Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: greg stephens
Date: 30 May 08 - 11:53 AM

MYSTERY SOLVED(Possibly?)

Colin Irwin has just told me that he saw Peggy Seeger the other day, so he thought he would go right ahead and ask her. And she said the Cockney Leadbelly was Long John Baldry. Alas, he is not around to pass on his own comments. Unless someone turns up who remembers him talking about the incident?

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 11 May 08 - 06:41 PM

Cats

I was at Peggy's concert in Okehampton too! really enjoyed it, particularly her Ballad of Jimmy Massey. (Wasn't able to make the Bridstowe event in the end, wasn't practically possible. Trust it went well?)

Sorry, slight drift here.

Sue

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 11 May 08 - 01:30 PM

shannocks eh,they will be telling us next that the Singing Postman was born in Grantham.
Didnt stop him from writing some good songs,and singing in a Norfolk accent.
the world is full of pillocks,and it was a pillock that interupted the Singing Postmans set,when he was singing Im a shannock.[With no your not you were born in Grantham].For our overseas friends a Shannock[ To be a true Shannock, it means you have been born in Sheringham, your parents were born in Sheringham and your Grandparents were Sheringham born and bred].Sheringham is part of Norfolk .

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,Alex Dale
Date: 11 May 08 - 01:12 PM

To return to the original question, Peggy's recollection appears to differ slightly from that of Ewan, who addressed the issue in an interview with Fred Woods in Folk Review when he accepted collective responsibility for the policy. "We initiated a rule that you sang the songs of the language you spoke and the language that you had grown up with." He said the issue had arisen over a "Newcastle lad of Irish extraction and wanted to sing Greek songs though he'd never been to Greece." No mention of a cockney Leadbelly.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Judy Dyble
Date: 10 May 08 - 04:02 PM

This is all a bit away from the question of who the poor fellow was in the first post, but I thought this might help (or indeed confuse) the issue of the Norfolk 'Nay' I checked with my cousin who is a Norfolk woman and she was definite that 'Nay' was not a word she'd heard used. Both my father and hers were born to a fishing family in Winterton and, in fact, the family knew Sam Larner and sang with him on occasions. Possibly even in the pub (the Fisherman's Return) which is still a fine place today.
Sam Larner was known to my Uncle Walter as 'Funky' Larner but I haven't been able to find out why!(Uncle Walter is in his late 90's so that may be a bit of a muddled memory.) He is now the last of his generation of the family still living, and I am trying to find out what he remembers of those times.

Judy

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST
Date: 10 May 08 - 02:08 PM

There is something to be said for "doing your homework" and knowing about the style,
tradition and history of the song you are singing.

Peggy has done her homework.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 10 May 08 - 01:42 PM

'Nay' is actually a midlands word and is still frequently to be heard amongst the equine population of the counties Staffordhire and Derbyshire.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Nerd
Date: 09 May 08 - 07:28 PM

Sorry, Shannock. Just a joke. And as for the gender, I didn't so much assume as guess...sorry I guessed wrong!

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: MikeofNorthumbria
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:37 PM

Can we return for a moment to Greg's original query about the identity of the "Cockney Leadbelly"? Perhaps we might get closer to identifying this mystery man if we knew whether he accompanied himself on a twelve-string guitar (as Leadbelly did on the original recording of "Rock Island Line").

In the very early 1960s, 12-string guitars were very rare on this side of the pond. As far as I recall, the first imports from the US began appearing in British musical instrument shops in 1963 - round about the time the Rooftop Singers had a hit with "Walk Right In". Before then, I can remember seeing only three used in folk clubs.

One was played by Rory McEwan, a singer of Scottish folk songs with a strong interest in the blues, who had travelled extensively in the US probably bought his instrument there. It seems unlikely that anyone - even a recently arrived American - would have mistaken Rory for a Cockney.

Another belonged to Cyril Davies, who played in blues bands with Alexis Korner and Long John Baldry before his tragically early death. I believe Cyril's 12-string was specially made for him by Tony Zemiatis. If Cyril ever frequented MacColl's Club, his reputation as a "hard man" would probably have deterred anyone there from challenged his right to sing Leadbelly songs.

The third 12-string I heard during that era belonged to Alec Davidson, a Londoner equally comfortable singing American blues and country music or British songs and ballads. I was told that Alec became so inspired by Leadbelly's guitar playing that he wrote to the great man's widow asking for the vital statistics of his Stella 12-string, and that a friend who was a skilled woodworker used this data to produce an instrument which sounded reasonably authentic.

Of these three suspects, Alec sounds the most likely to have been the "Cockney Leadbelly". If he's still around, maybe someone who knows him could ask if he remembers the incident?

Wassail!

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,The Mole Catcher's unplugged Apprentice
Date: 09 May 08 - 04:29 PM

"I was merely challenging Birdseye's point that 'nay' wasn't used in Norfolk"

and so you should, Shannock...I mean isn't this what its all about..debate?

and speaking of irrelevant
No, NOT, Nuh-uh
No, NOT, Nuh-uh No More... *LOL*

Charlotte R

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,Shannock
Date: 09 May 08 - 04:11 PM

I do see why you're called 'Nerd'. Why assume I'm male?

I was merely challenging Birdseye's point that 'nay' wasn't used in Norfolk.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Nerd
Date: 09 May 08 - 02:17 PM

Uncle Dave-O's point is well taken, and anyway Shannock makes the "nay" question even less relevant with his revelation.

It just occurred to me, though, that in 2008 America, it would be

No, NOT, Nuh-uh
No, NOT, Nuh-uh No More...

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,Shannock
Date: 09 May 08 - 02:12 PM

'Nay' is a very common part of speech in my part of North Norfolk.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 09 May 08 - 11:51 AM

As to the word "nay" being or not being common in that area, I think it's irrelevant, or at least far from conclusive.

If you want to fill a line with three alliterated words starting with N, and you want all of them to be a negative, your choice is pretty limited, isn't it?   Sure, the line COULD have been "No, no, never", but that's pretty pallid, and the use of "nay" gives three distinct negatives, making it far more interesting.

"Nay" doesn't, for that purpose, have to be part of your everyday speech; all it has to be is known and recognizable.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 09 May 08 - 06:56 AM

Thanks for the heads-up about Harker's book, DaveS. I had managed not to know about it.

Amazon page here - the first customer review (written by Mike Mecham of Essex) is particularly good, I thought.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0745321658/ref=cm_r8n_gvthanks_cont?ie=UTF8&%

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Santa
Date: 09 May 08 - 06:28 AM

I hope Greg does find out who this singer was - can no-one even come up with any suggestions? Even a list of those who did sing at the club around this time might at least help to rule out who it wasn't, or jumpstart a few memories?

Otherwise it is just another thread on the (to me) empty argument about singing/not singing outside your own tradition. I think the scene would be poorer without the wider distribution of such songs, but can understand why some combinations just don't work!

My wife has similar problems with some of the songs she'd like to sing. She loves the big ballads, but as they tend to come in Scots dialect she is never happy about how much she should go in attempting/avoinding the accent/dialect without ruining the rythms.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Dave Sutherland
Date: 09 May 08 - 06:08 AM

This episode is pretty well covered in Ben Harker's "Class Act"

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Banjiman
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:43 AM

....don't know about this debate but I'm going to see Peggy tonight (with Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson & Mike Waterson) at Reeth Memorial Hall, shall I ask her?

Paul

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:41 AM

furthermore, my ex wifes family were all either Norfolk or Suffolk,I never heard them use the word nay once.
more likely to be further north, yorkshire?teeside?lancashire?

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 May 08 - 04:57 AM

Malcolm,I agree with a lot of what you are saying.
As someone who spent quite alot of time[many years] living in East Anglia,North Essex and Suffolk,I am fairly well acquainted with the language/dialect.
Nay is not a common term in Norfolk or East Anglia.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 09 May 08 - 03:42 AM

> Peggy tells the story of marrying Alex Campbell herself, in The Peggy Seeger songbook. So it's pretty much gospel.

Yep. I've always thought that Cyril Tawney's song New Names For Old was about this, though it also introduces some emotional vulnerability into the mix. I have no idea whether that aspect is true or not, but it certainly makes for a poignant song. A Cyril-related webpage (not his official site) asks a similar question:

NEW NAMES FOR OLD (1968)
If a career-conscious American lady offers a fellow money to give her his name and British nationality in a marriage of convenience, with no strings attached, he might well turn her down, as a friend of mine did. But what if she's the girl of his dreams? Might he not take a chance on something more permanent?

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 08 May 08 - 09:39 PM

Cecil Sharp didn't find 'The Wild Rover' in Norfolk, as various people have stated; but that's because he never collected songs there. In fact he doesn't seem to have come across it at all, though other collectors did. It was pretty widely known in the southern half of England and the north of Scotland, where most of the early C20 collecting was done; probably throughout the UK if it comes to that, but we don't know for sure. Versions have also been found, more recently, in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Ireland.

It's an English, not Scottish, broadside song; widely printed in varying forms from the early C19 onward (plenty of examples at the Bodleian website. None from Scotland, though it clearly arrived there, albeit a little later): it was based on material from an earlier and much longer song written by Thomas Lanfiere in the later part of the 17th century (and published in London): 'The Good Fellow's Resolution; Or, The Bad Husband's return from his Folly.' We don't know what tune 'Wild Rover' was originally sung to (traditional versions vary), but at least one other broadside song (a re-write of 'Captain Ward and the Rainbow') was to be sung to 'The Wild Rover'.

More details are in thread Origins of The Wild Rover, though some of the posts aren't very accurate, and the mistaken reference to Sharp (where on earth did that come from?) is made there too.

The version in question here was from the repertoire of Sam Larner of Winterton in Norfolk, as has already been mentioned, though some people have drawn unwarranted conclusions based on what they would like people to have said rather than what they actually did say; that makes it so much easier to dismiss the question without really addressing it.

Ewan MacColl (not, as I have said, Cecil Sharp) got the song from Sam in 1958, and it appeared in MacColl and Seeger, The Singing Island (London: Mills Music, 1960, number 45, page 50). Sam's chorus (which doesn't appear in most traditional versions) was essentially the now-familiar one. It's a little late to ask him whether or not he thought that 'nay' was an uncommon word in Norfolk, but I see no reason to think that it would be any more out of place there than anywhere else. I will ask around next time I am there, but Jim Carroll (who knew Sam) may have more immediate and helpful things to say when he returns from his holidays.

At some point, if we accept the usual story, the Dubliners picked the song up (they and the Clanceys drew freely on the English as well as Irish repertoires) and the rest is, after a fashion, history. If that is indeed what happened, then the tune of the verses was changed a bit at some point during the course of borrowing: Sam's verses were sung to a form of the 'If I Was a Blackbird' melody, while his chorus was the familar one. It only takes a little ironing out of the subtleties of Sam's tune to arrive at the one made famous by the Dubliners; who also changed it from a reflective thing to the table-thumping anthem for drunks that we all know so well.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Nerd
Date: 08 May 08 - 09:16 PM

Peggy tells the story of marrying Alex Campbell herself, in The Peggy Seeger songbook. So it's pretty much gospel.

She was visibly pregnant, and Ewan was the father, but Ewan was still married to someone else. The clergyman who married Seeger and Campbell obviously thought Campbell was the father, so he gave him a stern lecture on looking after this young girl he'd gotten in trouble!

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 May 08 - 05:25 PM

yes, Iheard it too.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Newport Boy
Date: 08 May 08 - 05:25 PM

In the Living Tradition July/Aug 1997, Ewan McVicar says re Alex Campbell:

The first time I met Alex was in 1961 in a North London folk club where I sang a Scots republican ditty called Maggie's Wedding. Alex was much taken with the song, and asked me to come and sing it at his midnight gig that night in the basement of the Partisan Coffee bar in Soho, where one of the residents was a very youthful Long John Baldry.

Alex had just returned from being a busking blind blues singer on the streets of Paris, and had briefly and platonically married Peggy Seeger so she would not be deported from the UK, but Alex's eclectic approach was worlds away from Ewan MacColl's purism.

Full article here

Phil

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 08 May 08 - 05:08 PM

The Greek word for no is Oxi, pronounced like ochkee.

"Sorry to be a pedant but the one detail which you point out is incorrect sort of. Peggy was in and out of the UK for about a couple of years before she was able to settle here. The reason that she had to keep leaving was she did not have a resident's visa/work permit or whatever the equivalent was. I am sure that the exact details and dates are pretty well known by others who were around at the time.",

I was told that Alex Campbell 'married' Peggy, so she could obtain UK residency. Can't provide any evidence to back it up, just something somebody told me many years ago.


G

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 May 08 - 04:58 PM

Some PPM stuff was twee, but there used to be some stuff on Youtube that could still remind one of the force they could produce.

Better that than Sacha Baron Cohen asking "Is it 'cos I's black?"

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Little Robyn
Date: 08 May 08 - 03:59 PM

Wow Max!
I heard P.P.&M.'s Cuckoo years before I heard anyone else.
I guess that's why I didn't start mudcat!
I'm very glad you did.
Cheers,
Robyn

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Max
Date: 08 May 08 - 01:49 PM

Damage, yes. If I would have heard Peter, Paul & Mary's version of "The Cuckoo" before I heard Doc Watson And Clarence Ashley's, I would have never started the mudcat. How's that for damage?

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 08 May 08 - 01:20 PM

I always rather like PPM's Stewball - that guitar part going c to dminor. pretty cool. or coolly pretty!

PPM and Lonnie doing damage....? they were musicians, not Ted Bundy.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 May 08 - 11:57 AM

UNCLE DAVE O.ThankyouSubject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Captain Birdseye - PM
Date: 07 May 08 - 04:53 PM

yes, and that is what I am suggesting too.
however all traditional songs were written by somebody.
if the song predates Sharps hearing it in Norfolk,it didnt necessarily originate there.
IMO it probably originated further north,The song is a composition perhaps 18/ 19 century.
[once again you misquote]have I misquoted you before.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Max
Date: 08 May 08 - 11:53 AM

Interesting and very relevant conversation here, one that I am very fascinated by.

I discovered, probably like much of my generation, traditional and early folk, through revival artists and rock acts of the 1960s. Robert Johnson from Led Zeppelin, Leadbelly and Woody through Bob Dylan, etc. So I heard the imitators before I heard the originals. Much like my children, see cartoon and stuffed animals before they see the real things.

I enjoy listening to and performing black folk or Carolina or piedmont blues the most, and I am a middle class white man. That said, I make an effort to not pretend to be a southern black man or a laborer, rather I make an effort to understand the performer or character in the song. And very simply make sure the emphasis is on the right beat. A common mistake of white folks , or Europeans for that matter, when singing black songs is the emphasis on the ONE instead of the TWO. Surely there is a lot more to it than that. Phrasing is a big issue too.

I rolled with laughter when I heard Taj Mahal lecture a German crowd about how they were clapping on the wrong beat.

Pete Seeger was able to handle both the beat and phrasing issues. Probably because of spending all the time he did with Leadbelly, Brownie, Libba etc, and that he was thoughtful about it. You can clearly see and hear it when he played with Brownie McGee, Big Bill Broonzy and Gary Davis.

Lonnie Donegan did sound kind of funny, but I give him a pass because of his understanding of Skiffle and his enthusiasm. He was having fun. He wasn't pretending to be anything he wasn't.

An example of doing it all wrong that was profound in my opinion was Peter Paul and Mary's "Trying to Win", "If I Had My Way" and "Stewball".   I have a lot more trouble with those as I do Lonnie's "Rock Island Line". They stripped any everything of its ethnicity and made it all bland. I would think Peggy would agree that PP&M did more damage than a cockney accent.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 May 08 - 11:22 AM

I think I am less offended by people singing songs in their own accent (even if it is not the accent of the originator or populariser of the song) than I am by people putting on fake accents (good or not).

But one too good to miss: --

I say, I say, I say! How does a bee with a cleft palate sound?

...

Mzzzzzzzz!

(gets coat, wondering why SWMBO is so hung up on whether people have been properly introduced to her)

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 08 May 08 - 10:50 AM

Cap'n B said, in part:

if the song predates Sharps hearing it in Norfolk,it didnt originate there.

Now, there is a non sequitur. If you chose to insert "necessarily" before "originate", then that's fine.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 May 08 - 04:53 PM

yes, and that is what I am suggesting too.
however all traditional songs were written by somebody.
if the song predates Sharps hearing it in Norfolk,it didnt originate there.
IMO it probably originated further north,The song is a composition perhaps 18/ 19 century.
[once again you misquote]have I misquoted you before.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 07 May 08 - 03:18 PM

Dick,once again you mis quote. I did not mention the word "written". I was suggesting only that the song probably pre-dated Sharp's hearing it in Norfolk. To assume that the song must have originated there because that is the first time it had been noted is treading on thin ice.

Hoot

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 May 08 - 01:19 PM

neigh,said neddy the dickey.and went off to sing some dickey music.
GUEST hootennanny says ,just because c# found it in Norfolk,it doesnt mean it was written there,
Quite.
in Norfolk the term nay is very uncommon,words like boor,and rood,and suffin cold,and was the bottom dropped out etc.The Wild Rover,clearly originated further north,probably named after one of the WilsonFamily.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: MikeofNorthumbria
Date: 07 May 08 - 07:43 AM

Just for the record... Rock Island Line was sung twice(performance and encore) in the Cumberland Arms, Byker on 26 April this year, to considerable acclaim.   

For the past few years, a group of like-minded Tynesiders have hosted a come-all-ye skiffle session on the Saturday nearest Lonnie's birthday.   A capacity crowd turns up, and they seem to have a great time. There are usually some grey-beards there, but many of the participants look as though their parents could not have been born when Rock Island Line was first in the charts. Skiffle lives!

And on the question of inauthentic accents - I wonder what Ms Seeger thinks of Dick Van Dyke's attempt at Cockney in Mary Poppins?

Wassail!

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 07 May 08 - 06:03 AM

It does however help dispel the myth that The Wild Rover was made up in the back bar of O'Donaghues circa 1966.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 07 May 08 - 05:35 AM

Are we to assume that because Cecil Sharp found it 'Wild Rover' in Norfolk that it didn't exist prior to that date? and was unknown elsewhere?
Like so many songs/tunes We cannot really say where it originated can we?

Hoot

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Kevin Sheils
Date: 07 May 08 - 04:15 AM

And, IIRC, Bonnie the word for no is something like "Ochi" which can sound like OK.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 07 May 08 - 04:04 AM

Round II:

>Let Your Yea Be Yea; and Your Nay, Nay

Kevin - doesn't "nay" actually mean "Yes" in Greek? No idea how you write/spell it - George P, any input?

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 07 May 08 - 04:00 AM

Hey, this pedant thing is fun. Can anyone play? To be both pedantic and off-topic: Julia Roberts may be to blame for her geographically-wandering accent in Michael Collins (her character is supposed to be from good old midlands Longford) but the stunningly out-of-period singing was contributed by Sinead O'Connor.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 06 May 08 - 07:28 PM

Nothing particularly Scottish about the word "Nay". Standard English alternative to "No". Currently more used in the North of England than down South.

"Let Your Yea Be Yea; and Your Nay, Nay"

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 06 May 08 - 07:07 PM

. . . and The Wild Rover . . . C# says he found it in Norfolk.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 06 May 08 - 07:01 PM

who was the man that shouted Judas?

John Cordwell. Or Keith Butler. Depending on who you believe.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 May 08 - 06:30 PM

The Wild Rover?Norfolk?,surely the line no nay never,suggests a Scottish origin.Oh and to continue the fred drift,who was the man that shouted Judas.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 06 May 08 - 05:58 PM

I have no quarrel at all with a cockney lad singing Leadbelly songs as long as they aren't done with a cockney accent. If you really want to laugh your socks off at how ridiculous this might sound then I suggest listening to someone that came along later, Billy Bragg doing Woody Guthrie.

Can't see anything particularly absurd in people singing songs from abroad in their own accents. After all, nobody suggests that the Dubliners should have put on a Norfolk accent to sing the Wild Rover.

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: Nerd
Date: 06 May 08 - 04:32 PM

Thanks, Hoot. That's why I suggested she might set us all straight at some point. I doubt there is anyone who will remember just how much she was "in and out" in those years, except herself. Maybe not even she will!

Subject: RE: Peggy Seeger's Cockney Leadbelly??
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 06 May 08 - 04:26 PM

Hey Nerd,

Sorry to be a pedant but the one detail which you point out is incorrect sort of. Peggy was in and out of the UK for about a couple of years before she was able to settle here. The reason that she had to keep leaving was she did not have a resident's visa/work permit or whatever the equivalent was. I am sure that the exact details and dates are pretty well known by others who were around at the time.

Hoot