Singing Together

BBC Singing Together

In the unlikely event that the Substitute Scribe has any readers from among the Younger Generation he apologises to them for the obscurity of this week's title. Singing Together was an educational programme back in the days when the only multimedia presentations for school students were delivered by moving a 'portable' (i.e. capable of being lifted by two people) Bakelite radio from room to room.

For many of us, it was our first introduction to folk music, and it was remembered this week when Colin sang Grey Hawk (Roud 293), a song Derek recalled voting for (the only one in his class who did) at the end of term Eurovision Song Contest type vote for best song. John P then recalled from the same source, and sang, Lincolnshire Poacher (Roud 299).

But in best Dragon tradition the conversation soon segued to songs recalled from our youth, and especially from early folk clubs. Mike, in particular, recounted stories of Five Barred Gate, the very first Starkey supergroup, which then led on to a performance of My Old Man's a Dustman (Lonnie Donegan, Peter Buchanan, Beverly Thorn). Further, when Derek sang Who's the Fool Now (Roud 473), Mike was able to update the Napoleonic Wars' original with some verses peculiar to the early 1970s.

I'm afraid a point was reached in the evening when your scribe realised that his knowledge of traditional music was going to be of very little help in compiling this report. John P, having missed several weeks, and consequently several anniversaries [Ed: and deaths], proceeded to catch up with Mr Presley's In the Ghetto (Mac Davis), Brian Cant's I like my Job as a Carpenter [Ed: Chippy Minton's song from Trumpton], Bob Dylan's Motorpsycho Nightmare and Madness's In the Middle of the Night (probably one of the few occasions in a folk club when 'get your knickers down' has been heard as part of a song lyric as opposed to general conversation).

With Geoff contributing The Kinks' Plastic Man (Ray Davies) & Michael MacConnell's Tinkerman's Daughter and Colin adding Garth Hewitt's Little Outlaws, Dirty Angels & CJT Midgley's Roses of Eyam spiders' webs began to appear on the Roud Index; but I am happy to announce a few traditional songs in (Johnny Patterson's) Stone Outside Dan Murphy's Door (Geoff), Rout of the Blues (Mike - Roud 21098), Tailoress by Trade (Roud 2149), Geordie (Roud 90, version Child 209F) and (Roud 18836, Laws D8) Dogger Bank (all Derek).

Here's a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 5, of whom 5 performed)