With Mike
Harding leaving Radio 2’s folk show this month I’m posting this brief history
of folk programming on the network. Admittedly Mike has not chosen to leave but
with the changing of the guard after nearly 15 years I recall the names of
Wally Whyton, Tony Capstick and Jim Lloyd.
When Radio 2
started in September 1967 the folk show, broadcast on that opening Saturday,
was billed as a Radio 1 production, but simulcast on Radio 2. In fact it was
not purely folk, but an hour-long mix of country and folk under the title that
made this abundantly clear: Country Meets
Folk. Hosting proceedings was Wally Whyton. At the time Wally was already
known as a skiffle player and folk singer and to a generation of children,
myself included, as appearing with the puppets Olly Beak and Fred Barker on
ITV’s The Five o’Clock Club. He’d already broadcast on the Light Programme
in Skiffle Club, Folk Room and It’s One
o’Clock.
Country Meets Folk was an old Light
Programme show, first aired in July 1967 in the dying days of the old network.
It was a replacement for the half hour A
Cellar Full of Folk, both programmes being produced by Ian Grant. Alongside Wally was Jim Lloyd (more formally
billed in the Light Programme shows as James Lloyd) who was tasked with
presenting the folk and country news and then later also looking after the new
record release reviews.
In the
rather confusing way that programmes were scheduled back then by early 1969 Country Meets Folk had moved to an
earlier slot on Saturday afternoon on Radio 1 only, but months later shifted
across to become a Radio 2 show, this time simulcast on Radio 1. The other
occasional hosts were Malcolm Price and Johnny Silvo.
Throughout
most of 1968 and 1969 Wednesday evenings, again on Radio 1, was home to a
series of specially recorded folk sessions called My Kind of Folk. Most of this series was produced by Frances Line –
later to become Mrs Jim Lloyd and in the 1990s Controller of Radio 2.
Of course
other shows featured folk music, especially with the rise of progressive folk
at the end of the 60s. On Radio 1 John Peel, David Symonds and Night Ride all
played folk sessions.
Whilst
continuing to contribute to Country Meets
Folk, Jim Lloyd was to get his first solo folk series, Folk on Friday, starting on Radio 2 on 10 April 1970. This was also
produced by France Line. Jim had started as an actor in repertory before
joining Tyne-Tees in 1959 as a continuity announcer, moving to ATV two years
later. There was a spell introducing Midlands
Today on BBC1 before contributing to radio shows such as Today, Roundabout and Woman’s Hour.
A chance meeting in 1964 with The Spinners sparked his interest in folk music.
Folk on Friday ended in September 1971
when a schedule re-shuffle introduced the daily magazine show After Seven. Its replacement was Folk on 2, again with Jim at the helm
and now going out late on a Sunday night. Meanwhile Country Meets Folk itself lasted another year, finally closing its
doors in September 1972. Wally would return to Radio 2 the following year with Country Club – but that’s another story,
and another blog post.
Folk on 2 continued as the sole folk
show from October 1972 by which time it had shifted to a midweek position. But
it was joined by an accompanying programme Folk
73 from 4 July 1973, the presenter this time being one Simon Bates. Each week this show presented a different
folk artist or group in a 30-minute session and so it fell to the continuity
announcing staff, of which Simon was one, to do the honours. Folk 73 became, not unnaturally, Folk 74 with Len Jackson and then Jack
McLaughlin. Folk 75 again had Jack as
the announcer. For a few weeks on 1976 we also had Folk 76, this time with Michael Meech.
I am,
however, leaping ahead with the timeline, as back on 8 July 1973 Folk on 2 was replaced by Folkweave, best known, of course, for
being presented by Tony Capstick. Tony had been on the club circuit since the
early 60s but got his break into broadcasting thanks to Radio Sheffield, where
his popular, if quirky style ensured a 30 years career with the station.
Regrettably ill health due to heavy drinking led to his dismissal in early 2003
and his death a few months later.
Folkweave was to be a Radio 2 fixture
until 17 January 1980. The series was produced in Manchester by Peter Pilbeam.
In fact show one in 1973 was presented by Harry Boardman and Harry along with
Martin Winsor filled-in for Tony when he was unavailable. This is a clip of
Tony in 1978. I can’t take credit for this recording which I’ve edited down
from the show that I found on the web; at the time of writing the whole
show, plus several others, are available to download.
Folkweave_020278
Here’s Tony
with his final Folkweave on 17
January 1980.
Folkweave_170180
Three years
after Folkweave started there was
another new show, Both Sides Now,
again a fusion of country and folk, again presented by Wally Whyton with Jim
Lloyd doing the news and reviews. Starting in early 1976 on a Thursday night it
moved to a Saturday, after Sport on 2,
from that October until the end of its run in December 1977.
1978 saw the
revival of the session shows with Folk 78
from 3 January, this time with announcer and part-time folk singer Ruth Cubbin.
Later that year Johnny Silvo took over, continuing with Folk 79. Folk 80, running
from January to March, was introduced by Isla St Clair.
Folk on 2 with Jim Lloyd returned to the
airwaves on 31 March 1980, and remained part of the schedules until 1997.
Here’s Jim introducing that first show that would feature The McCalmans, Seamus
Gavin, Cyril Tawney and folk news with Colin Irwin.
Folk on 2_310380
After 30
years of presenting folk music Jim Lloyd retired in 1997. His place in early
1998 was taken by Ralph McTell, who’d’ sat in for Jim the previous summer. This
is part of Jim’s last show on 17 December 1997, with apologies for some of the
reception interference part-way through.
Folk on 2_171297
And so we
come to the present but departing incumbent, Mike Harding. Mike first show was
broadcast on 22 April 1998 and would soon be billed as “the best in folk, roots
and acoustic based music”. During his
tenure a new generation of folk performers have ensured yet another revival of
folk music and from 2000 Radio 2 initiated the annual Folk Awards. In October
it was announced that Mark Radcliffe would front the weekly folk show from next
January. Mike’s last programme is on Boxing Day.