There were plenty of Northumbrian tunes, leading to the High Level Ranters band's successful blend of tunes and Tyneside songs. It was a time when clubs were appearing all over the area, but my failing memories are clearest of two others, Birtley and Marsden, so I'll concentrate on them; others were at The County in South Shields, The Royal Turf in Felling, The Bay Hotel in Whitley Bay, The Sun in Stockton and The 'Derry in Sunderland.
Yet more developed in Durham City, Hexham, Darlington, Shotley Bridge and Prudhoe, and I well remember ex-miner Billy Conroy playing a hornpipe on a home-made whistle at the Lampglass in Ashington. It was an unusual shape, and he explained to me that he'd made it from the handle of a Bex Bisselcarpet shampooer! I still have a whistle he made from a piece of industrial tubing – some craftsman, Billy.
A few miles south of The Bridge, the Elliott family set up their club in 1961 in the mining town of Birtley. It contrasted with The Bridge, being more akin to a social gathering, the family's socialist ethos being more at home with an informal sing-around style.
Jack Elliott had a store of old Durham mining songs, but there were no rules, and humour was a large part of a night at The Three Tuns. A couple of Jack's quips were - “This beer's that bad, ah'll be glad when ah've had enough” and “the seam in that pit's so wet, they're using alligators as pit ponies”.
The club had close links to the mining tradition of Co. Durham, and in 2003, well supported by enthusiasts, the new colliery banner design featured two of the club stalwarts, Jack Elliott himself and Jock Purdon, a club singer and songwriter, a 'Bevin boy' from Glasgow. It was a proud day for the family and the club when that banner was marched into Durham City on Miners' Gala day!
The Marsden Inn club, near South Shields, was set up in 1963, with Cyril Tawney as its first guest, and became another club with its own distinctive style. Set up by Jim Sharp, other residents included myself, Jim Boyles and Jim Irvine, this provoking Cyril Tawney, guest again for the 25th anniversary in 1988 to say, “It's good to be back in the 'Jimnasium'”.
Jim Boyles passed away many years ago, and sadly, Jim Irvine, club compere/singer/musician passed away only last month. Jim was an ex-miner and seaman with a great, sometimes abrasive sense of humour, and made Sundays at The Marsden a very special night out. Jim was a man who made things happen, and loved the traditional musicians like Paddy Tunney, Davy Stewart and Willie Scott, as well as the Liverpool Spinners or Don Partridge, the London busker.
Jim Irvine was a major figure in Tyneside folk clubs, and better known in Scotland than in the rest of England, but helped many a current folk hero on
their way. I can do no better than repeat the words of Christy Moore when he heard of Jim's death ..."I first arrived at the Marsden Inn on October 6th,
1968, not knowing what to expect. It was a unique club, and Jim gave me a warm welcome - he was a brilliant compere and the evening moved seamlessly along. I'm uplifted this morning, just thinking of it all. I came back to the club with Planxty in 1972, and I still recall the warmth of his introduction that night. It was a golden era, and Jim Irvine was at the heart of it''.
