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Folk Music |
No doubt there will be many who will dispute that British folk music is disappearing, or even in danger of doing so. Our perspective here is that since the 1970's it has gradually waned as an influence in popular music culture and that the days when bands like Steeleye Span or Fairport Convention would be regularly heard on the radio and appear on the TV are well and truly over.
What we now seem to have in Britain is a far more marginalised folk culture which perhaps has retreated to its more traditional roots in the Celtic influenced regions. Folk clubs once proliferated, even in the London area, and finding a folk or folk influenced record when browsing through someone's record collection was quite common.
No doubt the web has probably halted a decline to some extent and has enabled folk's exponents to re-group and try to spread the word once more. A long and rich tradition of British Folk Music will surely not be allowed to disappear, though it may be a while before the next Martin Carthy emerges as a major force in popular music.
We're sure that lots of you will have something to say about this; is folk music still in decline or is it due for a comeback? Can it ever compete with today's other popular music forms? Post your comments in our forum.
Useful links The Rake's Progress - British Folk Music portal website The British Folk Revival - by Dr Mike Brocken British Folk dance tunes British Folk Festivals |
Copyright Disappearing Britain 2005