Thanks to Nigel ward, Pete Willow and CVfolk for uploading this treasure of a tribute Coventry folkie Hazel Lester from 1984. I had fled Coventry by then but it's great to see this footage of those I knew back then - Derek Brimstone, Pete Willow, Dave Ragtime Bennett, Margo Buchanan Smith, Martin and Ray Jenkins etc. It's a great tribute to Hazel and a great time capsule of the Coventry folk scene and camaraderie therein.
Below is a video with all the musical audio from the above film featuring Derek Brimstone, Dave Bennett, Pete Willow, Mick Cullen, Dennis Clark, Mick Stuart.
Folk Fights Back - Coventry's CVfolk Inaugural Live Event in bid for City of Culture Status.
By Pete Clemons
This article is the blog for Pete Clemons articles - ie another of the Hobo Coventry Music Websites - HERE
At a time when young Teesside folk acts like Megson, Cattle and Cane, The Younguns are reinventing what folk music can be, filling venues around the country, and getting write ups in the Guardian and Independent, the Coventry folkscene is fighting back and celebrating its own historic and dynamic folk culture that has attracted the likes of Joe O'Donnell, Dave Swarbrick and many others to the City and boasts a range of singer songwriters giggling around the country. With Selecter star Pauline Black as patron, Pete Willow is working hard to put Coventry folk on the map!
Pete Clemons reports from CVfolks inaugural Live event..
"Whippersnapper was an English folk band formed in 1984, consisting of Dave Swarbrick (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), Chris Leslie (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), Kevin Dempsey (guitar, vocals) and Martin Jenkins (mando-cello, flute, vocals).
Swarbrick left the group in 1989, and the band continued as a trio until 1993, with the only album recorded that line-up being Stories. During that time, Dempsey and Leslie released an album called Always With You as a duo. The band split when Jenkins left the group in 1993.
Following Swarbrick's recovery from illness, Whippersnapper toured again as a full four piece in both 2008 and 2009. Martin Jenkins (born 17 July 1946, London, England) died on 17 May 2011, in Sofia, Bulgaria, from a heart attack."
This folk outfit consisted of two members of Coventry progressive folk band Dando Shaft - Martin Jenkins and Kevin Demsey and from the 80's, I think, Dave Swarbrick - formerly of Fairport Convention, has lived in Coventry.
"Whippersnapper were a four-piece acoustic band formed by Dave Swarbrick, Chris Leslie,
Kevin Dempsey, and Martin Jenkins in Northamptonshire during 1983. Although none of the others could quite compare with Swarbrick's long experience or near-legendary status, each of the others brought something substantial to the table at the outset of the group's history -- Chris Leslie was a musical instrument maker as well as an experienced violinist (who had Swarbrick's playing as a model); guitarist, singer, and percussionist Kevin Dempsey had played in Dando Shaft, and had experience with Latin music as well as Celtic and English folk repertory; and multi-instrumentalist Martin Jenkins had played with Matthews Southern Comfort and was also an ex-member of Dando Shaft, as well as a Bert Jansch alumnus. As a result, the group's work was highly anticipated by folk enthusiasts, as a unique all-acoustic supergroup. The group made its debut in January of 1984 at the Burnt Post in Coventry and subsequently played the Cambridge Folk Festival, a performance that was captured on video as well.
Their music was a deceptively complex brand of progressive folk, driven by the presence of four full-fledged virtuoso players. Whippersnapper spent most of their first year honing their sound and repertory, which started out fully formed, drawing on the songbags of all four members. As a result, their debut album, when it came time to do it -- recorded for their own Whippersnapper label -- came together very quickly. The Promises long-player was recorded in December of 1984 and in stores just about eight weeks later, and well received by fans and critics. A second LP, Tsubo, didn't appear until 1987, and it was similar in form and structure to the first. A third studio album was intended, but in the interim the quartet issued These Foolish Strings, a compilation of four years' worth of live recordings. The fourth album, Fortune, was released in early 1990, and also marked the end of Swarbrick's involvement with the group. The group continued as a trio of Leslie, Dempsey, and Jenkins, and Leslie and Dempsey recorded the LP Always with You, released in 1996. Dempsey eventually teamed up with Swarbrick anew, while Leslie joined one of the latter-day lineups of Fairport Convention."
"Geoff Smedley, whose clear, gentle voice and warm humourous personality has brought pleasure to uncounted numbers of people. I hope this LP will help him achieve some acclaim, Geoff is not - does not pretend to be - a superstar - but he IS worth listening to." Rosemary Hardman from the back cover of his LP Love is Mine 1972
I don't know a lot about Geoff Smedley but he was a member of The Idiot Grunt Band (Coventry) in 1967. Becoming The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band (Dando Shaft, Rob Armstrong, Rod Felton) and breaking in 1972 (Armstrong forming "The Music Box").
Geoff was a contemporary of Rod Felton and Rob Armstrong on the Coventry Folk Scene in 1965, and when the Coventry Mummers visited Germany to perform, Rod Rob and Geoff went over too, playing solo or together as The Gentle Idea and it seems Geoff played sometimes with The New Modern Idiot Grunt Band.
In 1972 Geoff Smedley made a limit edition (200 pressings) folk album Love is Mine on the Westwood label.
It has become increasingly obvious in the last two years that the whole music world - including the folk scene - has declared the 70's the age of the superstar. Names like - Steeleye Span, Ralph McTell and America's James Taylor, receive the acclaim that up to this time was only accorded to pop artists. There seems little doubt that the possibility of achieving that sort of acclaim - and the resultant ego-trip has affected the overall standard of folk music in this country. But whilst artists like Steeleye Span pack the concert halls and what the public's appetite for bigger and better things - it is still in the local folkclub that the average folk fans seek their music. These clubs rely to a great extent on the talents of semi-professional singers and it seems that many of these never receive an acclaim in proportion to the great contribution they make to the scene. Such an artist is Geoff Smedley, whose clear gentle voice and warm, humourous personality have brought pleasure to uncounted numbers of people. I hope this LP will help him achieve some of that acclaim. Geoff is not and does not pretend to be a Superstar - but he is worth listening to.
This new book by Ruth Cherrington captures the 70's music and entertainments scene in Coventry and includes a page on the Coventry Folk Scene and quite a lot of material from these Hobo - Coventry music archives sites - of which this one. Indeed Hobo magazine is featured in it too. Well worth a read - all the favourite venues are covered. Available from Amazon UK here Also, read a review by Pete ClemonsHERE
The book is available at HMV in Coventry and Waterstones.
Ruth Cherrington,the author with her new book at the Coventry Music Museum.
Ben Arnold was one of the early pioneers of the Coventry Folk Scene in the 1960's
The following cuttings were sent to me by Larry Arnold, son of Ben Arnold and are largely from around 1967. Pete Willow's article on Coventry folk clubs in the 1960's, provides good background.Read more here
Paddy Prescott and his brother at the Lanch Poly in Coventry 1970's
The following memories of Paddy Prescott come from William Arnold, son of Ben Arnold, of which more is written on this blog as a Coventry folk club organiser and pioneer in the 1960's. William shared accommodation with Paddy at one stage.
Update9th January 20199 - William Arnold has informed me that Paddy Prescott sadly passed away yesterday 8th January 2019. Below is William's tribute to his life.
Paddy Prescott - Photo courtesy of John Boocock
"Paddy is and was a fascinating character and a genuine person. I was introduced by Paddy to Irish music sessions at the Four Provinces Club which tended to be rather republican and a bit off putting for non Irish. Chapelfields, with its many pubs, was the setting for various Sunday dinner time sessions. Remember this was when pubs religiously shut early on Sundays. A long running one was at the Nursery Tavern, Lord Street where Dave Bennett was a stalwart, amazing every one with the volume of his repertoire and his amazing skill and dexterity producing rhythm, bass, treble and harmony lines in perfect time with only 10 digits. A genuine virtuoso, he was never tempted to go even semi-professional, even though his skills equaled and exceeded many name musicians. Think Chet Atkins and Les Paul his material was mostly western Swing and Ragtime music. Rod Felton would sometimes appear and I am always grateful to him for the support he gave me when I needed it after too much to drink!
In the 80's Paddy lived in Alma Street and worked as bar cellar man in the Foresters Arms pub, just over the road, which was run by Sid a character in his own right and a folk enthusiast. It was in the back room here that Paddy held court on Wednesdays for his nondenominational folk sessions. A group of friends and associates, yet not exclusive. Occasionally people just popped in and we'd always make them feel welcome. Lenny was a regular ,he had converted to Roman Catholicism and would occasionally lament the passing of his wild youth and poor taste, maintaining that the only real music worth bothering with was Blue Grass and Appalachian Mountain music and Rod Felton was also commonly in attendance and the hard core of Coventry folkies and they'd often continued until early morning at Paddy's minuscule bedsit. Most of the other residents had probably attended as well. Alma street had houses only on one side and they had all been gradually bought up by Paddy's landlord, not being a thoroughfare, occasionally he would hold street parties for his tenants, complete with music and dancing in the street!
Never one to take himself too seriously Paddy used half jokingly describe himself as an anarcho-syndicalist with Trotskyite leanings. he could of been described as a skinhead,outlaw biker / Irish folksinger with attitudes! I first met him in 1978 when we shared a 2 up 2 down in St George's Road, Coventry, with his two cats, Trotsky and Durutti!
As well as being External Affairs Officer at the Lanch Poly Tech, he was acting Entertainments Officer as the incumbent was not up to the job of hiring bands etc. In this role his greatest regret was turning down Dire Straits at £1000 as it was too expensive, just before they released Sultans of Swing. Strongly individual, he was not concerned that people laughed behind his back when at his parties he'd play the Trojan Story double LP and show off his skinhead and stomp dancing! This was not cool then but not too much later when the Specials and Selecter became Three Minute Heroes and every student it seemed had to know one, they stopped laughing.
Lachester Poly Union building Coventry
Whether or not Paddy originated the Lanch Folk Club or not, he certainly gave it vigour and manage to attract large audiences both student and locals (unfortunately though I never paid to get in, and I can't remember who i saw there or even what night it was held!).
It was held in the infamous downstairs bar of the Poly, where plastic glasses sat on desk type tables and the walls displayed murals from the 60's of scenes from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (these were painted over just before Lord of the Rings became cool again with the release of the film version). The admission was a modest fee and allowed for well known folk groups / artists every other week and each week local folk impresarios and floor singers with Paddy doing the comparing and launching into one of his unaccompanied songs to get things going.
The accent was always on entertainment and many a student who had attended out of curiosity was converted to the cause despite his student providence and Paddy had managed to become integrated into the differing folk scenes that were going on in Coventry, particularly those that had carried on from the 60's, when Coventry was a strong center of Britain's new folk-scene. Despite being the son of Ben Arnold, who was one of the movers and shakers of the 60's folk scene, it was Paddy that introduced me to the late 70's Coventry folk scene where i would meet people such as Rod Felton, Lenny, Gib Tod and others who considered me Ben's Son.
Paddy's enthusiasm for folk music stemmed from his enthusiasm for Irish culture, being irish by birth and happily adopted by a family of Norwich Catholics (he served as an altar boy in Norwich Cathedral) and wishing to establish an identity he mixed with the Irish diaspora acquiring, by osmosis, a non regional English / Irish accent that became stronger the drunker he became! Singing unaccompanied, sometimes adopting a Norfolk accent for songs like 3 score and ten, a good example of folk songs with strong choruses that the audience could sing along to (and its 3 score and 10 boys and men were lost from Grimsby town from Yarmouth down to Scarborough many hundreds more were drowned. Of fishing smacks and trawlers etc etc)
Unconcerned about trivialities like what is or isn't folk; for Paddy, folk music was a social and community activity and only really bothered about hushing the audience when it might discourage newcomers to performing. Apart from the Lanch Folk Club, Paddy was well known and liked in the many Coventry folk sessions. He was a stalwart at the Dyers Arms backroom sessions and introduced me to them (incidentally Pauline Black's description is pretty much as I remember it. I can't remember ever seeing her there, which is not surprising, as I haven't the faintest idea of what she looks like!
Paddy eventually moved to Bolton to be with his girlfriend Belinda Moore, who used to be Julian Bell's girlfriend of Hot Snax (Snacks) and left the Coventry Folk Scene a little bit duller. That's about it for Paddy.
