I was very sad to hear of the death the Scottish guitarist and singer Bert Jansch. He was a wonderful musician who influenced some of the best guitarists of the last 50 years. Musicians as diverse as Jimmy Page, Neil Young and Johnny Marr all acknowledged their debt to him. When many folk guitarists in… Continue reading Death of Bert Jansch – inspirational folk guitarist

Singer songwriter John Hogan, who performs and records simply as JH, has a new album out called Times Past. As the name suggests, it looks to bygone days but more importantly, it explores the emotions conjured up by events from childhood and youth. It’s a very thoughtful album and the there’s always a feeling of… Continue reading Times Past from JH – melodic, thoughtful songs

I once had a bruising encounter with the legendary folk singer Ralph McTell. Ralph is a peaceful man but he twisted my fingers all over the place – all because of his classic song, The Streets of London. Ralph accompanies the song by picking out the melody on the guitar.