As Folk Britannia demonstrated, the country's folk clubs have played host not only to Britain's greatest talents but also such high-profile Americans as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.

We asked: What's the most memorable gig you've ever seen at a folk club? Which big names have you seen in the intimate surroundings of a village hall or pub back room?

Thank you for sending us your memories - they really capture some evocative times and places. We've published a selection below, however will no longer be accepting comments for this page. If you would like to continue discussions about folk music, please visit the Folk and Acoustic messageboard.

In the mid 60s, with Margaret Salisbury and Dave McCausland, I used to run a folk club from the upper room of The Station pub in Brentwood, Essex, before we moved to a 'working-men's club' (how weird that description now sounds). Some wonderful memories - Bert Jansch AND Davy Graham on the same evening, Bert and John Renbourn, Shirley Collins, Cliff Aungier and Royd Rivers, The Strawbs, Mick Softly, Alex Campbell, Martin Carthy. And, for a while, a regular guest was Paul Simon, who was staying with Dave McCausland's family whilst in the UK. We also had Ravi Shankar on one of his early UK tours!
Victoria Ware, Hornchurch, Essex

I suspect Ged of Hereford might be referring to Ron Geesin, who used to play 12 string in his early professional career in clubs such as Les Cousins, where I'm sure I saw him. Ron went on to have an astonishingly diverse career, perhaps best known for co-composing Atom Heart Mother with Pink Floyd. He was the first outsider to be co-credited. I used to work at a Fleet Street pub at the time, where Ron often did a Sunday evening spot along with Champion Jack Dupree.
Johnnie Papillon, London

My wife and I lived in the UK during 2004 and 2005 and had the chance to see Martin Carthy and Martin Simpson at the Nettlebed Folk Club. What a remarkable show by two of the most gracious and talented gentlemen you could meet. After a great show the two of them happily posed for a photo I requested as they were packing away their gear.
Jeff Peterson, Burlington, US

All the names of artists so well remembered by myself, I am sure we were in the same venues on many evenings. Who remembers Bunjies Folk club in Litchfield St off Charing Cross Road, run by Leo Johnson and his brother Theo? Theo sang and played guitar and many others from the audience would get up and sing or play. However, it was in here that I first saw Bob Dylan - he was with his manager did not perform or stay long, but I remember it very clearly. I heard somebody on the radio one day saying that he had seen Dylan not singing, but he could not remember the venue, could it have been Bunjies? There was another regular there whose first name was Ron (well that narrows it down) he played mostly 12-string guitar and sang. He was very good. Unfortunately I do not know what became of him. Who remembers Gerry Loughran and Royd Rivers. Another was John Baldry - I think he used to sing at the Nags Head in Fulham or Battersea.
Ged Clarke, Hereford

The fifth birthday party in 1972 of the legendary Nottingham Traditional Music Club! My first visit to a folk club. Roy Harris, Ian Stewart, Roger Grimes and Laurence Pratt were residents. By 6:30pm they had stripped the wallpaper to get two more people in. Southport Swords arrived around 9pm and, in the absence of any remaining floor space, had to dance on the tables amongst the Arry's 'Orrible.
Sean Boyle, Northwich, Cheshire

Whenever I see or hear of Martin Carthy or Dave Swarbrick I always see them in the breakfast queue back at Horwood Hall at Keele University. It must have been about 1967 or perhaps 68. They had played their hearts out the previous night at our small gathering of enthusiasts, and years of listening to them in other guises cannot diminish the memory of Swarb's fiddle and Carthy's finger-work at folk club. I could not work out what or how Carthy played what he did, until some five years later, in Washington, DC I came across a Stefan Grossman guitar tuition book that explained Carthy's use of different tunings. As I laboured to learn the old songs, Carthy's genius became clear. They both treated us like they were at a royal performance, all 20 or so - and our bottles of Newcastle Brown. Their music might have become more developed in later years, but then "to be young was very heaven". Thanks guys for visiting such a small club. It was possibly the best gig of my student years.
Steve Mills, Keele

Dave Swarbrick's Whippersnapper at The Barge, Gloucester Docks, late 80s. The venue was literally floating and due to the vagaries of electrical circuits on boats, each time a pint was pulled, the pumps buzzed through their PA. Dave most apologetically announced that it would have to be an acoustic gig, to which the audience fell silent. There followed an absolutely blistering performance, from all band members, as if they were running on adrenalin, determined to get everything they could out of their instruments and voices. We were treated to such an intimate performance that it left us spellbound and hanging on the edge of our seats, as songs were brought to a false close, only to restart even quicker with more embellishments. "Vive le Live Music!"
Mike Cope, Bexhill-on-Sea

It is a bit of a trip but I used to get to the Willows Folk Club (at Arundel Cricket Club) if there was someone special on. One night I will never forget was with Kevin Dempsey and Chris Lesley, both then still working with Whippersnapper, but also going out as a duo. It was a great evening. The gentle humour, musicianship and the atmosphere created with every song was just magical. I am so glad I was there. Thanks, guys.
Joe Ellis, Horsham, Sussex

My first encounter with Irish uilleann pipes came when Finbar and Eddie Furey visited the folk club held in the old Wigan Rugby League club in the mid-1970s. From mournful, evocative sounds that were unmistakably Irish to incredible slip reels and jigs. I was hooked and followed their career for the next 30 years. They played a truly outstanding set that night and even though I have seen them and others many times, nothing compares to that remarkable night in Wigan.
Neil Meadows, Wigan

Does anyone else remember Sunday nights at the Blue Bell in Hull in the mid-60s? I can't remember if this was run by the Watersons or if they were just the resident group but it was magical. Lots of great guests and singers from clubs across Yorkshire. The Watersons were wonderfully generous people who thought nothing of travelling miles to sing at an obscure club with maybe 10 people. We all learnt so much from them - John gave me my first lessons on five-string banjo and, of course, everyone sang their songs like Three Score and Ten, and Greenland Whale Fisheries. Great days!
Pete, Howden, East Yorkshire

I was an adolescent member of the Front Parlour Folk Club in Prenton, Birkenhead in 1966-67. At that time anyone who could get up and perform live was memorable to me! Our local folk band was the Spinners, and they were in Strothers music shop when I went to buy my first decent acoustic guitar. I asked a couple of them for advice and was pointed to a Framus, which I bought and still have. My most memorable gigs in recent years have been by Martin Carthy - he is always stunning and very generous in his willingness to talk to audience members between sets.
Martin Craig, Newcastle, England

In the early 1970s I used to go to the Singers Club in King's Cross with resident artists Ewan Macoll and Peggy Seeger. June Tabor was a guest on one occasion. She was great. A short while later she teamed up with Maddy Prior and did a one-off concert calling themselves the Silly Sisters, and of course released an LP under the same name. Their harmonising was spot on, the concert was great and the LP still makes fantastic listening.
Nick Butler, Worthing

I will always remember the great Jolly Porter folk club in Exeter during the 1960s and very early 70s. It was a hotbed of local singers, including Cyril Tawney, Tony Rose, Paul Simon for a while, and the wonderful Isca Fayre. The club imposed massive standards for performance and put the fear of God into many visiting professionals, including Carthy, et al. These standards have spawned current excellent performers who were weaned on the JP club, such as Phil Beer and Steve Knightley, but the biggest legacy has been carried forward by Graham O'Callaghan, another singer from the Exeter area who is really a Ewan Macoll and June Tabor rolled into one!
Jon Kellaway, Exeter

I used to be a regular in the audience at Les Cousins and remember once talking in the local pub to a charming American who asked about the local folk club. We chatted over a few pints about football and later, wandering down to Les Cousins, I told him that he reminded me of Tom Paxton. What a surprise that the guy I had talked to was indeed Tom Paxton. Yes, folks, I felt a 'Right Charlie'. It was a quiet night at the club and I sat on edge of the basic stage as Paxton performed to the unusually small audience. It was sheer magic and rather crazy that here was a man that could fill the Albert Hall, performing as a floor singer to about 20 people!
Chris Jones, Rayleigh

One warm summer evening in the mid-70s - Ewan Macoll and Peggy Seeger at the White Horse Folk Club in Birstall, near Leicester. What a memorable night! Thunderclouds had been gathering throughout the late afternoon and by the time the crowd began to arrive, the summer sky had darkened to winter black. By the time Ewan and Peggy took the floor the atmosphere in the small back room was unbelievably humid and oppressive. As a consequence the songs took on a highly charged feel - in particular the old Scottish ballads that were such an integral part of Ewan's contribution to their set. The evening moved on and Ewan reached the most sinister of these Scottish narratives - Sheath and Knife - a song that involves just about every act of evil and malice imaginable - incest, rape, murder, et al. At the very moment the song reached its gory climax, the most deafening thunderclap and vivid lightning flash filled the room, a huge gasp rose from the entire crowd and the guy behind me fainted. Thirty years later I remember that experience so vividly. Never has a song been so powerfully presented nor nature played such an important part in its effect on an audience. A night I shall never, ever forget.
Mark Bentley, Huncote

I have many memories from the London area during the 60s. I helped run a small folk club in Hatfield at which Tim Hart was a regular before he became famous - also Sandy Denny and others at times. My most memorable session was at a Les Cousins all-nighter when Diz Disley was featured. In the early hours Stefan Grapelli appeared complete with tux(!) and violin after playing at Ronnie Scott's club. They jammed the whole night through for the sheer love of it, joined by others at times, including the mysterious and very long-haired (weren't we all) Moxey on flute. Not really folk I know, but it was magical.
Mike Johnston, Ryde, Isle of Wight

I have been involved in running folk clubs for over 40 years, including a period at the Troubadour in Earls Court working with Paul McNeill and Linda Peters (later Thompson) and Alex Norton (later Taggart). I have lost count of the gigs I have attended, but the one that sticks in my mind was some time in 1967 at the University of Essex Folk Club. We went to see Paul McNeill, but it was the support act that blew us away - the Incredible String Band (Robin and Mike in their 5000 Spirits period). That gig, plus an encounter with a Canadian singer and guitarist called Shelley Posen, who introduced me to the use of open tunings on the guitar, led me to go up to London in search of fortune, fame and music. I only found poverty and notoriety, but I enjoyed some superb music! Other folksingers of the period who, undeservedly, did not get a mention in Folk Britannia include: Alex Campbell (surely there must be some footage of Alex performing somewhere!), Allan Taylor and Harvey Andrews (superb songwriters, both), Cyril Tawney, Peter Bellamy (and Young Tradition), Derek Brimstone, Jon Betmead, Colin Scot, Jeremy Taylor... I could go on and on. Scope for a second series, perhaps?
Alan Francis, Harlow

The Barge, a floating folk club moored on the Thames at Kingston, Surrey, in the 1960s. I've always remembered John Martyn playing an acoustic set to just an intimate handful of people, probably around the time of his first album, London Chronicles. He seemed to pick his guitar with super speed and just a finger and a thumb - or so it seems in the misty memory. The Barge sank at one point later. I presume no one was playing at the time!
John Brettell, London

John Martyn played for three hours at Crewe College circa 1972 after the Champion Jack Dupre fell ill. A stunning performance with John having one foot in the past, another in the future - a key to the important artist he has become today.
Gary Hadfield, Teddington

Similar to many other people, Les Cousins during the mid to late 1960s. We would travel from Lancashire on a Friday evening, sleeping rough and then queuing up for both the early session and then the late one overnight. Seeing people like Bert Jansch, John Renbourne, Alexis Korner, Jackson C Frank, Roy Harper, Keith Christmas, Ron Geesin and so many others that would take too long to list made this era so special.
Graham Syres, Warrington

Many evenings spent in The Stanford Arms Folk Club in Brighton in the late 1960s and early 70s. Saw Ewan McColl and Peggy Seeger, Ralph McTell, Allan Taylor, Jasper Carrott, Jo Ann Kelly, Roger Hubbard (not so well known - but brilliant) and so many more. Resident singer Tim Broadbent was great at making everyone join in with the chorus! Went there as a first date with one boyfriend - and in 1973 he married me!
Lynne Macdonald, Guildford

I've had more good memories than I care to add up at The Village Pump, Trowbridge. A group of Pump regulars are in the process of re-opening the building at the back of The Lamb. Very soon the old Pump building will join the festival that started there - yes, the one and only Trowbridge Village Pump Festival - and we can look forward to many more great nights in the Pump. Who will ever forget the night with Stephane Grappelli: 300 people in a room for 150? The opening night with Keith Christmas will always stay with anyone who was there - a new folk club and a performer at the top of his trade. Magic.
John Alderslade, Melksham

Halcyon days. Where to begin? In London the 1960s began in the 50s. The Skiffle Cellar in Greek Street, with Russell Quay and the City Ramblers, Rambling Jack Elliott and Deryl Adams, Red Sullivan, and Steve Benbow. I saw Margaret Barry and Paddy Gorman there. The Ballad and Blues Club in Wardour Street with Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies, Long John Baldry, Rory and Alex McEwen and Nadia Catouse. The most memorable night for me was seeing Big Bill Broonzy, playing and singing like a dream, and consuming two bottles of whisky from a pint glass. The Princess Louise in High Holborn, with Ewan McColl and the wonderful Peggy Seeger. My first visit there was to see a Jack Elliott. I began to feel totally out of place as I wasn't a fully paid-up member of the Communist Party. Ewan gave us a lecture on how we shouldn't be listening to the songs from over the water but should appreciate the music of our own country. He then sat down on a back-to-front chair with his ear cupped in his hand, as was his trade mark, and sang a bothy ballad in a totally alien language. I couldn't understand a word. The silence was thick and cloying and I suddenly felt a fit of the giggles coming on. I managed to keep control with the thought of being lynched if I let go.
John the Fish, Truro

It's not so much remembering a particular gig but a particular club. The back upstairs room of the Chequers in High East Street, Dorchester in the late 1960s. Occasional visiting artists such as Alex Campbell and more often the late Cyril Tawney (nice guy and terrific presence); but most of all it was the club. The guy who organised the club had an interesting range of traditional, novelty and early Paul Simon numbers and whenever somebody new arrived he would make a point of welcoming them, asking them if they would like to perform. When the club was full I could come in, raise my hand at the door and wave, and by the time I made it through to the bar my usual poison was standing ready. Good memories of a club allowing a broad definition of folk music.
Derek Blackshaw, Salisbury

It's got to be Tom Pacheco on his latest visit to Falkirk Folk Club, last November. Every song was special and evoked all the emotions. He is much more popular here than in his native America, where they don't always react well to the truth. Why is this incredible songwriter and performer not already a household name like Bob Dylan, John Prine, etc? Until then the folk circuit will benefit from his fantastic and intimate performances.
Ian Doran, Falkirk, Scotland

From a young age, I was addicted to contemporary guitar-accompanied folk and enjoyed many riveting performances from people such as Jansch, Renbourn, McTell, Nic Jones, etc at lots of clubs in London and elsewhere, including the incomparable Les Cousins. However, I think the most memorable performance I have ever witnessed was that of a young June Tabor singing unaccompanied in a tent at the Sidmouth Folk Festival. Heart-stopping. It's wonderful that so many talented people from that era are still going strong. (I also witnessed David Bowie at the Three Tuns, Beckenham, which impresses my children greatly.)
Jacky, Crowborough

Like some others, my abiding memories are of Les Cousins in Greek Street, Soho in the mid 1960s. I'd often sit for hours through an all-nighter, oblivious to the hardness of the rickety benches, utterly spellbound by the likes of Bert Jansch and Davy Graham. I can also claim to have heard Jackson C Frank play Blues Run the Game and tell his magical stories. During that period I lived in Ealing and I'd regularly walk all the miles back home from Soho, in the early Sunday morning, with inspiring music still playing in my head.
John Hanna, Weymouth

December 2005, Peggy Seeger and two-thirds of The Watersons playing at The Milkmaid Folk Club in Bury St Edmunds. With the greatest respect to everybody that has played at the Milkmaid, many of whom have become friends, this was probably the best evening I've had in all the 10 years I've been going. It was an incredible performance from Martin, Norma and Mike in the first half, followed by Peggy, who has matured like fine wine. What a consummate professional. Then, the icing on the cake: when they all took to the stage for the last 10 minutes or so. Absolute heaven. What these people have done for folk music cannot be measured. They are a treasure we should cherish until the end of time.
Terry Walden, Bury St Edmunds

Sandy Denny at the Howff in Primrose Hill in 1973. This was maybe her best gig ever - she knew she was among friends, and reduced a good many of the audience, including me, to tears. And a couple of other memories from around that time, from the Merlin's Cave in North London - Cathal McConnell of The Boys of the Lough warming his flute up in the gents, and Richard and Linda Thompson trying out some of their new songs - er, and also the Dambuster's March!
Ed Grummitt, Leicester

Alex Campbell, a great Scots singer with an international repertoire and a simple and effective style on his "old Gibson guitar" performing at the Glasgow Folk Centre in Montrose Street around about 1965. Alex was a very popular performer at this and other venues, although he could get quite maudlin after a few drams! I saw him in clubs like the Troubadour in London in the late 60s, but by then his best days were behind him. These were the days of war in the folk scene between the 'folkies' (in clubs like Herga in Harrow) and the 'performers' (like Alex) in the less elitist places. Alex was probably the template for the likes of Billy Connolly.
Ian MacRae, Lanark

In 1970/71 I posted (in the RAF) to a place in the Persian Gulf called RAF Muharraq. It was there that myself and a couple of friends formed a folk club. We had no big stars but there was plenty of talent from all three services and from Irish, British and American oil workers. They were great days!
Lloyd Earle, Sabinillas, Spain

It was in the mid-60s at Les Cousins: every Saturday night I was there listening to whoever would be billed. All the gigs were great. Greater then the performance was the opportunity to see many great young artists perform in a very small, dusty environment. Most memorable was Roy Harper trying to stay upright on a stool, and the late great Alexis Korner with Champion Jack Dupree - now that's what I call the real 'X Factor' - try telling that to your kids!
Barry Levene, Ross-shire

I used to run the Forum Folk Club in East Kilbride, near Glasgow, in the early 1970s. One night we had June Tabor as a guest and Eric Bogle (who was then living in Peebles) came along to do a floor spot. I had the privilege of introducing Eric to June, who had done such a wonderful job of bringing The Band Played Waltzing Matilda to everyone's attention. Another marvellous night was Kilmarnock Folk Club in 1975 when the original line-up of the Bothy Band, featuring Tommy Peoples on fiddle, gave an electrifying performance. At that time the Kilmarnock club was run by Pete Heywood, who now produces the Living Tradition Magazine.
Ted Hastings, Oliva, Spain

The Stable, Brighton, in the mid-90s. We walked straight into a 'singaround' (my first). The four or five main singers managed to get the whole pub - mostly non-folky regulars - singing. It was magical. Sadly, this would seem to be atypical of the folk scene in general, which seems to go out of its way to alienate what could be a massive potential audience - I've seen pubs emptied by the appalling attitudes of the singers.
Michael, East Sussex

Early 1967 (April?), just before they went to Denmark I think - Carthy and Swarbrick, Saturday at the Troubador in South Kensington. They went on around 11pm and came off at about 3.45am-ish. First song - Byker Hill. Dear God, what a night. I was 17 and it was a very good year (for discovering genius music at any rate).
Jim Younger, London

Mid-60s and a teacher training college in the wilds of Berkshire: our in-house folk club invited some then-unknown musicians to play. They included John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Davy Graham... We sat in the dim glow of hurricane lamps (for atmosphere, cough, cough) and tried to freeze time while they played musical magic. Last year at a pub in Gloucestershire I heard John R play again. We are both much older and larger, but his guitar still sings as strongly as ever. Long live 'live' music!
Kate P, Cinderford, Gloucestershire

Seeing Martin Carthy at the Brunswick in Preston circa 1970. Going for a pee and finding him joining you at the next urinal and discussing the content of his concert. You'd never find that happening anywhere in the pop music field.
Paul Matthews, Chorley

In the early 1980s the Balerno Folk Club just outside Edinburgh was flourishing. I was lucky enough to see the likes of Eric Bogle, Ossian, Dick Gaughan, Dan Ar Bras, John Martyn, Fraser and Ian Bruce to name just a few. The atmosphere was always good and the locals very welcoming.
Alan Smith, Edinburgh

Like Nick from Woodstock, my fond memory was at the Village Pump at the Lamb Inn, Trowbridge in the 1970s. It was there that I saw Alex Campbell for the last time. I had been a fan from my days as a teenager in the North West folk clubs (The Howff in Widnes and another in Warrington), where I saw Alex on several occasions. Another memory of him was a lunchtime drinking session in Widnes as a sixth-former with a couple of other girls and returning to school slightly the worse for wear!
Jane Robinson, Trowbridge

It was late 1972, the venue was the Reading University folk club and we had somehow managed to book Planxty on what I think may have been their first UK tour! Planxty in a folk club; not a concert hall, but the university coffee bar! The power of those four incredible musicians in such an intimate setting was just awe inspiring; I still don't think anyone has come near to matching the interplay between Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny (who also got a chance to sing in Gaelic that night) and sitting five feet away from Christy Moore (and hearing him cursing the harmonium under his breath when it wouldn't work) is not something to be forgotten in a hurry. Could it possibly have got any better than that?
Malcolm Hobbs, Wheathampstead

Almost any night at the Empress in Islington during the late 70s and early 80s would qualify as the most memorable - it was such a well-run club that every big name wanted to play there and did so. I remember vividly seeing Loudon Wainwright with a friend, for whom the highlight turned out to be meeting the great man lost and wandering in the ladies' loo. But it was also a great club for old-fashioned music, and I think my favourite was Gordon Hall, a powerful singer from Horsham who could sing a big ballad in a way that nailed you to the wall and really made you listen. I thank my stars that I was introduced to traditional music so young.
Gavin Atkin, Tunbridge Wells

1971, Huddersfield Polytechnic Students Union. Attracted by a bunch of fellow art schoolers doing a turn - none other than an embryonic Big Fat Women That Can't Add Up - on came John Martyn. I didn't think you could play an acoustic guitar so fast. In the second half he strapped on the old echoplex and did four encores. The first musical genius I ever saw live, I guess, and all thanks to the folk scene.
Ian Mitchell, Camberley

During my first term at University College, Cardiff in 1973, I bought a ticket for Alan Stivell at the Union. The event was held in the Refectory, a pokey little room. I had never heard of Alan Stivell at the time, but went on the recommendation of others who said he had appeared on Bob Harris' Old Grey Whistle Test a couple of weeks before. The refectory was packed. Far more than would be allowed these days in a room that size. But what an atmosphere. What a magical evening. I had seen nothing like it in my life. The crystal-clear sound of his harp combined with various folk and electric instruments. What an evening! I saw him on several occasions after that but it never quite captured the same atmosphere. The very best gig of any artist, ever.
Mervyn Wells, Lichfield, Staffordshire

I wonder how many people remember the wonderful Shirley Abicair? I was lucky enough to be passing by the old (now gone, alas!) Blue Lagoon in Edinburgh in the 60s when I heard the most gut-wrenching blues imaginable emanating from the hall one lunchtime. I crept in to have a look, expecting to see some old Mississippi sharecropper. Imagine my shock to see a petite young woman bashing away on her zither. When she spotted me skulking in the corner she immediately started into that other number she was famous for, the one about the puppet. (Can anyone help me with the title?) It just shows that the folk world is more diverse than many believe. Shirley's had a lot of prejudice over the years from folk purists. Is she still alive? It's about time for some kind of revival.
Justin Master, Edinburgh, Scotland

I remember seeing Elvis Costello playing a solo set on acoustic guitar at the Troubadour, Earls Court and at the Halfmoon, Putney a few weeks later, before he was famous. I also saw Billy Connolly playing folk songs in a pub in Waterloo Street, Glasgow in the late 60s to an almost empty room.
Robert Mulholland, London

I can't go back as far as the 60s and 70s but the old Star Club in Calton Place in Glasgow was a great venue - for folk music and politics - when I got interested in the early 80s. It's moved a few times since but that venue always seemed the best. Probably a loss of hope on the Left since then has a lot do with the general decline in the (political) folk scene. I couldn't name a best gig but Hamish Imlach was always good value, and Arthur Johnstone led the club well.
Donald Gillies, Glasgow

As a callow youth some time around 1969 I was dragged along to the Beckenham Arts Laboratory - the initial attraction being the ability to obtain a drink under age in the back room of the Three Tuns on a Sunday night. This was a folk club run by a certain David Bowie, an amazing performer just in the process of becoming a hit. Someone there lent me a Pentangle LP, and after seeing Jacqui McShee perform The Cuckoo unaccompanied at the Fairfield Halls I was hooked and inexorably led down the process of discovering traditional English music through the likes of Steeleye Span and then Bob and Ron Copper. I moved to New Zealand, started singing, morris dancing, playing music for the morris and getting into and finding out much more about traditional music and song. Now I find myself President of the Wellington Folk Festival and in the position of having good friends Waterson Carthy come over to play. In 2004 David Bowie came to Wellington's Stadium and put on a superb concert outdoors in torrential rain and wind despite being totally drenched from the first minute. Full circle for me - he put me on the path to discovering that the best music and song is played with friends and that traditional music is what has stood the test of time.
David Barnes, Wellington, New Zealand

Les Cousins in Soho in 1965 is my most cosmic folk experience. A night which particularly sticks in my mind was a Saturday evening all-night session compered by Davy Graham, who also played quite a bit. Bert Jansch was the headlining main attraction, but loads of other huge folk stars played in the course of the night, including Al Stewart, a then totally unknown Roy Harper, and the Robin Williamson/Mike Heron incarnation of the Incredible String Band, who played in one of the numerous intervals throughout the night. Lemonade was my drug of choice that night, but I emerged into Soho at 6am completely stoned on the sights and sounds of all these wonderful artists at the peak of their powers.
Rab Jameson, Perth

Rab Jameson, you've brought it all back. After Saturdays spent busking in Portobello Road and Tottenham Court Road tube and an evening drinking in Soho, Les Cousins was where we went to listen to amazing music and crash out until morning. Distance and alcohol cloud the memories but I'll never forget Jackson C Frank singing Blues Run the Game. If I'd realised that these were historic moments I'd have stayed sober!
Pete Thompson, Howden, East Yorkshire

The Alba in Dunoon, early 1960s until the late 1970s. Run almost single-handedly by Brian Wilson later to become MP for Cunninghame North. Brian built the club into a huge success with audiences of up to 500 who would turn up to hear the legends of the time: Alex Campbell, Billy Connolly, Matt McGinn. In these days of 'X Factor' folk musicians, it's interesting to remember that the revival was driven by the chorus songs, the audience often becoming more important than the performers.
Alex Tickell, Strathlachlan, Argyll

Fairfield Halls, Croydon, late 1970s. Actually getting Simon Nicol and Dave Swarbrick to play 'Captain Pugwash' (yes, I know it's got a proper name) having bellowed the request from the back of the room!
Bob, Uckfield

Without a doubt my fondest memory of a folk club is at the Village Pump in Trowbridge, Wiltshire one Monday evening many years ago. I hadn't bothered to check who was on that week because the announced line-up was hardly ever accurate. I was quite early and as I entered I could see and hear a lone figure sitting on the stage tuning up and practising on an acoustic guitar and as I watched and listened, the unmistakable voice of Dave Cousins from the Strawbs hit me like a bolt. I couldn't believe my luck. Well, needless to say it was the most amazing evening of my life, Dave Cousins in a tiny intimate folk club playing and singing some of the most wonderful English folk songs. I floated home that night in a dream.
Nick Moore, Woodstock

I remember in January 2004 seeing Bob Copper and the Copper family in Lewes. Bob, 89 and frail, sang two sets with his family and the audience joining in. It was one of the warmest evenings of music and showed how vital sharing music is. Sadly he died a couple of months later and so we lost one of the strongest links to the roots of English folk music. I hope you repeat Coppersongs.
David, London

BBC Four: We will indeed be showing Coppersongs as part of our Folk Britannia season.

 Coppersongs Homepage

In the early 70s, having won a ticket to the Loughborough Folk Fetsival (as it then was) and meeting folks from the Nottingham Traditional Music Club, on my first visit to the club the guests were Bob Cann and Charlie Bate. That wonderful night changed for ever how I conceived 'folk' music.
Iain Anderson, Bristol

 Folk Britannia Homepage