Burnley Folk Club will meet on a Friday at the Kettledrum until further notice

HIRING FAIR       SONG REQUEST       CLUB & DIARY DATES

   NEWS       MAGAZINE       WIRELESS WAVES       FEDERATION       HARRY BOARDMAN

 LINKS       OFF THE BEATEN TRACK       HOME

Other pages are available on this site - please click on HOME to see a complete listing

Thursday Club History Page

This page is dedicated to the history of your club. Please send in a couple of paragraphs and pictures of your residents and regulars and I'll put the information on this page.

Railway Folk Club

Meets at

The Railway Hotel, Heatley, Lymm

Thursdays 8-30pm

This potted history of the Railway Folk Club starts when Ann Clancy, who was the club organiser at the time, moved to the North East at the end of June 1995. Written records prior to this date are not (yet?) available, so anyone who can furnish us with more information is very welcome to do so!

Perhaps these recollections will jog your memory?

The folk club started in 1980 (give or take a year) at the Thorn Inn in Appleton Thorn, run by Maggie Goodall. Regulars were: Maggie & Mick, Graham Sowerby, and the twins Jack and Norman, who went under the name of the Mynah Birds (possibly Minor or Miner?).

Late 1985 or early 1986(?), the back/upstairs room at the Thorn had been made more restauranty and less welcoming to the folk club, so the club moved to the Railway and adopted the name "The Boddy Shop" to celebrate the departure from Greenall-land and the chance of a decent pint. In the early days, the bar in the function room was actually used, although it tended to interrupt the performances on occasion.

Memorable nights at the Thorn included Martin Carthy, Martyn Wyndham-Read, Brass Monkey, John Kirkpatrick, Allan Taylor, Tom McConville & Gordon Tyrell, Ewan McColl, one of the first ever outings of the Electropathic Battery Band, "Tony Gibbons and friends", etc... so there were good guests right from the start.

We used to go regularly 'cos we lived only a mile or so away in Stretton. We used to go with Paul & Leslie who introduced us to Earl of Stamfords.

In July 1995 the first newsletter was published. A committee of six had now taken over the running of the club, with Graham Sowerby looking after bookings, Don Davies handling the publicity, and Geoff Smith responsible for financial matters.

The new management decided it was time to be more ambitious, so 'big names' were approached to fill the program for the new season, in addition to supporting local talent. This is now the established philosophy of the club - one of our most memorable nights was Monday 17th July 1997 when we had none other than Tom Paxton playing to a capacity audience.

For a couple of seasons, Don sent newsletters out by mail. But he got fed up licking stamps, so now we do it electronically on this web site! If you wish to be notified by email when the guest list changes, simply click here. Please note that this is NOT an automated mailing list!

Graham and Sylvia rarely have the opportunity to visit the club these days, and we miss their fine repertoire of songs, some of which were written by Graham. Around mid 1997, Graham's many other commitments forced him to reluctantly retire from club activities, handing the bookings list over to Don. He returned with his new band 'Cautious Half' in October '97, and again for a Saturday Special (free admission!) with 'Three's Company' to record some 'live' tracks for their new album in October 2000.

Heather and Don Davies first came to the Railway around fourteen years ago, during which time Heather's tambourine has become a force to be reckoned with! Between them, they have written quite a number of songs, many of which were inspired by places they visit when on holiday. Under the name 'Kapsali Bay Folk' they recorded an album of songs about the Greek Island of Kythera, engineered by Bernard (in his front room!), and the songs were presented one Saturday evening at the club as a 'Son et Lumiere' with Rick on Bass, and Bernard on various instruments. During the performance, slides of Kythera were shown as a backdrop.

September 1997 saw Heather and Don marry in Delph (Saddleworth). Blarney Stone (as Garva were then named) provided the evening's entertainment, with some Railway regulars contributing, too (including the late Malcolm Disley), and Bernard was the organist for the ceremony. Sadly, the same day saw the funeral of Princess Diana...

Trevor Morton has been a Railway 'resident' for around fifteen years, taking his turn in running Singers Nights and Guest Nights with great aplomb! He is no longer as fit as he used to be, a couple of strokes and the odd fall here and there making even walking difficult without various appliances. For a few months we were all concerned that he wouldn't be with us for very much longer, but, to everyone's delight, he has fought back with vigour, and participates regularly on Singers Nights once more, occasionally running the evening in his own inimitable style - his wit is still as razor sharp as ever!! We haven't heard him sing 'The Manch' for some time, but his poems and monologues are still a joy to hear - Saint Tesco, Grimshaw's Corner Shop and Coppice Pit, to name but a few. Maybe one day he'll let us publish one on the website?

Geoff Smith was our 'doorman' until ill health meant his visits became less frequent in 2000. We miss his fine unaccompanied singing and his jovial company. Ian now acts as doorman in Geoff's place, but needs to eat quite a few extra Weetabix before he matches the stature of his mentor!

Bernard first came to the club around Easter 1997 having known Don through work for a year or so; Janet Russell was unable to appear at very short notice, and Bernard stepped in and did the gig instead. A few months later he was 'promoted' to resident status. Illness has prevented Bernard from being quite so active in the running of the club over the past two years, but he seems to be recovering now, so watch out!

Lesley and Rick became residents around the summer of 1998, and we are delighted with the way they are going from strength to strength, not only with their musical performances, both as a duo and as soloists, but also in the professional way they can run the evening (which gives Don a break!). They recently celebrated '100 years of Rick & Lesley' by inviting everyone to a birthday ceilidh at Altrincham Masonic Hall with - you've guessed it! - Garva!

We can justifiably claim to be one of Britain's top folk clubs now - how many other clubs can boast that Dave Swarbrick rang to say 'Martin Carthy and I are doing eleven gigs together this year - can we do one of them at the Railway?' That was our grand opening to the 2001-2002 season. Oh - the answer to the question is ten!!

What is the secret of the club's success? Well, there's really no secret. Give people what they want, and they come flocking in droves. Alternate Guest Nights and Singers Nights (and occasional Saturday Specials) mean there is something for everybody - and the room itself is ideal. You'd have to pay at least twice as much to see some of our guests at, say, the Bridgewater Hall - and you'd be a lot further away from them, even on the front row! Whether there's thirty or ninety in the room, the atmosphere is always cosy and welcoming, and Paul, the landlord, keeps a fine bar with 'guest beers' every week.

**********

Thanks to Bernard for the use of the club history from the Railway website where more information and photographs are available.

 Club Page    Thursday Clubs     Home