FOLK ROUNDABOUT - SOME RECOLLECTIONS

By Brian Childs  

This article has been collated from back issues and input from numerous readers past and present.
INTRODUCTION - THE VERY EARLY DAYS

Our local folk magazine started its life around the 1971 as the South Durham & North Yorkshire version of the EFDSS District Newsletter. It was ‘social dance’ orientated, and run by the EFDSS - which also oversaw the financial side. The EFDSS provided financial security for the magazine, but also took any profits made by it. From Adrian Bull’s records we
learn that EFDSS District Committee meetings were held at Ron Angel’s house, with the magazine being duplicated at the EFDSS Darlington Office in Grange Road (now long closed).

From Harry Lockey’s records, Jim Fryett, Ken Whitfield, Tom Chambers, and Pete Thompson (of Newton Aycliffe) were all involved at one time or another in the early production of our folk magazine/newsletter. The Newsletter consisted of several A4 sheets stapled together, published quarterly (we think!) and numbered from ‘Issue 1’ onwards. We can be fairly sure that Adrian Bull was the first editor of our local folk magazine ...
 

THE EDITORS OF FOLK ROUNDABOUT (Complete List)

ADRIAN BULL

Adrian Bull: Editor from approximately 1971 to June 1973 (issues 1 to 8)
Magazine details: Size - several A4 sheets. Price: free (?). Print run: about 100 copies.
Magazine Title: EFDSS Newsletter (South Durham & North Yorkshire District)
Several A4 sheets stapled together, printed at the Darlington EFDSS Office, with issues being numbered starting from 1. Average copies per issue (not known).

Memorable Quotes from Adrian Bull (from several years later, in June 1996):
• “Well, I listened to the Doctor when he said ‘Do you think you’re doing a little too much?’ ... and I took things a bit more gently” [... which meant retiring as Editor]
• “The folk scene in those [early] days was certainly lively, and it is good to see familiar names and clubs still going strong and mentioned in [the June 1996] Folk Roundabout.”
• “My memories are of District Committee meetings at Ron Angel’s house surrounded by books, and hardlabour on the duplicator at the Darlington EFDSS Office`”

BRIAN PEARCE

Brian Pearce: Editor from Sept. 1973 to June 1976 (issues 9 to 20). Print run: (not known)
Magazine details: Ave. Size -15 pages. Price 3p rising to 10p. Print run: 150/200 copies.
Brian immediately changed the magazine to its current A5 booklet format and got it printed at Prontaprint (Middlesbrough). He also introduced more ‘song’ and ‘sword dance’ content. Brian later changed the magazine title Folk Roundabout, as sort of a play on the words ‘Folk, Round and About’ - a name which would stay constant for all future issues.
The circulation was still mainly across the Teesside and Darlington areas.

Magazine Title:
Issues 9-13: EFDSS Newsletter (South Durham & N Yorkshire District)
Issues 14 onwards: EFDSS Newsletter (Cleveland & Dales District)
Issues 18 (?) onwards: FOLK ROUNDABOUT, with issue numbers following on from those of the Newsletter. Although changed in name, the magazine was still an EFDSS
publication covering the local area. Those running Folk Roundabout were still responsible to the EFDSS overlords at Cecil Sharp House.

Memorable Quotes from Brian Pearce:
• Issue 11, March 1974: “The audience [at folk clubs] seems to have undergone a dramatic change. The attitude used to be that you went to a folk club to enjoy traditional music, to listen to the singers and musicians, and to join in with the singing in the choruses.
Today, it’s ‘You Entertain Us!’ ” [Spoken 46 years ago! When we get back to folk clubs again, ... and roll on that day! ... perhaps we can remember how to enjoy ourselves again! ]
• Issue 12, June 1974: “Firstly the bad news. The Newsletter price has gone up to 4p.”
• Issue 20, June 1976: “The new Editor will be Pete Moore” [see next!]

PETE MOORE 

Pete Moore: Editor for August 1976 only (issue 21). Print run: (not known)
Pete produced only a single issue of Folk Roundabout, and then (in the words of Harry Lockey) “he fled to Sussex!” Still, Pete did his bit ... and set a record for the briefest appearance as Editor ... a record which may never be beaten!

KEN ALLAN

Ken Allan: Editor from Dec. 1976 to Dec. 1978 (issues 22 to 30). Print run (not known).
Magazine details: Ave. Size - 21 pages. Price 10p. Printed first at Prontaprint (Darlington), then at Design & Print (Saltburn) which was considerably cheaper. Circulation: mainly across the Teesside and Darlington areas.

Memorable Quotes:
• Issue 23, March 1977: “Whitby Folk Festival Song Writing Competition (Sponsored by Matteson’s). A Song or Monologue to be performed at the Festival, based on one of the following subjects: Black Pudding, Haslet, Brawn, Polony.” [good traditional folk subjects!]
• Issue 27, March 1978: “The man is moving so fast that if he explodes the whole planet will be wiped out” [Extract from an advert - but couldn’t understand what the advert was about!]
• Issue 28, June 1978: “Dick Gaughan’s a great singer, and if you buy one of his records you can even make out most of the words.” (‘Overheard at Thurso Festival’, Dave Verrill)
• Issue 28, June 1978: “Our next tune is in honour of the Scottish Football Team. It’s called The Fairy Dance.” (also ‘Overheard at Thurso Festival’, Dave Verrill)

BRIAN CHILDS

Brian Childs: Editor from March 1979/March 1982 (issues 31 to 43)
Magazine details: Average Size - 21 pages. Price 10p/15p. Print run: 600 to 800 copies.
Printed at Design & Print (Saltburn). Circulation: Northumberland to North Yorkshire.
Some of you may recall that Brian actually signed himself as ‘Brien’ in the Folk
Roundabout. This was apparently so that he could tell at a glance which letters were for the Folk Roundabout when they dropped through his letter box!

Memorable Quotes:
• Issue 32, June 1979: “When Brien Childs asked me to do an article on London Folk Clubs for a North Eastern folk magazine I thought he’d gone off his rocker! But on reflection ...” (Jim Mageean)
• Issue 33, September 1979): “But the crack was good, the grub was formidable, sleep was a scarce resource, and the Ruddles didn’t run out. Loughborough was as Loughborough should be!” (Ian McCulloch, on Loughborough Festival)
• Issue 34, December 1979: “This issue covers that special period of the year. It would be nice if everyone could spend Christmas with the ones they love, and I hope that the New Year brings happiness.” [Written 40 years ago - how appropriate in current times!]

HARRY LOCKEY

Harry Lockey: Editor from June 1982 to March 1991 (issues 44 to 79). Print run (not known)
Magazine details: Average Size - 27 pages. Price 15p/20p/25p.
Printed at Design & Print (Saltburn). Circulation: Northumberland to North Yorkshire.
Previous Editors had done the job for up to 3 years each. But Harry obviously had more ‘staying power’, because he ran Folk Roundabout for a full 10 years! He also (very sensibly) enlisted the support of Gill Wootten as Diary Editor.

Memorable Quotes from Harry (in the 100th issue, June 1996)
• “What I remember the most is the hours spent with ruler, scissors, Cow Gum and blue pencil, trying to make things fit.”
• “Delivery logistics would baffle the Ministry of Transport - a chain passing from people visiting one club to those going elsewhere. Jim Sharp, in particular, helped here.”
• “The final straw was the major political fight in the Society [EFDSS]. I was sickened that the organisation ... seemed to be tearing itself to bits. After 32 years as an EFDSS member I resigned from the Society, and therefore from Folk Roundabout”
• “Although I did not miss the work [when I retired as Editor] I was sorry to finish.”

Up to this point in time, Folk Roundabout had always been in the range of 12 to 28 pages, with about 4 to 10 pages of articles, 4 to 6 pages of Diary plus Club Details, 4 to 12 pages of adverts, and a couple of pages of reviews ... plus a few other ‘bits & pieces’. This was to change!

TREVOR LISTER

Trevor Lister: Editor - June 1991/March 2014 (issues 80 to 171). Print run: 450 - 600 copies.
Magazine details: Size - 24 pages, rising to 140 pages. Price: 25p rising to £1.00.
Printed at Design & Print (Saltburn), then at Teesprint (Middlesbrough), then at Quoin
Publishing (Middlesbrough). Circulation: Northumberland to North Yorkshire.
Harry Lockey’s long stint as Editor was dwarfed by that of his successor - Trevor Lister ran Folk Roundabout for an incredible 23 years! Around 1997, Trevor took Brian Pearce’s idea of ‘folk, round and about’ one step further by introducing the now iconic front cover of a fairground roundabout with people singing and playing ‘folk instruments’ - the actual image being designed and drawn by Jane Gaunt. 

This cover has continued almost unchanged to this day. Fairly early in Trevor’s editorship the EFDSS support disappeared and finance was an ever-present problem ... with Trevor having to dip into his own pocket from time to time to keep Folk Roundabout going. Of course, this shouldn’t have happened, and must in part be put down to poor financial management.

During Trevor’s years, Folk Roundabout just ‘grew and grew’ (rather like Topsy) ... until it got to a massive 140 pages. But the quality of the content did not match this growth. For example, issue 154 (December 2009) was 132 pages and had a full 42 pages of Reviews (much ‘non-folk’ and much ‘foreign’), 36 pages of Club Details (largely unchanged from
issue to issue), and 7 pages of Performer News (effectively free advertising, and again much the same each issue). All of this was a lot of paper ... which became more and more costly over the years. Nor was it to everyone’s liking - in that issue there were only a rock bottom 2 pages of real folk articles (both obituaries). 

On the plus side, Trevor was good at pulling in advertising - in that issue there were 20 pages of adverts, which helped financially. But one wit asked “How many rain forests have been cut down to print Folk Roundabout?”, and other readers said that they “only bought it for the Diary Section”. Overall, these were not the glory days of Folk Roundabout.

Nevertheless, Trevor kept Folk Roundabout going for many years - many long hours of work - which must be recognised. What staying power! 

He regularly visited a wide range of folk clubs and became known as ‘Mr Folk Roundabout’ - an accolade which cannot be taken away from him.

Memorable Quotes:
• Issue 81, September 1991 “We are still getting a few flowers to grow in the cultural desert of the ‘Boro.” (Tony Cook, in the Club Details listing for tuesdays’ folk)
• Issue 99, March 1996: “For a small price you will be enabled to dance anywhere without fear of damaging the floor ... providing, of course, that you could dance in the first place.” (Dave Minikin, from a review of CLOGGA dance boards)
• Issue 169, September 2013: (basic qualities required by a Folk Roundabout Editor) “Willingness to take phone calls at midnight from drunks who have just come home from the club and remembered that last week was the deadline, asking you to get out of bed and take dictation instead of sending you an email.” (Trevor Lister)

MIKE HUGHES

Mike Hughes: Editor - June 2014 to March 2018 (issues 172 to 187)
Magazine details: Average Size - 112 pages. Price £1.00/£1.50. Print run: 380 - 450 copies.
Printed at Quoin Publishing (Middlesbrough). Circulation: Northumberland to N. Yorks.

When Trevor’s failing health forced him to retire, Mike took on the Editor’s job, with Trish Mair looking after the administration and book keeping. Mike more or less followed the template for Folk Roundabout laid down by Trevor and, although he managed to reduce the average magazine size by 10 pages per issue, finances still remained difficult. 

Early in his editorship Mike made a bold effort to address the widely acknowledged problem of lack of younger people in the ‘folk world’ by introducing a Pages of Youth section (written by Neil Diment).

Memorable Quotes:
• Issue 172, June 2014: “Another Thank You goes to David Kidman, who continues to produce reviews at an alarming rate.”
• Issue 173, September 2014: “Our most distant Subscriber is John Blain, who lives in Iowa. John has stayed in touch with the British folk scene over the last 60 years ... in this issue he reminisces about the [British folk] scene and its people.”
[The full article is worth reading - if you can get hold of it!]
• Issue 178, January 2016: “Pete Betts was a Teesside Original. He was a conduit that seemed to funnel all that is good and brash and edgy and funny and intelligent and uncompromising about Teesside. We shall not see his unique like again.” (Mike Wilson)
• Issue 181, September 2016: “Thanks also to Steve Daggett of Lindisfarne (the band, not the island) ...”
• Issue 185, September 2017: “I’ve just re-read Pete Wood’s new biography of Johnny Handle. This will blow you away ... yes, it’s about the life (so far) of this amazing, talented and inspiring man, but it’s also ... a history of the Folk Revival in our region,”

SU CHILDS

Su Childs: Editor - June 2018 to December 2020 (issues 188 to 198)
Magazinedetails: Ave. Size:85pages.Price£1.50.Printedat Quoin Publishing (Middlesbro’).
Print run - 400 to 450, but 200 during ‘Covid days’, being unable to sell magazines in the clubs. 

Circulation: Northumberland to North Yorkshire (from Berwick to Hull & Leeds).

When Su Childs took over she immediately introduced cost-cutting measures. Reviews were limited to items of local North East interest and cut down to a total of not more than 2 pages per issue. Club Details were limited to about 5 or 6 lines per entry, and Performer Details were reduced to a single line of contact details each. These measures reduced print costs by about 30% and put Folk Roundabout on a sound financial footing. At the same time, Neil Diment left the area and no replacement could be found, so the Pages of Youth section fell by the wayside.

From the start, Su introduced a new overall layout and ‘house style’ and incorporated more folk articles - which produced a more balanced content. She also co-opted Brian to do the IT side ... putting together a PDF version of the magazine for the Printer. Readers seem to have taken well to these changes and have welcomed the ‘new Roundabout’.
                                                                                                                                                                                                            From the Summer issue of 2020 onwards, as an ongoing tribute to the National Health Service Su made small design changes to the front cover by adding STAY SAFE to the canopy at the top of the roundabout picture and also shading the canopy segments with the colours of the rainbow ... if you hadn’t noticed, have a look at the front cover now.

Memorable Quotes:
• Issue 189, September 2018: “A cement mixer collided with a Prison Van on the A 19. Motorists are asked to be on the lookout for 16 hardened criminals.” (Peter Kay)
• Issue 192, June 2019: “Then I went to work for a mail order company. It was such a crap place - you went in in the dark and came out in the dark - you never saw daylight. It was like being a chicken!” (Marie Little)
• Issue 194, December 2019: “Jez Lowe has travelled far and wide to present folk song in his own inimitable style ... but has seldom performed in a venue such as the one he will appear at on 24 January ... wait for it ... a laundrette!” (News Snippet)
• Issue 196, June 2020: “[in Goon voices] But my Capiten, you have deaded me!” ... and “Now Neddy, step this way and you will receive money” ... “Money? What-what-whatwhat money?” (Johnny Handle)
• Issue 198, December 2020: “Books are old friends that I take from the shelf. Rich in ideas, I plunder their wealth.” (Ed Pickford, this issue - see page Error! Bookmark not defined.]
 

WHAT CAN BE TAKEN FROM THESE RECOLLECTIONS? (a consensus of views)

• The term of the current Folk Roundabout Editor has clearly come to an end, and new management is needed.
• It would be plain folly to let Folk Roundabout drift into oblivion.

Ongoing, what are the Negatives?
• Although there has apparently been some interest in securing the future of Folk Roundabout, not enough support has yet been forthcoming.

And what are the Positives?
• Folk Roundabout is in a sound financial position.
• Folk Roundabout is now well regarded by its readers - they look forward to each new issue.
• Folk Roundabout now presents a great opportunity for someone - a task which is both interesting and rewarding.
• A good supportive handover should be available for a new management.

Recommendations for a ‘New Management’
• Obviously, a couple more people need to come together and get started with a handover.
• There is the option to take a ‘Roundabout Holiday’ ... cancel the March 2021 issue because of the Covid situation. This could be (should be) done, the time gained being used to assemble and bed in a new management.
• It might be a good idea for any new team to start with fewer pages, just to make it a bit easier to get things going ... and then review how they want to proceed.
• The tasks involved in producing Folk Roundabout can be broken down as follows (some of which can be grouped together to suit the skills and abilities of the team):
• Administration - to look after the ‘books’ and ‘record keeping’
• Adverts - to liaise with possible advertisers and gather in advert copy
• Diary Editor - to gather in event details for the Diary Section
• IT Coordinator - to take all incoming copy and assemble it into a Word document
• Distribution - to coordinate distribution of Folk Roundabout to the various outlets
• Editor - to gather in folk articles and to oversee and coordinate everything. Obviously the most important task, but also involving less work than some of the other tasks.
• Longer Term ... There has always been a hiatus at each change of management - getting a new Editor has always been a ‘last minute’ effort. After a new management has 2 or 3 issues under its belt, some thought should be given to securing the longer term future. To that end, a couple of extra ‘backup/understudy’ team members should be sought and groomed to fill the places of those who will retire some time in the future.

But Most Importantly ...
• Repeat: It would be folly to let Folk Roundabout drift into oblivion. If you would like Folk Roundabout to continue (even if you don’t want to take on any commitment), get in touch with the current Editor now to have a chat, see what is involved, and what the options are. 

This would not commit you to doing anything, but you could find it interesting and worthwhile. It’s a great opportunity for someone/several people!

MAY 2023 - THE NEW EDITOR  added by Sammi

SAMMI

Sammi: Editor - May 2023 to ?
Magazine Details: Now online
When Sammi took over she immediately started on creating a website.

Looking at the past notes, no phone number will be supplied, email only.

The Financial aspect is worrying as without support, this website will vanish as it not reasonable to pay for it myself. 

I will give it one year to see if this site is finacially viable.

On the positive side, I look forward to going to more clubs, and connceting with more people.