This area is going to be bits and bobs and snippets from the past. Local groups, magazines, singers and venues connected with folk music - a bit of a nostalgia for us old 'uns and a "that's where it came from" for the younger ones... If you have any memories, photo's etc. connected with Folk in the Fylde let us have 'em and we'll post them to the site. Folk Forum - Magazine It's great fun looking through old magazines, bringing back memories of people and songs we may have forgotten. The "folk forum" magazine dates from the early '70s and was local to the Fylde when the local folk scene was still going reasonably strong and it sold for 10p! it was edited and produced by Ian Gartside & Steve Harrop and printed by West Lancashire printing Services. Looking through the Adverts you will find the following groups (how many do you remember? how many are still on the scene?):- The Taverners, Horden Raikes, Gary & Vera, Local Gentry, Ian Gartside, The Brewers, The Fylde Folk (Jim Dixon & Eddie Green), Bonded Boots, Bill Sables, The Oldest Profession, Bernard Wrigley, Jack Owen. The list of contents was:- Editorial, Death of Lord Derwentwater, Do Me Ama, May Customs, Dr. Eddie's Banjo Cure, The Last Road North, Alice White, Record Review, The Amazing Dick, Opinion Page, The Derby Ram, What's on around the clubs, O Level Folk Singing - some of these articles will be reproduced on the site in full at a later date - e-mail us if there is any particular article you would like to see. Spin - Magazine Another 'old' folk magazine, this time 'Spin' from 1969, it was produced in Wallasey, Cheshire, edited by Beryl Davis and associates were Jim Wilson (art), Margaret Groves (music), Jennifer Adams (music) & Eunice Williamson (circulation & advertising). The cover price was 1/6 (7.5p!) - that was almost the price of a pint of bitter in 1969!! This issue (Vol. 6 No. 6) featured 'The Taverners' folk group on the front cover and the accompanying remarks for the photo read as follows:- The Taveners are a group well known in their native North-West, but all too little outside of that area. They must certainly be one of the very best of the semi-professional groups in the country, combining both strong vocal and instrumental talent. Although they enjoy singing and are most entertaining, the Taveners take their folk music seriously and draw their material from a number of sources. The Taveners are an all male group, with Pete Rodger, the big man with the big voice to carry the songs along,while quieter Stuart Robinson is the one who concentrates on playing various instruments, Brian Osborne plays guitar and sings along with Alan Bell, who, besides playing concertina and writing songs, has collected many old hunting songs around Cumberland and Westmorland districts. The Taveners have a lively club at the Kings Arms Hotel, Blackpool. They have released an L.P. "A'round with the Taveners Folk Group" and along with their recent appearances on radio, notably a very fine " My Kind of Folk " may help the group to gain the recognition they deserve. The magazine also contained songs, and articles, some of which we'll be looking at in depth in later updates. The Brewers The first Folk group I was a member of was when I was at school, We called ourselves "Fylde Folk", after leaving school myself and one of the groups members Pete Chittock continued playing local clubs. In about 1967/68 old school mate Mike Woolhouse joined us, then shortly after we were joined by Bernie Brewin, it was at this time we changed our name to "The Brewers", partly from Bernie's name, and partly from the fact we liked a drink! The top photo shows the line up of the first Brewers Folk group and was taken at The Raikes folk club in Blackpool, members from left to right are: Mike Woolhouse, Pete Chittock, Pete Skinner (me) & Bernie Brewin. The next variation in the groups line up came in the early seventies, Pete Chittock & Mike Woolhouse had left, I'd done a bit of solo work and some separate gigs with Mike, and or Bernie and was also playing with the Shoal folk group, when one night at The Cartford Arms I met up with another Pete - Pete O'Callaghan, The Brewers mark two came then with me, P O'C, and Bernie, when Bernie went on to other things Pete & I continued as "The Two Brewers". The bottom copy of a newspaper article picture show Pete O'C (left) & Me (right) at The Nelson Conservative Club where we had the residency at their Folk Night for a couple of years.