It seems that Phil Ochs is finally being given the place he has long deserved in the history of 20th century song writing. This film will make him accessible to a generation that in many ways is still facing the same problems and wars that Phil wrote about. He was an inspiration to me as [...]

I see that Dire Straits’ song Money for Nothing has been banned from the radio in Canada because of use of the word “faggot”. The song tells a story from the point of view of a jealous and ignorant man and uses the sort of language that comes with that mental territory. The writer creates [...]

Lovely review of July’s Woodman Folk Club gig.

A fan sent me this by email. I’m suprised at how much of what I say I still agree with!

Hope Village Hall – 08/05/10 What a great pleasure it was to see you live. We both thought your performance was everything we had hoped for. As we said we only came across you about eight months ago and we now have just about everything you have ever recorded. You are far and away the [...]

In early May I hosted a songwriting week just two miles from my home in Shropshire at Gleanings. One of my students, Rob Clarke, penned this ditty for my birthday on the 7th. I’m certain Friends of Mine’ll Be around somewhere on vinyl, And Writer of Songs is on CD, In my musical collection This [...]

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My dear friend Graham died on Saturday 29 May in Portugal. We met in 1971 when he was a member of the Lonesome Travellers Folk Group based in the East Midlands. He was a versatile musician, being a fine singer, guitarist and pianist. We teamed up in November 1972 and did our first gig in [...]

Extract from my diary for July 6 1973 “To Amsterdam for the Dutch equivalent of ‘Top of the Pops’, called ‘Popzein’. We sang two songs. “Also on were a bizarrely dressed group from Scandinavia, who, just as recording began realised they had no guitar to mime with! We were singing live, so it was arranged [...]

“One of the true craftsmen of song, Harvey has created some pieces which are elegant magic and which last a lifetime. There are very few performers who are as committed as him and who can work an audience with such consummate skill. It is a genuine privilege to have met him and seen him at [...]