This is the 22nd installment of the My Kind Of Folk Restoration Project featuring Archie Fisher and his friends John MacKinnon, Barbara Dickson and The Humblebums which featured Tam Harvey and Billy Connolly - the same Billy Connolly who would later become a world renowned comedian and late night talk-show host.

According to Archie Fisher's commentary, unlike most of the "My Kind Of Folk" programs, this one was pre-recorded in Glasgow, Scotland, rather than any BBC-affiliated studio in London.

Fisher's self-titled debut LP was released this same year (1968) on the Transatlantic/Xtra label, but the Barbara Dickson and The Humblebums' performances pre-date any officially issued recordings by these artists. (The Humblebums debut LP would surface the following year and Barbara Dickson's debut LP, "Do Right Woman," would surface in 1970. Dickson also partnered with Archie Fisher on the 1969 LP "The Fate 'o Charlie" (which also featured John McKinnon).

Archie Fisher & Friends
BBC Sessions: My Kind Of Folk
BBC Broadcast on November 27, 1968
Produced by Frances Line

Source: off air master reel TRT:29:37

Lineage: master reel (transfer information unknown) -> AIFF 16bit/44.1k -> **editing/restoration -> wav -> flac

Personnel:
Archie Fisher - vocals, guitar
John MacKinnon - fiddle, mandolin
Barbara Dickson - acoustic guitar, vocals
Billy Connolly - acoustic guitar, banjo, vocals, kazoo
Tam Harvey - acoustic guitar, vocals, kazoo
Ron Stolla(sp?) - bass (On selected tracks. This may actually be Ronnie Rae who was known to accompany The Humblebums and performed on their debut LP in 1969)

Tracklist:
01 The Trooper And The Maid 01:49
02 Pad The Road Wi Me 01:52
03 Little Blue Lady 02:16
04 Dainty Davie 01:58
05 Once Upon A Time 01:26
06 Rattling Roaring Willie 01:28
07 Will You Follow Me? 02:18
08 Wallie Fe 01:09
09 The Kielder Hunt 02:14
10 O'er The Water To Charlie 03:10
11 Cam Ye O'er Frae France 00:45
12 Why Don't They Come Back To Dunoon? 04:15
13 Fare Thee Well, Cold Winter 02:25
14 My Dixie Darling 02:25

Performers Guide:
01 Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon
02 Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon
03 The Humblebums
04 Barbara Dickson & John MacKinnon
05 Barbara Dickson
06 Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon
07 The Humblebums
08 The Humblebums
09 Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon with Barbara Dickson & The Humblebums
10 Barbara Dickson & Archie Fisher
11 Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon
12 The Humblebums
13 Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon
14 The Humblebums (presumably with Archie Fisher & John MacKinnon)
My Kind Of Folk Restoration Project:

Welcome to this installment of the My Kind Of Folk Restoration Project, featuring many lost BBC "My Kind Of Folk" sessions. These aircheck recordings were discovered in a private collection and have not circulated before. An old friend in London well aware of my rabid interest in all things Sandy Denny, alerted me to this stash of tapes last year as he thought it might contain a new source recording of her. I said I'd be happy to investigate. A drive with the unedited (and in many cases, unidentified) AIFF files of approximately 90 reel transfers arrived shortly thereafter.

Primarily recorded and transmitted during 1968 and 1969 and long since wiped from the BBC archives, these sessions feature many of the key musicians from the 1970s U.K. folk/rock scene at earlier embryonic stages in their careers. To a lesser extent, American folk musicians are also represented, including an uncharacteristically serious Arlo Guthrie, Jackson C. Frank (of whom no live recordings have ever previously surfaced), and the earliest James Taylor recording to ever surface. Delightful surprises also turn up, including two sessions by the elusive Shelagh McDonald, and Giles, Giles & Fripp (4/5 of King Crimson mk1: Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Peter Giles & Ian McDonald) backing Al Stewart!

Thankfully, this project reconnected me with another old friend, kneesfudd, who has agreed to help restore and remaster these recordings. I benefited from his expertise on the subject matter decades ago and I admire his attention to detail, so we make a good team - not to mention we're both Fairport fanatics. We go back to the days of traveling to another state with multiple analog decks in tow and dubbing continuously until the blanks ran out. Due to both of our schedules nowadays, we don't anticipate a fast rollout, so expect this project to be rolling for the next several months, if not longer, as we're addressing these sessions as free time permits.

**As great as these sessions are, the recordings are far from perfect . Many were over-saturated when recorded, some were over-saturated AND then under-recorded during transfer and they were all broadcast in mono. Nearly all of them require level correction, speed correction and have one channel that sounds superior to the other. They also suffer from various forms of distortion, not to mention we're dealing with analog "off air" source tapes made with unknown equipment nearly half a century ago. Kneesfudd and I are addressing all of these issues, while consciously avoiding anything that further degrades these historic recordings.

Despite any issues, this is certainly a treasure trove of lost BBC sessions and there's a great deal to enjoy here. Please share them freely and help us spread them around. Alan Bershaw - 2018