the virtual folk club - audio & photo archive
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For convenience the content is divided
into sections.
On this page you will find
audio recordings of Folk Clubs from
Manchester and Salford.
Use the buttons to navigate to other sections
On this page will be gathered links to Archives throughout the U.K and abroad where audio and video recordings of folk music, clubs, concerts and events are stored.
photo archive
THE ROGER LIPTROTT PHOTO COLLECTION GO TO
MICHAEL BILLINGTON PHOTOGRAPHS GO TO
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THE 'FULL CIRCLE' FOLK CLUB ARCHIVE GO TO
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CHORLTON FOLK CLUB & FOLK TRAIN PHOTOS GO TO
single item archive
THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND ODDMENTS WHICH DON'T FIT INTO THE ARCHIVE OF A PARTICULAR CLUB OR ARTISTE.
LIBRARY THEATRE CONCERT POSTER GO TO
the paul graney archive
The word 'Legend' is, these days, very over-used. However, in terms of folk music, and heritage, I have no hesitation in describing Paul Graney as A Legend', and would probably go as far as adding the other, over-used expression 'in his own lifetime'
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Sadly, the full scale of what Paul achieved was never realised until after his death.
It was left to his two good friends Barry Seddon and Dave Hall (both, sadly no longer with us) to begin the mammoth task of listening to, cataloguing and then trying to rescue the hundreds of reel-to reel and cassette tapes and written notes which he had left behind.
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In order to help fund the work involved in digitising Paul's archive The Star Inn Folk Club instigated a series of 'Paul Graney Seasons' during the summer months when audiences were often at a low ebb. By 'encouraging artistes to perform for little or, in most cases, no money, for eight years or more each 10 week season successfully raised money to go towards the painstaking task which Barry and Dave had taken on.
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Not content with that burden, Barry (a newspaper journalist who for years was Manchester's Voice of Folk in the Manchester Evening News) also trawled through Paul's notes and, in a series of recorded interviews, traced his entire life story in what was to become his biography 'One Bloke'
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To listen to a taste of Paul Graney's Life's Work, follow the link to an account of an event which took place at Manchester Central Library's 'Archive Plus' and another website about him and, from there, you can find links to the full archive.
the mike harding radio shows
Mike Harding was the presenter of the folk programme on BBC Radio 2 until the end of 2012.
Following his departure from 'The Beeb' he set up shop in the shed at the bottom of his garden to present his own online show 'The Mike Harding Folk Show'
Eventually this in turn came to an end. Mike explains why;
'This was mostly because the workload of single-handedly researching, producing, recording, editing and mixing the shows was frankly becoming a bit too much for one man – particularly if that man also wanted to live a life.
Along the way I made more than 250 programmes which, when added to the shows I made for the BBC means I’ve made around 1,000 folk broadcasts. Not bad for a banjo player.
But after a few weeks I found that I was itching to get back in front of the mic to share the wonderful music that was still coming my way.
Consequently I am now podcasting a 2hr special every month or so of the best folk and roots releases – together with the occasional “special” like the recent St Patrick’s Day special on Irish music in Manchester.
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So keep checking in, keep listening – and if you follow the folk show on Facebook you’ll see that I post news of the new shows regularly on there.'
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Sadly, the BBC have not maintained the links to
enable the shows to be listened to. However,
the listings are still there, and they themselves
might be of interest for anyone looking for
information about songs or artists.
Also on the BBC page you will find information
about the Annual Folk Awards. These include
links to listen to some of the music.To view
the information about the BBC shows or
Mike's 'home made' series follow the links
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the roger liptrot photo collection
Roger Liptrott is a professional photographer with a passion for folk music. In combining these two elements he has composed an impressive collection of photographs of folk artistes, most of which were taken during performances.
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In addition his site has sections about Venues, What's on 'Folk Music in the North West', Radio SAhows, Magazines and other snippets of interest to folk entghusiasts.
michael billington photographs
These photographs were donated to the site by Michael Billington of Epona Records.
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Most of the photographs were taken by Mike himself over a period of years from the 70's.
the gypsy's kiss tapes
Gypsy's Kiss was a folk group comprised of Dave Hall (R.I.P.) - Guitar, banjo and vocals, Dave Eckersley (R.I.P.) - Concertina and vocals, Martin Taylor - Guitar, mandolin, recorders and vocals and Paul Chipman - Electric Bass and vocals.
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In around 1972/3 the group provided the support for one of the first U.K. gigs by The Chieftains, at the Whitworth Hall, part of the Manchester University complex.
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The performance was recorded by B.B.C. radio Manchester as part of the Manchester Festival of that year. Those live recordings along with a few studio recordings are included here.
After posting the individual tracks above a further recording came to light with the whole concert. The listing is below.
Jack Donahue, Oakham Poachers, Low down in the broom, Sheepstealer, Oak and ash and ahorn, Rolling down to old Maui, When I get to the border, The night I appeared as Macbeth, Wo Ya Ya, Jim Jones, Pass time with good company (not on the Whitworth gig but on this recording for some reason ) Peter's private army.
the full circle folk club archive
This detailed 100 page archive charts the story of the 'Full Circle' Folk Club, so named because, having started at The Cleveland Hotel in Crumpsall, it led a nomadic existence
at a number of other locations before returning to the same venue 25 years later.
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The archive, compiled by one of the club's residents, 'Joggin' Pete Worthington, consists of Guest Lists, Photographs, Flyers, Posters, Tickets and Publicity Material spanning the entire 25 year period, beginning in 1985.
Unfortunately, the archive is not indexed so it's a matter of thumbing through the content and discovering what lies within. I think you'll find the effort more than worthwhile.
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N.B. In scanning and saving the pages of this archive the 'system' insisted on placing the images numbered over 100 at the beginning of the combined document. These were, originally, at the back of the file. The chronological story of the 'Full Circle' club starts, therefore after the first 8 pages of posters and publicity photographs.
chorlton folk club and folk train archive
Chorlton Folk Club is a weekly event on a Thursday night held in the upstairs room of South West Manchester Cricket Club, Ellesmere Road M21 0SG
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The Club was founded in 2002. A proper folk club – no amplification, an ethos that encourages anyone brave enough to get up on stage. Not just folk, there’s some traditional, some unaccompanied, but lots of acoustic blues and rock, and, increasingly, singer-songwriters.
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Included here are two sets of photographs - one of performers at the club and one of a group of the club regulars embarking on the Folk Train. There's also a video
compilation of some of the photographs with a musical backing by Chris Waring.
