My dear sister Jennifer recently sent me an article from The Times, no less, detailing the plight of Radio 1 DJ 'Grooverider - Raymond Bingham - who faces 4 years in jail in Dubai for inadvertently importing a small amount of cannabis.

It went on to say that 40 year old Bingham is recognised as the godfather of drum 'n' bass. Now it's possible that many rock group players who practise long and hard will barely be able to contain a smirk, knowing that the instigator of these 90 mph 'looped' electronic, chopped up, dance break-beats may have a few years to contemplate his crimes against music. However, that would be a matter of opinion! It was the next part of the article that struck me. It indicated that whereas other branches of dance music, such as house and techno, had direct roots in America - drum 'n' bass was arguably Britain's first and only genuine home-grown music genre. Excuse me, does anyone remember skiffle? No less an authority than American musicologist Alan Lomax decreed that, whereas rock 'n' roll was a hybrid of white American country and western and black rhythms, skiffle was English folk music set to rhythm. That skiffle was "As British as the Union Jack". Anyway, the birth of skiffle was much like the Punk explosion of the late 70s - kids grabbing guitars, getting to grips with 3 chords and then playing the changes as fast as they could. Certainly, the 'Vipers' from London were instrumental - no pun intended - in pushing the music forward, but their popularity was not lost on the banjo player in Chris Barber's Jazz Band. Lonnie Donegan had actually been a member of the Crane River Jazz Band in 1952, as a side-kick to Ken Colyer, an early champion of skiffle. Wally Whyton's 'Vipers' included future 'Shadows' Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch in the early days, but neither Colyer nor Whyton had the vocal power of Donegan. Damn it, he was exciting! At the Royal Festival Hall in 1955, Lonnie Donegan put down his 'bedpan', picked up an acoustic guitar and performed two numbers in skiffle-style. The UK went wild, and soon skifle groups were being formed featuring acoustic guitars, tea-chest basses and washboards. Lonnie was no fool, either! He picked up on several songs by American troubadour Woodie Guthrie that had gone out of copyright and re-recorded them in skiffle style. By doing this they were classed as traditional arrangements by Donegan, and he thus ensnared the song-writing credits. The 'Animals' keyboard player Alan Price did this later with "The House Of The Rising Sun", but the other 'Animals' were a bit miffed to say the least. Anyway, so Lonnie actually recorded American songs in British style and then sold them back to the Yanks by way of 78 rpm discs - now, how cool is that? One classic Guthrie / Donegan song you must hear is Lonnie's version of "The Big Grand Coolie Dam". His voice is like an express train. He never stops for breath, and I think this contributed to his 5 heart attacks. 'Coolie' was always a popular number, and I recall trying to sing this song twice a night, 3 nights a week in the late 70s - it was the final ruination of my voice! Finally, might I point out that local musicologist John Combe records that Wyre Forest musician Tony Goodwin was bringing skiffle to Bewdley by Spring 1956. I'm sure this was a good 12 months before a certain John Lennon was finding fame with his 'Quarrymen' at the Woolton Fete in Liverpool. Has the WF always had to lead the way? Ha!!