Inside the Warrington Folk Club that has been keeping tradition alive for 50 years

But keeping an English tradition alive and the sense of community is satisfaction enough for Geoff Bibby, who runs Warrington Folk Song Club.

The club, which is held every Sunday at The Bull’s Head in Church Street, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year after originally being launched by the Lever family in 1968.

Geoff, 69, said: “People are free to sing whatever they want. It’s a place for people to perform in a friendly atmosphere. There’s no competition.

“I think it’s important to keep traditional material and the traditional style of performance going. There is a big range of skill and ability but that’s important because if you want to perform you have got to start somewhere and have that encouragement.

“Some people aren’t so good but there are some really good singers and players. There is one bloke who started singing about five years ago due to the encouragement of a few people and he’s made up with it now.

“He’s become a competent performer in that time and he’s really pleased he was pushed into giving it a go.”

The folk club originally started at The Parr Arms in Grappenhall village but faced closure in the early 1970s when the Lever family decided they did not want to run it anymore.

Regulars banded together to keep it going and despite a number of venues over the years, including the Ring O’Bells, White Hart, The Golden Lion, Saracen’s Head and The Marquis of Granby, it has been a part of the town since.

Geoff, of Bibby Avenue, added: “Initially it was a hotchpotch of regulars who said they didn’t want the club to close. So from that different groups formed and we carried it on.

“I used to bring my eldest daughter Ruth in a carry-cot when she was a baby and now she still comes with me most weeks and sometimes sings.

“Last time she did some clog dancing steps because she is a former champion clog dancer for Cheshire and Lancashire.”

The 50th anniversary will be celebrated at the intimate club’s Christmas do on December 23 but in the meantime Geoff is appealing for younger performers to join.

The dad-of-four said: “Everybody is welcome and I would particularly like to see more young people coming.

“There are lots of acoustic clubs but they tend to be amplified. That creates a division between the performer and the audience whereas at the club the barrier is not there.

“The people performing and the people listening are all one really.

“You’re right next to them and you’re relating to them in a different way than if it was a concert and they’re on stage.

“It makes it much more personal and much more real in the sense of what a traditional folk night should be like.

“Traditionally people would get up and sing in the pubs. In my memory people would get up around the piano or the organ and if you can replicate that kind of idea you’re doing a good thing really. Songs are quite fragile. They can disappear if no one passes them on.

“You can’t preserve everything but if having a club like this can keep just a few songs going then it is worthwhile.”

Warrington Folk Song Club is held at The Bull’s Head in Church Street every Sunday between 8.30pm and 11pm.

Entry is just £1. There are also regular guest nights that cost £5. The club will be welcoming Welsh singer Huw Williams on November 4 and violin, guitar and mandolin player Gina le Faux on December 9.