Info: Mike Yates

Subject: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Child Harold.
Date: 20 Apr 07 - 10:24 AM

I keep seeing the name Mike Yates in connection with folk music. But I never see his name at any club or festival event. Does he really exist? Or is he an alias for somebody else? Does anyone know anything about him?

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Apr 07 - 10:33 AM

Mike Yates is a very active collector/researcher who contributes a great deal to folk music understanding.

He does exist.

He actively avoids publicity.

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: Wolfhound person
Date: 20 Apr 07 - 11:20 AM

www.kyloerecords.co.uk

Paws

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Apr 07 - 11:26 AM

One of his articles here

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Diva
Date: 20 Apr 07 - 12:17 PM

I was lucky to be recorded by Mike for his Borderers cd, he is a very astute and knowledgeble chap and a complete enthusiast and Sheila Stewart has described him as a gentleman...

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: Joe Offer
Date: 20 Apr 07 - 01:10 PM

Musical Traditions (http://www.mtrecords.co.uk/) has Mike Yates field recordings available on CD. I don't know how Mike is associated with Music Traditions, but I do know the music is very good. Mudcat's Dick Greenhaus manufactures and markets Muscial Traditons recordings in the US through CAMSCO Music, http://www.camscomusic.com/.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Jim
Date: 21 Apr 07 - 12:56 PM

I think there's a Mike Yates on myspace.

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 21 Apr 07 - 01:52 PM

One of the unsung and industrious heroes of folk music, who has collected and published a tremendous amount of material over something like the past five decades.

From Manchester originally, he lived for many years in London and now resides somewhere up on the Anglo Scots border.

He is noted particularly for his work with travellers, Walter Pardon, and singers and musicans from the Southern Appalchians. As well as his own label, Kyloe, a considerable amount of his material is available on Topic and Musical Traditions. I'd particularly recommend Far in The Mountains, a four CD set of his collecting work in the Southern Appalachians which is available on Musical Traditions. Also, the Walter Pardon CDs, Put a Bit of Powder on it Father (Musical Traditions) and A World Without Horses (Topic). If memory serves me right, Mike produced the latter, although it does feature the work of other collectors.

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Sweeney
Date: 21 Apr 07 - 02:33 PM

Not only that I believe he is a bit of a dab hand on the old five string merrywang to boot.

Obviously the chid Harold is a newcomer. There are many, many people who don't show up at club or festival events but who nevertheless do a great job in keeping the music alive and digging out people that we would never have the chance to hear without their hard work.

Joel W.

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 22 Apr 07 - 04:34 AM

He is indeed, a veritable virtuoso of the merrywang.

The only time I've ever seen Mike at a festival was at the National in Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire, about 25 years ago. If I remember correctly, he'd been asked to talk about his collecting in America. Anyway, he duly turned up, merrywang and all.

BTW., there's quite a few articles, reviews etc by Mike on the Musical traditions site; http://www.mustrad.org.uk

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Sweeney
Date: 22 Apr 07 - 06:59 AM

As Fred points out the Musical Traditons site is the one to visit to find material by Mike Yates and several other "behind the scenes" researchers and collectors. I would recommend it to anyone that is really interested in FOLK MUSIC and not the dross about singer-songwriters, pop and rock people that very often take up space on Mudcat making it at times seem more like a kiddies chat room.
In addition MT puts out very worthwhile CD's. The Mike Yates Virginia and North Carolina material is excellent as is the recent Kentucky collection plus many of the recordings of British singers and musicians.

Joel W

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 22 Apr 07 - 07:06 AM

Mike is a former editor of EFDSS's Folk Music Journal, and is again a member of its Editorial Board. he has contributed many articles to the Jornal, and to English Dance & Song magazine, and has always been most generous in his support of EFDSS and its publications - CDs, books etc. the recently published and critically acclaimed song book and CD Traveller's Joy, was edited by him and the recordings come from his collection. www.efdss.org
Mike is a sensitive, kind man - meeting him, you can easily see how he built the trust of singers he recorded.
Derek Schofield

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: BanjoRay
Date: 22 Apr 07 - 07:50 AM

I had an Old Time session with Mike about 4 years ago at a friend's house near Berwick. An excellent banjo and guitar player, and a really nice guy. His Far In The Mountain CDs are superlative.
Ray

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Mar 21 - 09:07 AM

I'm making a film with Grattan Puxon for the 50th anniversary of the first World Romani Congress, 1971. This will be shown at an International online event on 8th April 2021.

As well as the lead up to the 1971 congress, the film looks at some of the delegates who attended. Jasper Smith was one of them.

An LP record The Travelling Songster, given by the Friends of Bourne Hall Museum. It is ‘An Anthology from Gypsy Singers Jasper Smith, Levy Smith, Minty Smith, and Phoebe Smith’. On the front of the record cover is picture of a waggon parked by the road side; on the back of the record cover are photos of the four singers across the top, and information about them under the heading ‘We still love to sing’.

I would like to use the pictures of Jasper Smith in the film. Is this possible?

ioana

Subject: RE: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 15 Mar 21 - 09:31 AM

Ioana. I have no problem with you using the pictures for your film. You will also find some other pictures of Jasper, Levi & Minty in the booklet which accompanies the CD 'Here's Luck to a Man' (MTCD320). You can also find these pictures on-line on the Musical Traditions web-site. They are in the article 'Here's Luck to a Man'.

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 15 Mar 21 - 03:22 PM

http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/time-change.htm

What Mike has neglected to tell us is there is an excellent autobiographical article on Mustrad at the above url. Well worth a read!

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: r.padgett
Date: 15 Mar 21 - 03:50 PM

Could n't find the above

Ray

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: Reinhard
Date: 15 Mar 21 - 04:05 PM

Steve's link works fine for me

Time Has Made a Change - some reflections

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: r.padgett
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 03:39 AM

"Time has mad a change" written by Mike Yates ~yes many thanks

Ray

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 05:36 AM

interesting article .
Mike ,were you involved in collecting from Harry Cox?

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: GUEST,Mike Yates
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 05:58 AM

I never recorded anything from Harry, But, I did spend an afternoon at his home with him when I was in my late teens. I had a 10" HMV LP of Peter Kennedy recordings and Harry was on this album singing 'The Foggy Dew'. That summer I was visiting relatives in north Cambridgeshire and, having borrowed a scooter (and not having a license to drive said scooter!) I drove up to Harry's home. I told him that I would love to hear him sing and, much to my surprise, he did. Three songs in all. I still remember that afternoon very clearly, and remember thinking how much Harry reminded me of my grandfather. I now realize that Harry's singing was one of the things that made me want to be a collector.

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: The Sandman
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 06:24 AM

apparently he had a brother Dick Cox who was also a good singer but was never recorded

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 10:33 AM

That's a great story, Mike! What year would that be?

Subject: RE: Info: Mike Yates
From: Reinhard
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 01:27 PM

With Mike's year of birth given in his Mustrad article, this should have been ca 1960-63.