Influences
In the first paragraph of Evolution – the early days
we mention how vibrant the "Folk revival" was when we first got involved. How the presence
of the older generation of traditional singers still permeated the whole folk scene at that time.
The wonderful "Revivalist" singers of that period had, in their turn, been greatly influenced by these "traditionalist"
and in many cases, had actually collected material from them in person. We could therefore, be confident that we were
learning songs in the way that they had been sung and passed on for generations.
The traditional itself, followed by the revival, had been very kind to us, having unconsciously used "Darwinian" principals to
select the best of a high volume of material, leaving the rest to quietly disappear into oblivion – so all we had to do
was make our selection.
As individuals we all have our own ideas on who and what has had the greatest influence on our singing and material.
The non-hierarchical, selective list that follows is given as the one that we call all best agree on, as being the most
influential on us in the early days.
Fortunately, over the years, we have shared a friendship with most of them and have been able to express our
gratitude in person, but for the record, thanks again!