Churchill was Prime Minister

George V1 was on the throne

Richard Rodgers writing

You’ll Never Walk Alone

Woody Guthrie singing

The Big Grand Coulee Dam

As mucky kid in my Liverpool Home

Is where it all began

They don’t write ‘em like that anymore’ is a fair reflection of my youth – big family, songs around the piano, Black Hills of Dakota , Roll out the Barrel and anything by George Formby.

I always loved words and rhymes. Around 1953 the Liverpool Echo. had a Children’s Corner offering 10/- for the entry of the week for a picture, poem joke or short story

I sent in – a poem about Ashbourne Road * and received a 10/- postal order (about £14 in todays money.).

Next week I sent in… Robin Hood was wise and good…. 10/- !! …and a lucrative career was beckoning

I recounted this tale to Jacqui McDonald who said that Bridie O’Donnell was living in the next Road at the time.

My parents bought a Chandlers shop in Knotty Ash (mum called it a Fine China Shop)

A chap came in regularly and bought feather dusters – his name was Ken Dodd – I was tickled.

My parents were friendly with Johnny and Mona Best who opened the Casbah in West Derby Village. By then I was following in the footsteps of Leonard Rossiter, Ted Ray , Arthur Askey and Eddie Morris through the hallowed portals of the Collegiate School.(can you see a pattern emerging!)

One morning in summer 1960 I was asked to help two boys load all the cups and glasses from the shop into a mini  car that was parked on the pavement outside the shop. I was told that

they had started a band and were having a farewell party before going to Hamburg. The boys I reluctantly helped were Rory Best and Paul McCartney.

So still at a tender age I had rubbed shoulders with four Liverpool legends – and here I am now with Brian Jones

I bought a cheap cello guitar with my poetry money and struggled through “Play in a day” reaching a basic level that I have  managed to sustain to this day – Went electric and started a rock band becoming one of 300+ in Liverpool and great fun but steadily gravitated towards folk music. When the police did their ‘walk arounds’ in some of the less salubrious pubs the locals would request (demand) that we play “Johnnie Todd” so perhaps that was a subtle introduction.

I discovered Jacqui and Bridie’s Coach House Folk Club in the early 1960’s  and have never fully recovered !

Pete Rowley tuning his home made Northumbrian Pipes, blowing the fluff out of his whistle and warming up his rat and Arthur Williams stretching a bodhran over the paraffin heater, . Bridie staring at the ceiling and plucking the banjo strings whilst Jacqui turned the pegs at the musical end!

But the singing  was a totally new experience – I was hooked.

J+B repertoire became ‘our’ songs – we were one big band. One big old Martin D35 , one banjo and  200 voices… and fantastic harmonies…  the dancing dolls and the chorus jokes and the musical wellie – Bridie would say it’s my musical wellie not willie!

J+B had many fantastic guests but didn’t really need them with the talent in the audience. We enjoyed regular concerts at the Phil which became ‘our big folk club’ for the evening .

Jacqui recounts a story that having just collected the (2000?) tickets from the Phil for one of their concerts Bridie left them in her leather handbag on a bench – when they realised and rushed back the handbag had gone but the tickets had all been left there – dumped!

 Joyce and I moved to Portsmouth for a couple of years – J+B would stay with us when in the area. We met the Yetties who said “we don’t like working up North – they have no sense of humour!”… we eventually moved back to our ‘humourless’ roots and back to the local clubs .

Rhona Jones’ club holds many fond memories and Rhona was the first to encourage me to sing and in due course to join her on bookings. Rhona and Bridie shared that special gift of making everyone feel special. Both were able to appear ’slow on the uptake’ but were as sharp as tacks and almost as funny as a Southerner!

I encountered Bill Jones who ran ‘Wednesday Folk’ in Parkgate. Bill’s approach was “get a few floor singers together and you can put on a full evening”.This led to forming several bands and one wonderful accolade “ I hate folk music but I quite like what you do!” At one stage we had a group of undertakers forming a fan club ! And one evening we entertained a party of 40 Japanese. We gravitated to parent teacher type events and as hotel residents where we were employed to  entertain non folk audiences (often coach tour holidaymakers who knew no better).Thinking back my preference has been to include ’sing along’ and popular songs along with the pure folk (traitor!) often to grey haired retired old people – so different from todays folk club audience!

Jacqui and Bridie opened the Penny Lane Wine Bar in the mid 1980’s. I became a regular at the weekly concerts and progressed to enjoying many , shared bookings near and far, a real joy and privilege.Jacqui was always insistent that we not use maps or ‘sat. Nav’ saying it is more fun to follow our nose to find the booking. We were often late!

 Bridie moved to America around 1990 and I began singing more regularly with Jacqui – Jacqui knew hundreds of ‘half  songs’ (she said she never listened to what Bridie was singing – she just focussed on her bit!)

We lost Bridie in 1992 and Jacqui was ready to give up singing which to me was unthinkable..

I knew the other ‘halves’ of the songs (and jokes) and  have had the joy of supporting her  on her travels to far away places up and down the M6. Jacqui says that she and the Spinners more or less plotted the route of the M6 before it was built on their frequent trips to London.

In recent years we have played in just  about every village hall in the Lake District and West Yorkshire ,always exciting as she would only decide what to sing when she was on the stage “rehearsals are boring” – “ I will tell you the key when we start – and the song!” Even when recording Jacqui would make sure we were not prepared -“the secret is in the spontaneity”

 We had the final club night at the Philharmonic Hall in 2012 celebrating 50 years of the Coach House Folk Club and my only wish is that I could have been in the audience and Bridie on the stage.

When Jacqui toured with the Spinners around 1960 she and Cliff were the only drivers – she parked the van one evening –  followed the boys into the club, asked for a drink and was told ‘we don’t serve women’ ask a man to order it for you!

 She was also advised that “women don’t wear jeans on TV – or play guitars.

Songs and poems still appear in my head on a fairly regular basis and with Brian’s blessing I may offer one or two in due course to include in the blog.

Not sure if the going rate is still ten shillings.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have seen and heard so many folk super stars from near and far – and on our own door step – and for the unsung ‘heroes’ who turn up each week to organise, set up and clear up in the Folk Clubs to make it all possible and not least to our Brian and his ‘bright young things’ for this initiative to capture these memories before they fade from our minds.Thank you Brian.

Tom Paxton and Midge came to our Rowton Hall Club and after the gig we talked until around 4am.  A few months later we had Ralph McTell as our guest. I felt a hand on my shoulder and there was Tom. He said he didn’t want to sing but “would there be any chance of another all nighter!“

So we sat with Tom, Ralph, and Alan Taylor reminiscing about life on the road and airport lounges.

So many stories.

I would like to mention an old friend  Gordon Morris – Gordon went to at least 3 folk clubs a week for over 50 years – enthusiastic floor singer and stalwart of the folk scene. Such ‘Gordons’ are the life blood of the folk clubs.

When he became ill a little over two years ago he said his only last wish would be to somehow get back to the folk club for one last time… he became too weak to leave home so we took the folk club to Gordon’s bed side.

“Song for an old friend – Gordon’s Song” – came out of our last evening together.