V. documentaries "What Did You Do In The Strike"(ATV)Rythms of the World's "Ballad of Ewan MacColl" (BBC2) or the tribute to A.L.Lloyd "Bert"(C4)in which MacColl talked at length about Bert.
Yes, Lloyd put his own tunes to various sets of words and undoubtedly did a bit of re-writing as well; but there are people out there now singing "Jack Orion", "Sovay" and "The Demon Lover" who have never heard of Bert Lloyd....so did he do such a bad thing?
Dave S