Stanford Arms Folk Club

Subject: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: GUEST,CJB
Date: 19 May 14 - 08:33 AM

I wonder if anyone here remembers those magical Sunday nights of the folk song and music at the Stanford Arms in Brighton in the 1960s/70s?

Do add your reminiscences to the Comments at:

http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__6290_path__0p115p204p619p.aspx

And I wonder what happened to all the regulars: Miles Wootten, Tim Broadbent, Allan Taylor, Mike Stanley and Brian Golby (hope I've got the names right), etc.

It was run by Jim Marshall whom I hear is still active promoting the best of English Folk - Sussex Folk!!

BTW I wonder if any of those radio folk programmes mentioned below are archived or even better are accessible anywhere online?

http://the-quaffer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/just-another-saturday-night-sussex-1960_24.html

Quote:

A new technological development occurred when Jim Marshall began to produce home-made tapes in his front room for transmission on local radio. As it was with the press, the radio station had no in-house folk specialist, so invited Marshall to submit suitable material. The ensuring combinations of interviews and musical snippets made on his portable tape recorder were broadcast monthly on BBC Radio Brighton from late-1968, the fifteen minutes format reflected in the title 'Folk 15'. By 1971 these radio slots had become a half hour programme re-titled 'Minstrels Gallery'. Subsequently lengthened to one hour and recorded at the studio, they continued until 1996 – British radio's longest-running folk music programme.

Unquote:

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: Dave Earl
Date: 20 May 14 - 04:07 AM

You could probably get your answer from Vic Smith of Lewes who was involved in the Local Radio Programmes that you are interested in.

Vicis on Mudcat and Facebook so you should get hold of him easily enough

Dave

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: GUEST,ChrisB
Date: 11 Jun 14 - 03:16 AM

I think I can answer a couple of CJB's questions:
As Jim Marshall said in his note in 2008 Tim Broadbent is living in France but does get over to the UK to perform sometimes: I saw him at The White Harte in Cuckfield a couple of years back and is still as entertaining as ever. He's appearing there again at the end of August and is also appearing at The Prince Albert in Brighton on 1st September and one or two other venues in Sussex - see the "dates" section of his website: www.timbroadbent.com for details.

Secondly Allan Taylor is still very much going strong. He lives in Leeds and has recently released another album, his 22nd I think, which has won some awards in continental Europe where he spends much of his time touring. He does have some gigs in the UK from time to time (see his website www.allantaylor.com for details) but the nearest to Brighton tends to be at The Willows club in Arundel.
I think Allan has been underestimated in the UK and It's a great shame that he doesn't have more recognition "down south" especially in his home town, so I'm on a mission to put this right!
I'm planning to organise a gig for Allan in 2015 somewhere in Brighton: I initially thought of hiring the upstairs room at Circus Circus for nostalgia's sake, but the function room at the King & Queen is also a possibility. Also, if memory serves me correctly (which it doesn't always do these days!) there used to be an occasional folk club somewhere on Marine Parade, not far from Palace Pier, overlooking Brighton Beach, which, coincidentally is a title of one of Allan's songs, so could be appropriate if the place is still there; does anybody know?
If you'd be interested to see Allan perform in Brighton, please post a comment on this page.

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: GUEST,Ian Price
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 11:06 AM

I was a regular at the Stanford Arms on Sunday evenings while attending Brighton College of Technology (now 'University') between 1966-70.

Used to enjoy most of Miles' "silly songs" from the Music Hall era, as he introduced some pretty big names in the tiny upstairs room.

I met Diz Disley at the Stanford on a Sunday evening in 1969. He played chords on the guitar that simply did not, and still don't, exist, but sounded terrific! I was enthralled.

So enthralled that I missed the last train back to London in order to catch the end of his performance. He offered me a lift back to town in his elderly Rolls Royce (reputed always to contain a barrel of draft beer in the boot), and off we set northwards at 11:30pm.

He hadn't told me about the parties he had promised to drop in on the way. To cut a very long story short, I was dropped off on Clapham Common at 4:00am and had to walk home to West Wimbledon. Astonishingly for even then, I made it home without being mugged.

Although I never heard them perform together, I'm sure Diz's guitar style would have made the perfect foil to Stefan Grappelli's jazz violin - another time I heard him he was accompanying Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, in the days before he and Grappelli knew each other.

I was very sorry to hear of his demise, and shall look for surviving recordings. The reputed state of his finances at the end do not surprise me one little bit - he struck me as being extremely generous and unselfish.

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: Will Fly
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 11:37 AM

Miles has recently celebrated his 80th birthday, in the Mitre PH in Brighton. Tim B lives in France and comes over to Sussex once or twice a year (his sister lives in my village). I did a couple of guest spots at the Satnford in the late 70s with a local guitarist called Pete Conway (now in South Africa). I also bancked Dizon occasions, when he guested at the Stanford, at the old Willows Club, and other places in the area.

Alan White and Pam Fereday were also occasional players at the Stanford, though they were residents at the Springfield.

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: ChrisJBrady
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 02:49 PM

A crowd of us used to go cycling on Sundays with the Brighton YHA Group. We always ended up at the Stanford Arms, parking the bikes under the stairs. No locks in those days. Then a perfect folk club session ended off a great weekend. I think the drink of the moment was black current and Merrydown (Sussex apple wine). We saw many guests there from the mainstream folk scene of the time - 1960s. I do remember two heavy pipe cigar smokers who always sat in the front row and made the atmosphere very rich indeed. I think too that the folk sessions were taped. What a store they would be if digitised and uploaded to the web. Funnily the Springfield FC nearby never quite had the same ambience - seemingly to cater for trad. unaccompanied singers. An acquired taste we didn't have in those days. Happy days.

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: Will Fly
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 06:08 PM

I think there must have been a sea change at the Stanford by the time I got to it in the late '70s. Not quite as traditional as it probably was ten years earlier, and Tim Broadbent certainly played there regularly.

The Marlborough was also fairly well attended - a Wednesday night club, as I recall - with quite a mix of stuff, plus a regular appearance by the Taverners in the back room of the old Concorde.

Subject: RE: Stanford Arms Folk Club
From: TheSnail
Date: 22 Apr 18 - 06:50 PM

Happy times in my student days and beyond from about 1969 onwards. Springfield on Friday, Lewes Arms on Saturday and Stanford on Sunday. Respectively, trad/blues/contemporary, strongly trad, largely contemporary.