Newsletter #50 - South Riding Folk Arts Network

Editor/Webmaster: Malcolm Douglas
101 Hoole Street Sheffield S6 2WQ 0114 2014139
email: webmaster@folk-network.com
Editorial
Our apologies for the later than usual arrival of this edition. Print dates tend to
be tied to significant regional events, so the Autumn issue is scheduled to provide
info for the Sheffield Festival in October. Winter has usually been squeezed
in early so that Spring can cover May Day; since that event won’t be happening
this year, we’ve allowed ourselves some flexing of the schedule, particularly as
our main contributors have had to deal with various unrelated emergencies
recently. We hope that this issue is interesting enough to make up for the wait.
Folk Music in the Media
The Folk Arts have had some pretty good exposure on television and radio
lately. BBC4’s Folk Britannia series examined the post-war Revival in creditable
–if not always entirely balanced– detail over three episodes, with contributions
from a lot of people who were actually there at the time. Not always as accurate
as it might have been and with, at times, perhaps some rather odd choices of
interviewee; but very interesting and valuable nonetheless. Just the kind of
thing that public service broadcasting ought to be doing, though perhaps with a
wider overview and more objective comment another time. The series probably
over-stressed the Southern English revival at the expense of equally important
movements in the rest of Britain and Ireland, but that redressed to an extent the
usual media imbalance; where a newcomer to the subject might be forgiven
for assuming that only the “Celtic” countries have any traditional music at all.
The “contemporary folk” phenomenon –largely a post-war invention based on
American models– was extensively covered both in the documentaries and in
the accompanying concerts. Influential performers like Pentangle, Donovan
(not at his best), Dick Gaughan, the Carthy/Waterson clan, Bert Jansch and
Shane McGowan were also featured, together with concerts from Eliza Carthy,
Billy Bragg and many more; plus a welcome re-showing of the Coppersongs
documentary that has to be one of BBC4’s best achievements to date.
That’s not all we’ve had lately. The Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell featured
–with obligatory (but very sympathetic) “famous person” Sting– in a thoroughly
engaging programme on Channel 5 only the other week. Most significant,
though, is BBC Radio 2’s commissioning of a new series of Radio Ballads.
These are modelled on the ground-breaking series produced in the 1950s and
‘60s by Charles Parker, Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger and others; this time the
musical director is John Tams, and the series includes songs written by him,
Ray Hearne, Julie Matthews, Jez Lowe, Karine Polwart and others. The production
company is Smooth Operations, which has strong roots in the South
Riding region. At the time of writing, 4 of 6 episodes have been broadcast; and
very impressive they’ve been, too. Appropriately, the first programme dealt with
the Thatcher government’s dismantling of the Steel industry. It shows what
Smooth Operations can do when they’re given proper creative freedom. If only
they were allowed to do the same with Mike Harding’s rather disappointing
Radio 2 programme, which they also make!
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/radioballads/ for more details.
Join the Friends of the Network and help to support the folk arts in our region.
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South Riding Folk Arts Network News No. 50
Number 50: WINTER 2006: Contents
1: Editorial – Folk Music in the Media
2-3: Sheffield Folk Festival – The Regal Reborn
4: CD reviews – Danceouts 5: Bradfield Traditional Music Weekend 2006
Local Traditions in Parson Cross – Session Pubs: the Upperthorpe
All copy, photographs and artwork appearing in this magazine are copyright © 2006 the
writer, photographer or designer and may only be reproduced elsewhere by permission.
CD review 6: The Card Playing Song – Adopt a Morris Dancer!
7: The Last of May 8: Jake Thackray – News & Events
Folk Music, it appears, is once again “cool”; at least while it suits the media
people. We’d best make the most of it. Before we know what’s happening,
they’ll be back to trotting out their usual sad, lazy, predictable mockery of
imaginary people with pewter tankards, Aran sweaters, and fingers in their ears.
Meanwhile, let’s hold this thought: according to venerable music journalist
Colin Irwin (fRoots, March), Sheffield –for which, read the whole South Riding;
Sheffield is at its physical centre, but is only one of a whole linked group of
vibrant hotbeds of music, both traditional and contemporary, in our region– is
currently “the capital of English Folk Music”. Good heavens, it always has
been! It’s about time those people in London noticed.
Regional Radio
First, the good news. BBC Radio York’s Northern Folk programme, presented
by Michael Brothwell on Wednesday evenings, is to be extended from one hour
to two. Our congratulations to Managing Editor Matt Youdale on an imaginative
and welcome move. The programme can be heard on 103.7, 104.3 and 95.5
FM and 666AM, or live online. Each broadcast is also available, for a week,
via the BBC’s ‘Listen Again’ facility at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/genres/folk/aod.shtml?york/ny_folk
Northern Folk: http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2005/09/
16/ny_folk_feature.shtml
Also good to hear that Mick Peat and Lester Simpson’s Folkwaves on BBC Radio
Derby (104.5, 95.3 and 96 FM) and Lincolnshire (94.9 and 104.7 FM; 1368 AM)
Mondays, 7-9 pm, can now be heard online via ‘Listen Again’ instead of just live:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/derby/aod.shtml?derby/folkwaves
Now, the bad news. Just over the border, BBC GMR is set, not just to change
its name yet again, but to drop all “specialist” music coverage in favour of a
move to lowest-common-denominator “talk” shows. That means that Ali O’Brien’s
Sounds of Folk will be axed. As usual with such moves, presenters of doomed
programmes have been forbidden to mention this on air; presumably to prevent
listeners from complaining until it is too late. This sort of arrogance on the part
of a public service broadcaster is unacceptable; particularly in view of the
enlightened moves being made, as we have seen, in other areas of the BBC.
Dancing England Rapper Tournament 2006
DERT 2006 took place at York this year, over the weekend 17-19 March. Our
congratulations in particular to Sandbeck Sword (the Rapper team that grew
out of the Network’s Generations Project at Maltby Comprehensive) for their
win in the Best Youth category; to Triskele Sword, (second place in Open Class,
so the highest-rated mixed-gender team in
the country) and Stone Monkey (third place,
Triskele
Premier Class). Sandbeck only missed
placing in the Premier Class by 1/2 point,
which is pretty impressive given that they
were dancing against much more experienced
sides. This year’s event was hosted
by Black Swan Rapper, and more info –and
photos– should soon be available on their
website: http://www.blackswanrapper.co.uk/
Cover: Mr Fox at the Sheffield Folk Festival 2005: photo by Edwin Beasant.
Thanks for other photos to John Asher, Ed Beasant, Ron & Jenny Day, and
Cecil Sharp.
Correction: quite a few photos we’ve used over the past 18 months have
been wrongly credited to Derek West when they were actually taken by Phil
Waters. Our apologies for the mix-up.
COPY DATES FOR NEXT ISSUE
Advertising: 1 May 2006 – News: 10 May 2006
For ad rates please contact Ron Day: 0114 247 0099 or
email: ronaldday@btinternet.com
24 Chapel Street, Mosborough S20 5BT
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