Nic Jones In The Daily Mail

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Feb 07 - 06:16 PM

"His legend was secured by the release of Penguin Eggs in 1980, the decade's finest folk album...."

Is that the decade 1971 to 1980? or 1980 to 1989?

"Penguin Eggs will be on my desert island. Little (aka Wee) Pot Stove might even be what I'd save if the waves claimed the other 7...."

Have you heard the recording by Harry Robertson, who wrote the song? Re-released on CD a couple of years ago, fine piece of work, also has Ballina Whalers, which Jones recorded as The Humpback Whale.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 06 Feb 07 - 06:17 PM

It's a brown, vile-looking liquid, Liz...

so possibly.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Surreysinger
Date: 06 Feb 07 - 06:24 PM

Are you sure it's not going to ferment and explode before next year then Ruthie And where are you going to store such a beautiful award - on the mantelpiece??

I have to say that I would far rather have had the stuffed squirrel with the camera - at least that's a talking point - what can you say about an evil looking jar of gunge?? Glad it's you and not me!!!

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 06 Feb 07 - 06:27 PM

The stuffed squirrel was the top trophy, clearly.

I fully expect it to ferment and explode, yes. At the moment it's on the bookcase in my sitting room.

It got some odd looks on the train...

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Surreysinger
Date: 06 Feb 07 - 07:31 PM

"It got some odd looks on the train... "
LOL!
Are you sure it wasn't you that got the looks? Mind you, the recipient of the stuffed squirrel was suggesting that he thought a taxi might be preferable to taking it home on the bus!!!

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Surreysinger
Date: 07 Feb 07 - 11:38 AM

Just reread that last post from me - I meant "are you sure it wasn't you that got the looks ...because of the jar". Realised that it could be read another way - completely not my intent!!!

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: GUEST,Ten-Dollar Jack
Date: 07 Feb 07 - 04:01 PM

The idea that you shouldn't read something because of the political slant of the owners is amusing. Jeez, look at the darn article and forget about it.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Stower
Date: 07 Feb 07 - 04:21 PM

I know this was many posts ago, but I have just come across this thread and think information should be accurate. Daily Mail: "Instead he opted to grasp and pluck the strings of his guitar which led to the slapping down onto the fingerboard with no small force, a technique similar to that employed when plucking the lute." Err, no. In fact NOTHING like playing the lute. Play the lute like that and you turn an instrument of beauty into small-sounding, thin-sounding, unmelodic junk. You can't expect a Daily Mail journalist to know anything about anything that needs skill or finesse, like lute playing.

On the other hand, anything that gets Nic positively into the public eye has to be good - even if it is in a rag like the DM.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Bainbo
Date: 07 Feb 07 - 04:22 PM

It's not so much the political slant of the paper - I'll happily read the Telegraph, or the Sunday Times. But I try to avoid this particular paper because of its agenda of actively stirring up hatred and division between different sections of the community.

It sells phenomenally well, though. I once remarked to a journalist friend that you had to admire it, because it knew it was excellent at knowing its market. She, quite rightly, rebuked me, saying you might as well as well admire arms manufacturers becuase they knew how to sell.

Ron, I've followed with interest your argument about a boycott. I don't think anyone was saying they'd boycott it - just that they found it distasteful to read. My dad used to take it, and if I was going round to the shop for him, what was I supposed to do? Deny him his paper, lecture him, and buy him the Guardian instead? I don't think so :-)

Oh, and back on topic, congratulations to Nic Jones in the Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 07 Feb 07 - 04:42 PM

I merely transcribed the piece, I didn't edit, amend or add. Although incomplete and not entirely accurate, it's considerately better than some stuff I've seen in so-called specialist mags. The DM (sad to say) is bought by thousands, read by millions in public libraries, cafés and bars. Who knows how many (well not many but some) might read this section entirely by chance and go on to seek out Nic's music. Which has got to be welcomed. And whatever next? A team of investigative journos staked out in Harrogate, possibly? Followed by boxed sets of remastered material appearing in the racks of High Street record stores?

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Anne Lister
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 02:59 AM

I have a particular dislike for the Daily Mail after they ran some features some years back about my brother, who was supposedly running "guerilla training schools" because he was (sorry - still is) part of a very left-wing political group. There was a lot of totally untrue stuff published and as the Mail was my grandmother's paper of choice it led to quite a bit of family upset as well. These days I see it when I visit my parents, as my Mum likes the puzzles. It's not a paper I would ever buy, but if it encourages people to seek out Nic's music then that would be something to set against my grudges from the past.

I did, as mentioned in another thread, rate a comment in the Mail's sister paper the Mail on Sunday a few years ago when a travel writer spent time on the Greek island of Skyros, where I was working. The travel writer concerned was a very odd character, pretentious in the extreme, and her article was about as accurate as you might expect from someone who didn't participate in any activities apart from sitting in the bar.

Under these circumstances, if the article on Nic had even 50% accuracy it's doing better than my previous experience of journalism in the Mail!

Anne

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Rusty Dobro
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 05:15 AM

In response to Ian Pittaway above - the info was submitted by a reader, not a DM 'journalist'.

Those of us who have jobs with any kind of political angle, or have specialist knowledge of a particular subject, will long ago have learnt to recognise and despise the appalling misinformation put out on a daily basis by the DM; it is, I'm sure, stating the obvious to UK 'catters to say that virtually nothing in it is to be trusted, and a safe policy is to see what the 'Mail' says about anything at all and then take the opposite view. Trouble is, there are literally millions out there who take it as gospel - the letters page is frightening.

I need to lie down in a darkened room now.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 05:42 AM

Before we get get too over-zealous in our slagging off of the DM, let's remember that it did at least print the Nic story - more than can be said for the more 'acceptable' papers.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Stower
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 09:09 AM

Rusty Dobro: "In response to Ian Pittaway above - the info was submitted by a reader, not a DM 'journalist'."

I was referring to the post by countess richard, which gives what I took to be a long quote from the DM article, especially as the post ends "Henry Giggs, Newcastle Upon Tyne, ex Daily Mail, 6 February 2007".

Anyway, whether or not it's the DM article, it's still wrong!

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 09:25 AM

It was not 'a quote from the Daily Mail article' but, as ought to have been clear from the outset, a literal transcription of an answer given to a query. The Q&A were published in last Tuesday's edition, as noted. As already said, the information was not entirely accurate or complete but I did not edit it. For the purposes of this discussion, I simply reproduced it and, in a separate post, provided a link to Nic's website for those interested in seeking further information. I could have written several long paragraphs on Nic's playing style but this would have been irrelevant to the matter under discussion.

Subject: RE: Nic Jones In The Daily Mail
From: Rusty Dobro
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 09:39 AM

You CANNOT be over-zealous in slagging off the Daily Mail........