Whatever happened to John Harrison

Subject: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,irishenglish
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 12:43 PM

Anyone know whatever happened to original Watersons member John Harrison?

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: oombanjo
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 12:56 PM

He has a house in Greece I/we around Beverley still have occasional contact, and received his last cd with his Greek group mostly playing old time, irish, and bluegrass.cheers Oombanjo

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Folkiedave
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 01:22 PM

He went to London where he spent a lot of time learning the fiddle, and then lived in Brittany for a while, then as oombanjo says came back to live in Beverley, Leven I think.

Saw him at a funeral about four years ago. (Rita Blood/Jewitt)

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,Brian Peters
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 01:30 PM

My family spent an entertaining few days staying with him in Brittany while he was there. I'd been given to understand he was setting up his place as a B&B, but in fact he generously gave up his own bedroom and slept in an outbuilding during our stay. He was building Greek-style bouzoukis back then, so no surprise that he spends time over there - and his banjo and fiddle playing were pretty good, too. I did see him once in the folk club in Beverley but that was a few years back.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 02:12 PM

No chance of a reunion then?

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 03:43 PM

I think the Watersons changed completely, when Martin Carthy joined.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,Brian Peters
Date: 06 Oct 07 - 04:34 PM

"No chance of a reunion then?"

Without Lal????

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 07 Oct 07 - 04:05 AM

Sorry, that was a bit thought less.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Sir Roger de Beverley
Date: 07 Oct 07 - 05:28 AM

John kindly ran a fiddle workshop for us at the People's Voice Folk Festival here in Beverley. The setting was the lovely mediaeval Friary. The festival and the workshop were free and John's contribution was a donation too.

R

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Oct 07 - 09:56 AM

Great, thank you all very much!

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: oombanjo
Date: 07 Oct 07 - 03:39 PM

A few years back they did a watersons revivaland i think it was filmed. There is also the old BBC. Vidio of the Watersons made in the 60's it is all about the group and their upbringing and interests and also the area at that time. It may be still avaliable from the BeB archives.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,buspassed
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 12:59 PM

'Travelling for a Living' BBCtv 1966

Comes as a DVD with 'Mighty River of Song' compilation

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Linda Kelly
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 01:30 PM

Saw him in Beverley a few year ago, I thought he had gone to live on Greece

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,Philip Ward
Date: 13 Oct 13 - 02:31 PM

I appreciate this thread is a few years old but does anyone have any more current news of John Harrison? I recently picked up a really nice small, flat back bouzouki made by 'John Harrison Leven' and I would like to know a bit more about it and the maker. Is he still in Yorkshire or maybe Greece and is he still making instruments?

Thanks

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 Oct 13 - 06:04 PM

try contacting Norma Waterson she is on face book.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Jane of 'ull
Date: 14 Oct 13 - 12:16 PM

Buspassed, do you know where i can get this DVD please?

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,buspassed
Date: 14 Oct 13 - 12:57 PM

'Travelling for a Living' is, I believe, still available as a single DVD probably on e-bay or Amazon. It was at one time available as a VHS from the director Derrick Knight. Certainly worth getting hold of.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,Norma Waterson
Date: 18 Aug 16 - 06:31 PM

John is still I think living in Greece with his wife Yvonne, they have a daughter Jane who married a Greek man and have grandchildren I am not quite sure of his address or telephone number, but I would like to contact him myself as well.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 19 Aug 16 - 10:59 AM

Bill Sowerby has his contact details, Norma. I'll ask him to contact you in a couple of weeks when I see him. John sent me a load of stuff for the HUll Folk Archive a couple of years ago but I don't know where I put his address. It's probably with the archive stuff.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Aug 16 - 02:56 PM

A Mudcat Café forum thread revived by guest Norma Waterson!
Words fail me.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,Guest - TerminalParp
Date: 22 May 19 - 07:41 AM

Does anyone have any updates on him?

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GeoffLawes
Date: 23 Nov 19 - 08:12 AM

Travelling for a Living' is currently available free to view on the BFI site here.

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-travelling-for-a-living-1966-online

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 23 Nov 19 - 09:16 AM

If you buy the boxed CD set ' A Mighty River of Song ' the DVD of ' Travelling For A Living ' is included.

Dave H

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 23 Nov 19 - 11:31 AM

When John Harrison lived in London, he took me under his wing, and introduced me to the singing of Paddy Tunney Joe Heaney Bert Lloyd Harry Cox and many more. He was a great fiddle player and I backed him up on guitar on one memorable (to me) occasion. I have not watched the film but will do. For me Mike Waterson is one of the best interpreters of traditional song that this country has ever produced. I learned some interesting studio recording vocal techniques from them both.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Nov 19 - 03:24 PM

smoking cigarettes , they should be ashamed of them selves, no singer who is serious about his her voice shold smoke anything.. cigaretts or marijuana

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Nov 19 - 03:45 PM

interesting film thanks.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 23 Nov 19 - 04:10 PM

when you pause the film at 40 minutes you will see the watersons singing in a packed folk club, how things have changed those people who maintain that the k folk revival is as healthy numbers wise in 2019 as it was in 1866 are living in cloud cuckoo land.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 25 Nov 19 - 12:25 PM

to be fair 1866 was an exceptionally year though.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 25 Nov 19 - 01:43 PM

Give it a rest, Dick! You already have a long thread for your disgruntled politics!

Folk club doesn't equal folk revival. Think about it!!

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 02:44 AM

Steve i am only speaking the truth

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 03:07 AM

give it a rest Steve, the only disgruntled politics i nhave is Boris Johnson and people who vote for the yorkshire party

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 03:41 AM

quote from chris foster on facebook this morning
this morning I got one of them. It's a live recording of a whole gig I did at the Gypsey Davey Folk Club in Oxford in March 1975. Apparently it had been gathering dust in a drawer in Australia for a while.

It's very noticeable that there are many more people in the room than you would ever get in a folk club these days

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 10:18 AM

Dick,
For the umpteenth time on these threads NO-ONE is disputing that there are fewer folk clubs and that folk club audiences are a lot smaller than they were. There are multiple reasons for this, all expressed in the appropriate thread, and we have almost all of us told you that the Scene is much much more diverse currently.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 10:37 AM

yes i am aware of your previous statements about diversity which i have already corrected.

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: The Sandman
Date: 28 Nov 19 - 05:15 PM

As a performer i appreciate the lack of smoke in folk clubs these days. it is not trivial to be concerned about working conditions and the dangers of passive smoking that is why it is no longer legal to smoke in folk clubs, bronchitis lung cancer and other respiratory diseases are not trivial

Subject: RE: Whatever happened to John Harrison
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 29 Nov 19 - 12:48 PM

Amen to that, Dick. A good friend of mine regularly did pub gigs and I believe his life was shortened because of this.