WHEN you look back at Coventry and Warwickshire music history from the early 1960s it soon becomes apparent that folk clubs have been an important and plentiful part of it.
I completed a very quick straw poll of all the various folk clubs to have existed within Coventry and Warwickshire along with the different venues that had supported them during this period and the total easily reached 150. And this did not begin to include the various ‘open mics’, festivals, singarounds and acoustic sessions. One of the pioneers of the folk scene was Barry Skinner who sadly passed away in October 2012. Barry was one of the first professional folk singers, not only in Coventry, but also in England. He began his involvement in folk music in 1962 and opened the Coventry Folk Club with his group The Troubadours.
As far as I can research it, Coventry Folk Club opened at The Binley Oak in March 1962, although it seems one existed as far back as 1961 at the Umbrella Club. Either way, this means that we have just passed an impressive 50 years of performing a music style, enjoyed by a cross section of music lovers, and one that continues to flourish within the city.
The evidence for this dating comes from a letter Colin Armstrong, himself a stalwart of the Coventry music scene, recently showed me.
The letter dates from 1967 and is signed by Barry Skinner, and another of the founding members, Dave Coburn. It states, in the logo on the letter heading, when the club was formed. The letter then goes on to inform members that the club was moving from its then current home of The Craven Arms to the new one of The Queens Inn in Primrose Hill Street.
So every Saturday night for at least 18 months the Coventry Folk Club was the only one of its kind in existence. The next club of importance to spring up was the Tavern Folk Club in 1964. Founded by Ben Arnold, the Tavern Club held regular Sunday night sessions at The Swanswell Tavern.
Other notable clubs from those early years include the Balladeer Folk Club (known slightly later as The White Lion Folk Club) held at The White Lion in the Leofric Hotel, The City Arms Folk Club and The Taverners Folk Club in Nuneaton which held a regular club night on a Tuesday evening.
These clubs were not just confined to attracting the popular local folk musicians but they very quickly established themselves nationally. Visiting artists such as Shirley Collins, Sandy Denny, The Strawberry Hill Boys (later known simply as The Strawbs) and the Ian Campbell Folk Group all being guests at these clubs.
Toward the end of the 1960s the Coventry and Warwickshire folk scene was growing at a tremendous pace and it would be just too difficult to list all the clubs that sprang up around this time but one that I feel needs to be given a special mention would be the City Arms Folk Club in Earlsdon. This club first sprang up in 1966 and was initially hosted by Paddy Roberts.
However, by 1967 it was in the hands of popular musicians Rob Armstrong and Rod Felton who successfully ran this popular club for a good number of years. Rob and Rod would then go onto form the equally popular New Modern Idiot Grunt Band.
The 1970s continued where the 1960s left off and the city venues such as The Rude Bear Folk Club were now attracting musicians the calibre of rag time player Dave Bennett, guitarist and singer songwriter John Shanahan and the bluesy folk of Mick Stuart. There was also, by now, a rich mix of traditional folk, floor singers and comedy. The Rude Bear was another of Rod Felton’s ventures but this time he was partnered by Dave Coburn and was one of those clubs that, for whatever reason, tended to change venue on a regular basis.
The 1980s also saw the Kenilworth Folk Club set up the highly acclaimed and very popular Sunday night at the Burnt Post, a venue that some years later saw Coventry folk club moved to towards the end of the 1990s. A variety of diverse guests that included Sneaks Noise, Mick Cullen and Richard Digance performed there. Back in town regular club nights were continuing at The Biggin Hall on the Binley Road. These were organised by the Henley College club, and hosted by Folklore, and this was another club who tended to move on a regular basis and can claim the New Phoenix at the end of the 1970s and Alderman Callow school as past homes.
The onset of the 1990s saw the return of another popular out of town venue in the shape of The Denbigh Arms Folk Club, Monks Kirby.
The pub had originally been the home of The Gaels club back in 1968 and also where the origins of the Wurzel Bush were formed back in 1972.
Another long lasting club that was formed in its current format during the 1990s was the Bedworth Folk club. Today they continue to meet on the second Wednesday of every month and have residencies at the Old Black Bank and Bedworth Rugby club. Folk on the Fosse also held many successful sessions at various venues such as the Eathorpe Park Hotel and the Woodhouse and included guests such as The Oddsods, Meet on the Ledge, Kevin Dempsey and Gilly Darbey.
Of course you cannot talk about folk music in these parts without the name Pete Willow cropping up into conversation. For over 40 years he has been active as a soloist, band member, club organiser, promoter and journalist. In fact I have shamelessly based the title of this piece after an article Pete wrote many years ago when folk music in Coventry and Warwickshire was a mere 15 years old back in 1977.
And finally, to bring the story right up to date, the activities of folk clubs since the turn of the century need to be mentioned. Nowadays the venues may not be as plentiful but the regular nights are still as popular. The Tump Folk club, for example, began in life in 2002 in Brinklow before settling in its current home at The Humber.
The local festivals are also very much part of the local scene. Held in July, Warwick Folk Festival has been going since 1979 while Bedworth Folk Festival is even older. It started in 1977 and takes place on the last weekend of November. Both attract big international names and entice thousands of visitors to the respective towns.
All in all a remarkable 50 years that has produced many clubs, many memories and many memorable moments. Thanks to all involved!
The Wurzel Bush didn’t fold. Still going strong at the West Indian Club in Rugby. Tuesday nights.
Great article Pete. I remember seeing Alex Campbell at the White Lion and Long John Baldry. Coventry has had a great tradition in folk music.
It’s a shame you didn’t mention the Dyers Arms in Spon End where in the 1970’s and 80’s was a hotbed of talent. Where every Wednesday Night and Sunday lunch time there were a vast number of musicians and singers. I recall Pauline Black singing “Summertime” backed by Dave Bennett when she was only about 15 years of age. The Fureys and Davie Arthur, Gibb Todd, Shean Cannon, Dave Bennett, Mivk Cullen, Mick Stewart, Salmon Tail, Billy Ormiston, Brian and Gill Sutherland, Pat Cooksey, Rod Felton, Jasper Carrot ( before he changed his name) and many more could be found at this popular venue. So much so that if you were not there by opening time on a Sunday you didn’t get a seat. It was 1972 when I first played there having made the move from rock to folk and the names I have mentioned are just the ones I recall but there will be many more I have not mentioned like Armstrong, Brooker, Fuller etc
Yes indeed I used to the Dyers and I saw Pauline Black there too and knew many of the names you mention. Pete Clemons (Fred Bison on Facebook) wrote this article and I post his articles which were originally for the Cov Telegraph on these Hobo sites (Hobo was my 1970's Cov Music magazine) One of the obo sites is dedicated to the Cov folk scene and you should find stuff on the Dyers there. This is the link Steve – Trev Teasdel https://coventryfolkclubs.blogspot.com/
Rod Felton?
No mention of the Village Pump held at the Bulls Head every Monday night, fantastic nights there.
We have a website for Coventry folk – Pete's article for the Cov Telegraph didn;t have enough space for all the wonderful artists but here's the link https://coventryfolkclubs.blogspot.com/ – Trev – site admin
We have a site for Rod Felton too with lots of tracks on here https://rodfelton.blogspot.com/