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An occasional series on rediscovered treasures 1983’s Hand of Kindness is the second of Richard Thompson’s first solo albums; Henry the Human Fly after he left Fairport, this one after the break-up with wife Linda. It’s hard to pick a favourite RT — so many mean so...

An occasional series on rediscovered treasures When I was young and even more foolish, me and a chum tried to smuggle quotes from Bob Dylan songs into our English homework. We got away with 'blowing in the wind', 'when the ship comes in' and a few more. But when I...

An occasional series on rediscovered treasuresSomehow the old favourites fell short; too familiar for unfamiliar times. Crown of horn (Martin Carthy); Penguin eggs (Nic Jones); Handful of earth (Dick Gaughan); Led Zeppelin’s Four symbols. Not even Sergeant Pepper or...

Originally printed in Tykes’ News, Spring 2019 Folk music discovered me just before The Sex Pistols; by the time they arrived, I was lost in a world of angular tunes and collarless shirts. I started to go to folk clubs while at university, so there are three that I...

First printed in Keighley News, on behalf of Airedale Writers’ Circle, August 2018 Highlight of a busy Saturday at Bradford Literary Festival was a talk by the music journalist David Hepworth, long-time familiar face from the much-missedThe Old Grey Whistle Test. OGWT...

I play in a band, sometimes. Clogiron. We only do two or three gigs a year: fund-raisers, parties and such-like; and we play stuff Dads can dance to. It’s terrific. Get together with a bunch of mates, strap on the Telecaster, turn it up loud, and pretend to be 17 all...