When Warwick Uni Folk Club and Earlsdon Folk Club at odds

 

When Warwick Uni Folk Club and Earlsdon Folk Club at odds.

by Pete Clemons

It is December 1965 and an issue blew up between Warwick University Folk Club and the recently formed Earlsdon Folk Club at the City Arms:

The secretary of Warwick Uni FC reported ' I believe that the Folk Club which has been started at Earlsdon on Sunday Evenings, and organised by Paddy Roberts, has been deliberately planned to clash with our own folk club at the same time. The motive behind this appears to be that the man running the new club wishes to make some money at our expense for he wants us to amalgamate with him taking the responsibility for the the club and for paying him £10 weekly. I have my reasons for making what must seem to many as rather rash accusations and only space prevents me giving my reasons here. Personally I shall refuse to have anything to do with an amalgamation and I only hope that you will support our own club so that we may force out of this particular field a man whose one interest is making money'.


The secretary continued:

'Everyone, absolutely everybody, should come to this week's folk club: the best meeting of the term as it should well turn out to be. Anyone known to be visiting a rival folk club will be publicly and ceremoniously linched afterwards. Don't forget then the university of warwick folk club'.

During January 1966 things seemed to have settled down again as the university listed artists who would be appearing in the future: Sunday Jan. 14th Anne Briggs Sunday Jan. 23rd The Couriers Sunday Jan. 30th Barry Skinner Friday Feb. 4th Janet Kerr and John Cowling Sunday Feb. 18th Malcolm Price Sunday Feb. 27th Pete Stanley and Wizz Jones Sunday March 6th Sandy and Jeanie

By February 1966 Warwick Uni FC had gone from strength to strength as, it has to be said, Earlsdon FC. A missal from the secretary read: 'The folk club claims to be the most thriving society in the university: this is justified by the fact that it has over 200 members and meets every week. In spite of early criticism the table tennis room has proved to be an excellent home for the club. Singers have enjoyed performing before a most receptive audience and have highly praised the friendly atmosphere. Past singers have included Bill Clifton, Mark Newman, Richard Lawrence and Judy Sutton, Diz Disley, Anne Briggs and Malcolm Price; this term Pete Stanely and Wizz Jones (Feb 27th), Sandy and Jeanie (March 6th) and Bert Jansch (March 13th) will be appearing. Resident singers include Dave Robinson, Carole Spackman and John Hobbs who sings regularly. The Warwick Week at the end of the year will include a folk concert on Wednesday, June 22nd. We hope the guests will include Davy Graham, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy and the Young Tradition. If you haven't yet been to the folk club, you still have a term and a half to exonerate yourselves'.

Blackwaterside Anne Briggs & Bert Jansch