50 Years ago this June in 1954, Ken Colyer recorded 'Midnight Special' and a month later Lonnie Donegan recorded 'Rock Island Line'. Skiffle had arrived on the scene and it became all the rage in 1956, when the hit parade was bombarded by a host of other groups following in Donegan's wake. The intervening years have seen an ebb and flow in Skiffle's popularity. It is currently enjoying a pronounced revival. Joe Brown and Roger Cook's Skiffle musical 'Daddio' is about to be launched; memorial concerts for Lonnie Donegan are planned at the Royal Albert Hall and the proliferation of up and coming groups now on the recording scene, both in the UK and on the Continent, all add up to a growing awareness of this form of music. Skiffle has always been hard to define, there were so many styles. Ken Colyer was the purist, un-commercial and possibly the nearest to the Dan Burley Skiffle Group of the late 30's and 40's, who gave their name to the genre. The Vipers and Les Hobeaux used chorus vocals and rhythm to great affect. My own group with Nancy Whiskey leaned a little more to the jazz feel whilst Johnny Duncan and Dickie Bishop could almost be described as Rockabillies. The City Ramblers were essentially a Jug Band and Lonnie led the way pioneering the use of the electric guitar and the virtual dominance of a Rock & Roll approach. This compilation is a sample of many of the younger groups who have come to the fore in recent years. Understandably they reflect this divergence of taste, as in the original days of Skiffle, no one group epitomises what the style should be. Some like Terry & Gerry who I remember from the eighties, could almost qualify as 'oldtimers', were it not for their avant guarde approach to the music. The KC Moaners from Leeds, who I once played with in New Orleans, have a style akin to The City Ramblers, and John Wall's trumpet mouthpiece solo must be a rare instrument on the current scene. In recent years I have played in Finland for the Summer Skiffle Festival and have had the great pleasure to be accompanied by The London Philharmonic Skiffle Orchestra, a versatile group who change their instrumentation around to suit the theme. It is nice to hear so many of the groups using fiddle and banjo to great affect. St. Louis Zipper caters for those who lean towards the Western Swing style and the songs of the roaring twenties, with Alan Dailey playing a fine Hawaiian slide guitar. What is a revelation is the choice of material. Only five of the tracks could be described as Skiffle standards popular in the early days; 'Streamline Train', 'Railroad Bill', 'Don't You Rock Me Daddio', 'Mama Don't Allow' and 'Six Five Special'. Others like 'Frisco Bay', 'Orange Blossom Special', 'Route 66', 'Say Mama' and 'American Pie', though eminently suitable, were not generally known or arrived just too late. The collection is to be lauded for the inclusion of so many original songs which breathe new life into this old music. They include humour, pathos, political protest and just a hint of romance, a formula that I hope you will enjoy. As in the original form of UK Skiffle; the variety of styles, the eclectic choice of material and the enthusiastic and boisterous delivery of these groups all add up to an entertaining and immensely listenable compilation.
Chas McDevitt.
©2008 Beauchamp Partnership.