The recent death of Peter Kennedy is the first of a founder member of the Traditional Song Forum and I feel it important that it should be recorded and an appreciation of his contribution given. There have been a number of obituaries and tributes to Peter and these have covered his life and work and have also
highlighted some of the controversies associated with this complex man so I would like to record a few personal memories of someone who has influenced my course, as he has that of others, over the last thirty plus) years.
I first met Peter in the 1970s when we were both living and working in Devon. I knew a little of his work and had met some of his students from Dartington. At that time he ran the Cider Press Centre at Dartington where he had a shop selling folk books, records and great cider as well as his studio. He ran a folk club in the studio and I became a regular, meeting a number of other singers both locals and those passing through. I will always be grateful for the encouragement that he gave me and for the knowledge that he passed on. I became one of the small band of revival singers that Peter recorded and, though that recording now makes me wince to hear it, it was another valuable experience, helping me to understand more of the essence of performing songs and to refine my performance. At that time I also helped Peter with another project, the film ‘Children of the Moor’ produced by Peter and John Bartlett for Westward Television. I remember a very enjoyable day spent dodging showers in Lustleigh Orchard and recording songs, finally being driven by the rain to retreat to the village hall.
It was a coincidence that after Peter left Devon and moved to Gloucester that I should have followed him.
I’d written to let him know that we were coming and was pleasantly surprised when I was moving in to be
told by the departing owner that Peter had already been round to welcome us and had left a bottle of wine.
The bottle was soon followed by Peter and Beryl and it was a delight to renew our acquaintance. Over the
years we met several times and were involved in setting up ‘Glosfolk’, the successor to the local EFDSS
organization, as well as TSF.
Peter was the subject of the first ‘Noon Interview’ at Cheltenham Folk Festival in 1997 and it was a chance
for me to dig deeper into his personal history and learn more about his place in (and contribution to) the
history of folk traditions. He came, of course, from a family who were at the epicentre of the folk revival but
whose roots were firmly set in the tradition through his great-grandfather, John Kennedy and his great aunt, Marjorie Kennedy-Fraser. His father, Douglas, as well as his mother, Helen and her sister Maud
Karpeles were key figures in Cecil Sharp’s core team who, after his death, took on the leadership of the
movement that Sharp created. Peter himself remembered seeing Sharp when he was very young. Others
have recorded the detail of Peter’s career and I am not going to repeat the catalogue here, save only to
highlight a few key points.
Most people would consider his travels in the 1950s, collecting folk songs to be his major achievement. It
was certainly one that he talked of with pride and with affection for the people he met and also with
affection for the early portable tape recorders which made this work possible. These recordings made for
the BBC and on his own account are a remarkable legacy. They are though, only a part of what he did for
folk music, not just that of the British Isles but also that of other countries. He worked closely with Alan
Lomax, for example, over many years. What is sometimes forgotten, though, is the excellence of Peter’s
musicianship and that was also a source of pride to him. It was an essential part of what he believed in –
taking the music out to the people. This was a guiding principle that he emphasized in the early
discussions about the formation of TSF and it influenced the aims of this organization. When he was
awarded the Gold Badge of the EFDSS it seemed appropriate that the presentation took place at one of
the events organised jointly by TSF and EFDSS
In recent years the majority of people who knew him and enjoyed his playing were ordinary people who
came across him playing in their own spaces rather than in concert halls or folk clubs. Often this was with
Ben Hall and Pete Hayward as ‘The Hooleys’ – a local band to Gloucester which, in many ways and in their
attitudes to music, reflected the values of the tradition. I believe that it is this gift of sharing the music with
others that Peter would want to be remembered for. Many people from around the planet have, in recent
weeks, talked of help given willingly and of their pleasure in knowing him.
Thank you, Peter.
Martin Graebe