Hove Folk Club

ROGER WATSON : 1st May 2009.
Report by Harry Bolter.

The club is so established in the Eclipse in Hove that I thought it time to invite my good friend Everest Banks along for an evening's traditional music from melodeon virtuoso Roger Watson. Roger plays the melodeon, the concertina and sings with a deep powerful voice.

Now, Everest is a fan of the traditional while I am more partial to the more singer-songwriter style of acoustic music. Everest would have to listen to our host Robb Johnson's songs, while I would sing along with the more traditional fol-dy-ole-role stuff.

By the time we had sampled the Harveys Armada, the floor singers were in full voice. The Richwards Ukulele trio were entertaining and after them a couple played two traditional songs so we were both equal at this point.

Roger then played the first of his songs and although the chorus was enthusiastically sung along by the 50 or so strong audience, the words seemed quite modern. Everest leaned across to me and mentioned that Roger had played a traditional song but had in fact got the words "wrong". Surely, I said the words rhymed and fitted the piece perfectly so how could they be wrong? "They are not," said he "the traditional words".

Roger came to our rescue with some explanation. Songs are not set in stone;  they move across generations' borders and populations. As populations suffer problems or economic hardships, words will change to record these.  Folk music therefore can trace the hardships and victories of people back through time and geography.

Before Everest and I could discuss this further, Roger introduced another song. Now, even I knew this one:  it concerned the tale of a lord's son who rides out and comes across a voluptuous milkmaid. After some rolling in convenient haystacks the maid usually gets some sort of social justice which crosses social barriers. Although the chorus was traditional, the song turned out to be about a modern lad who went out to pull a young lady who then stole his wallet and drove off in the car. It was a classic example of how old songs can be brought up to date without losing any of the catchiness of the chorus and traditional nature of the songs.

Roger plays with our host Robb Johnson's band "The Irregulars" and the second half began with a rendition of "The Spirit of 45", a traditional song celebrating the formation or promise of a welfare state. Robb sang while Roger squeezed and pulled the song from his melodeon. This was followed by sea shanties, waltzes, and dance tunes. By the end of the half Roger had thoroughly captured his audience (even Everest) and had to do two encores before he was allowed to end a wonderful set.

Over more Harveys Armada, Everest had to concede that the tunes were traditional and the addition of modern words made the experience different. "So is he one of your modern singer-songwriters, or a traditional musician?" mused Everest. "I'm not sure it matters," I said. It was one of the best nights at the club, with an audience in full voice who really enjoyed the experience - and what do labels matter anyway, when the performance is so good and the music performed so well?

We both had a great night and got to take home a balloon and a tin of hummus, the Hove folk club producing another great night out.

Web site: www.rogerwatson.co.uk

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