TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

I was looking through some old memorabilia the other day -- searching for something completely un-Fairport-related -- and found an old fan newsletter called "Fairport Fanatics" put out by someone here in the States.  No idea I even had this, barely recall it even existed, don't even know how I have it.  So I've scanned the 10 pages and uploaded them to my web storage, for everyone's enjoyment.  This issue is from 1984.  Some of it's pretty entertaining, it's all quite low budget.  Page 2 has part of an interview the writer seems to have had with Dave Pegg.  Anybody seen any of this before?

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Nope...but I love fanzines so thanks for that... :)

Page 208 made me laugh.... ;D

Wasn't iot this that grew into Dirty Linen?

Think it possibly is, TJ would appear to be TJ McGrath

Who is resident on the RT email list....

On 205, below Nancy Reagan and the Elephant, is an ad for Fairport videos inc Farewell Farewell, A Peculuier old Weekend, Broughton Castle, a Weekend in the Country. Any copies of these still around??

There are two precariously balancing on a shelf above my head as I type - Weekend in the Country (1983) and Peculier Old Weekend (1982). Come to think of it I've got an older one somewhere which is pretty unwatchable as the soundtrack has loads of noise from the genny on it. In fact all of them are a bit ropey as the cameras used then were too insensitive for the fairly low level of stage lighting. There must be some bits on YouTube.

They do turn up on Ebay for about a tenner, which is jolly annoying as they were about £25 new!  They were made by an outfit in Doncaster, at that time called Videotech - chap called Howard ran it. Think they're still in Donny, they do old local heritage film to DVD thingies now.

Regarding the original fanzines, thanks for uploading 'em Samnitzberg - brilliant! The hoops people had to go through before the Interweb. And thanks for the words of "She is Woman" TJ, my wife REALLY enjoyed that song when Simon sang it around 1984.    

A DVD set collecting all those old videos together would be a thing of joy.

Jules

Well if you fancy a nice surprise for her, it's on the first disc of the recently released Simon & Swarb live album 'When We Were Very Young'

I'm so thick that I've never really been able to work that song out. Irony? Or supreme offensiveness?

I don't think so, but I could be wrong.  Dirty Linen was made right here in Baltimore by Paul Hartman, and I think he started it and it was always from here, while this Fairport Fanatics piece is out of Connecticut.  

Now that I look at it, there is one other name that appears in it - Ken Roseman - someone I knew years ago, maybe that's where I originally got it.  He used to write reviews, and has liner notes on a few albums.

Yep. One or the other.

Funnily enough I obtained A Peculier Old Weekend yesterday, but I'm not allowed to say more. :-X The Home Service song - Don't Let 'Em Grind You Down(?) - was excellent.Hope I get to hear it at Cropers next year.
I also hope the boys have more luck with the Sailor's Alphabet on the Wintour!

Heather, yes I know! I bought "When We Were Very Young" on Thursday at Croppers, picked up missus and daughter on Sat and put it in the car CD on the way to the pub. "She Is Woman" didn't exactly go down a storm, "The Dogs All Had A Party" even less!  :o :o :o

Hi,
I remember they had an ad in many A New day magazines at the end of the eighties.And in one issue it is mentioned that they got a new name...... can't recall more. Have to check the A new day magazines of that time.

Alex

£25?  I'm sure they weren't were they?  I remember The Boot cassette costing £7.50 and the 1982 vid being £8 at Cropredy '84.  memory's a funny thing though.

I know David, I can hardly believe it myself. Somehow I got a flyer from Howard Johnston of Videotech advertising the 1982 vid at £25. I don't know if I got it from them or at Cropredy, but I put the flyer into the tape case and it's been there for 28 years! I suppose it's under a quid a year then....

Videos were incredibly expensive in the early 80s. My missus got me Life of Brian for Christmas one year and I found out it had cost her over 30 quid. Even blank tapes were about £10-12.

I had a surreal experience when visiting dad in law in Suffolk - he had just bought a "portable" (around 10 kg) JVC VHS recorder plus separate camera and possessed ONE blank tape. He said I could have a go but I'd need to buy another tape. So I nipped down to the TV shop in Diss where the elderly assistant said "Oh. Ah. Video Tapes. 'E might 'ave some in the back. Bit experimental though aren't they?" You try telling the kids that today etc.    

 i seen to remember the various boot cassettes costing about £11 when new
but time is probably playing tricks with me, but yes the videos were horribly expensive

Hey Lordy, I claim my prize... ;D

i am staring at a 1985 Cropredy programme (about to be listed on eBay - did you see what i did there?!) and in the flyer that is inside it states The Boot costs £7.50 inc p&p (that may be cos it's a year or so after they were released at that point of course).  

Still can't believe those vids cost £25 back then, mind...

ps Cropredy in 1985 (day and a half, as opposed to 2 days and a half, of course)?  £15 of your English pounds please.

The figure of £15 comes to mind for the Videotech '81 & '82 videos, but I could well be mistaken, I'll try & dig out the flyers. In my Broughton Castle video box is a very nice letter from Howard at VT, apologising for the awful quality of the original copy, hoping that the replacement was better. It wasn't, in fact it was worse & I had to wait until those nice Musicfolk people reissued it in '93 for a decent copy. The '82 video however, was & remains, totally fab.

I had also asked him about the possibility of of obtaining a copy of the GP's set which he confirmed as have been filmed. He notes that "film of R**** is awkward" & that was that, but it's nice to know it exists & may surface one day.  :)  

I stand corrected. the '81 & '82 videos were in fact £25, the Musicfolk reissue was £15. Those videos from '80 & '83 were only £15, but with a running time of one hour instead of two. I don't think I ever saw the 1980, but would dearly like to.  ::)

Fairport Fanatics most definitely morphed into Dirty Linen, with TJ handing over the reins to Paul Hartman at the time of the name change.  TJ sent me all the FF's and we're still in touch to this day.  He didn't have the time or inclination to turn it into the professional magazine it became (but is now RIP).

Interesting.  I love the fact that information about an old friend here in Baltimore Maryland USA comes by way of Australia to England back here to Baltimore.  I could have just called him and asked!  

Or,  from Wikipedia:
"Dirty Linen originated in 1983 as a publication titled Fairport Fanatics, a fan magazine for the British band Fairport Convention created by T.J. McGrath of Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1987 Paul Hartman took over as editor and publisher, renamed the magazine Dirty Linen and expanded its scope to cover genres of rooted music from many countries and cultures.
Now based in Baltimore, Maryland, the magazine grew with direction from Hartman and his wife, Susan (who also served as co-editor of the magazine for many years). The photocopied fanzine became a glossy color publication in the early 1990s.[2] Dirty Linen began international distribution and gained sales in North American chains such as Borders Books & Music, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters.
In September 2007, Dirty Linen announced a merger with Visionation, Inc., publishers of Blues Revue and the e-zines BluesWax and FolkWax. The merger was greeted enthusiasticly by both parties who announced plans for new projects for Dirty Linen such as the inclusion of a sampler CD for subscribers[3], and planned growth for all four of Visionation's roots music publications, including entry into radio and cable markets and sponsorship of music festivals.
In April 2010, Paul and Sue Hartman left Dirty Linen and Visionation. Dirty Linen cancelled their March/April and May/June issues."

God Bless the Interweb!

Doubt it. The quality of both picture and sound is very grim. Ian Rennie & I looked at it when we repackaged the old Videotech stuff and decided against doing anything with it.

that never stopped who ever it was putting out "forever young" with the backing track of the generator which almost drowned out the stage sound

My Forever Young copy has a great sound. But on the Broughton Castle Video from 1981 is a very bad hum throughout.

The comp slip on the 81 vid from Ian and Steve at Musicfolk Limited states:

You might notice a sligh hum in some of the quieter parts of the film.  This is not a fault but was caused by the generator running the festival electrics and is an integral part of the original soundtrack

 ;D

you are right, my mistake
 

Believe me Jim, we tried to improve the sound on the Broughton Castle tape but it just didn't want to play. That's why we put the comp. slip in. The GPs set was from the same gig and was considerably worse.