Rob Neal is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Suffolk. He has been an active member of the folk scene in East Anglia and beyond for many years, from collecting songs from local singers with his father to being a member of the nationally-renowned band Tickler’s Jam in the 1970s. He now runs folk afternoons for the East Suffolk U3A and the monthly ceilidh club Dance Folkus, based in Woodbridge.
NB: These recordings were made in August 2020 during the COVID-19 period. They were undertaken with social distancing measures in place according to government guidelines.
A summary of the interview can be downloaded above.
Interview Keywords: Oulton Broad, Bungay, Great Yarmouth, Bungay, grammar school, guitar, Burt Whedon method, folk music, protest songs, Syndney Carter, songwriting, teacher training, Bognor Regis, Ed Caines, group singing, Irish songs, Leonard Cohen, pub singing, The Wild Rover, Leaving of Liverpool, The Bold Fisherman, landlady, field recording, Pop Steer, The Lawyer, Grace Darling, father, collecting, Suffolk, Sid Chaseton, Mettingham, Bungay Roger, We’re All Jolly Fellows who Follow the Plough, Faithful Sailor Boy, Old Shep, Harry Fen, Beccles, tapes, Laxfield Lowhouse public house, Tickler’s Ham, Down in the Fields Where the Buttercups all Grow, The Bold Fishermen, folk clubs, London, The Blackbird’s Folk Club, Derek Simpson, Christina Williamson, singing group, Ipswich, Woodbridge, melodic, ballads, storytelling, ballads as news, ballad sheets, John Foreman, Ballad King, music hall, entertaining, Suffolk singers, amusing, chorus, good tune, involvement in local folk scene, cello, concertina, mandolin, John Howson, Katie Howson, Percy Ling, Ted Chaplin, pub sessions, encourage music making, U3A, friends, dancing, young people, Dance Folkus, ceildh club.
- Title: Bungay Roger
- Performer: Rob Neal
- Date recorded: 6.8.2020
- Location: Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by: Megan Wisdom
- Roud No: 1735
- Notes: Some clipping occurs in this recording. This version collected by Rob’s father from Sid Chaseton, Mettingham. Other versions include one collected by Peter Kennedy from Jumbo Brightwell of Leiston. See https://mainlynorfolk.info/peter.bellamy/songs/bungayroger.html.
- Title: Down in the Fields where the Buttercups all Grow
- Performer: Rob Neal
- Date recorded: 6.8.2020
- Location: Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by: Megan Wisdom
- Roud No: 1736
- Notes: This version from recordings made at the Laxfield Lowhouse pub. This song has also been collected outside Suffolk and was probably popularised by a recording made by Charlie Higgins in 1931, see: http://glostrad.com/down-in-the-fircups-all-grow/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRKg_XnPyTQ for Charlie Higgins.
- Title: Let’s Have a Basin of Soup
- Performer: Rob Neal
- Date recorded: 6.8.2020
- Location: Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by: Megan Wisdom
- Notes: Famously recorded by music hall singer Harry Champion.
- Title: The Concert in the Old Green Lane
- Performer: Rob Neal
- Date recorded: 6.8.2020
- Location: Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by: Megan Wisdom
- Roud No: 16918
- Notes: Rob found this in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library in Cecil Sharp House. Their online catalogue shows only one instance for its collection, by Horace Harman from Buckinghamshire, England. Neither Rob nor I are aware of any other recordings or performances.
- Title:Â Tickler’s Jam
- Performer:Â Rob Neal
- Date recorded:Â 6.8.2020
- Location:Â Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by:Â Megan Wisdom
- Roud No:Â 10929
- Notes:Â This version from a recording from the Laxfield Lowhouse pub, sung by Ken Wilson. It may have originated in the trenches in the First World War: http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=31970&messages=163&page=1&desc=yes. Walter Bunn from Digbeth near Birmingham talks to Roy Palmer about Tickler’s Jam, the foodstuff, and its importance to troops: https://sounds.bl.uk/World-and-traditional-music/Roy-Palmer-collection/025M-C1023X0098XX-0700V0.
- Title: Polly’s Ghost
- Performer: Rob Neal
- Date recorded: 6.8.2020
- Location: Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by: Megan Wisdom
- Roud No: 15
- Notes: Also known as The Cruel Ship’s Carpenter, Polly’s Love, Love and Murder and The Ghost Song. This version from Sam Larner, although stories of wrongdoers outed by supernatural means on board a ship appear many in British ballads. See https://mainlynorfolk.info/peter.bellamy/songs/thecruelshipscarpenter.html
- Title: The Shipwrecked Mariner
- Performer: Rob Neal
- Date recorded: 6.8.2020
- Location: Martlesham, Suffolk
- Recorded by: Megan Wisdom
- Notes: Content Warning: Racism.
Rob sang me The Shipwrecked Mariner, which has, as far as we know, only ever been collected by his father from a Lowestoft fisherman. It contains attitudes which have been considered acceptable in UK society in the past. These attitudes are now recognised as racial prejudice and, as Rob says in his introduction, The Shipwrecked Mariner would not be considered acceptable to sing today. However, we feel that including songs of this nature in our collections is important and want to acknowledge the existence of racial prejudices that are part of our nation’s cultural history.