Mojo - The Music Magazine

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Thee first lady of English folk is vibing off the noble spirit of chaotic accordian trad. arr. sounds.

“John Kirkpatrick. It was at my local folk club, the Lewes Arms. He sang a song that a lot of people have recorded, Bogie’s Bonnie Belle. I first heard it back in the '50s from its source singer, a Scottish traveller called Davie Stewart. When I was about 18 or 19, Davie came down to London and one of the tasks that Alan Lomax gave to me was to look after Davie in the two or three days that he was there. He was going to the BBC to do some recording and played at one or two clubs. He was virtually toothless, broad Scots accent , a real traveller. He would go down the escalator to the Underground, whip out his accordion and start playing. I found it really embarrassing at the time. He sang Bogie’s Bonny Belle with the most chaotic accordion accompaniment, but overall it was absolutely compelling and beautiful. I’ve always loved the song, and John Kirkpatrick turned up and he had obviously listened to Davie Stewart’s recording of it. He captured the spirit of that original performance and turned it into something so epic, so noble, so passionate, so glorious and so beautiful. And there was this huge wall of sound behind him from the accordion — just one man, one voice, one instrument. I burst into tears. I don’t weep often at music these days but that did make tears flow. It was an absolute tour de force. I think you can apply the word ‘genius’ to John Kirkpatrick, for his musicianship, his knowledge. I can’t praise him highly enough.”

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