aaamusic | On 03, Apr 2012

Pentangle have made innovative music since the late 60s and early 70s when they dominated the music scene and helped make British folk rock international.  Jacqui McShee’s voice remains rich and uniquely beautiful. Access All Areas Music interviewer Anthony Weightman chatted to her ahead of her performance at The Half Moon.

AAAmusic:I‘ve always personally found an earthiness, charm and mystery to Pentangle’s music. But, I know you’ve just referred to yourself as a ‘lucky South London girl’. To what extent do you feel that chance has played a part in your personal success?

J.M.

Absolutely. A huge amount. Sheer chance. Being in the right place at the right time. I’d never heard any folk music originally.  When I started singing it was on the CND marches.  They said: “You’ve got a good voice. Why don’t you lead the singing?” So I did. Somebody heard me and said there’s a guitar player who really needs a girl singer. I met people like Ralph McTell. They used to come here years ago to The Half Moon. I was a jazz fan. That’s what I really liked. I was a huge Miles fan. Then I started to hear folk music and the next move was going to folk clubs.

AAAmusic: I saw Ralph at Cropredy. Marvellous. He said Streets of London paid for the shirt on his back, enabled him to travel the world and introduced him to people he otherwise would not have met.

J.M.

Absolutely.  I’ve known Ralph since he was about 17.

AAAMusic: In your career you’ve been both adored by the underground and loved by the mainstream.  Some musicians have a strong ambitious undercurrent to their personalities, though it’s not always immediately obvious.  Is that the real Jacqui?

J.M.

No. I just enjoy singing. I didn’t intend to be a singer or in the music business. I love listening to music. I just went to where life led me and it led me here to the Half Moon Putney.  They’ve changed things around since I was last here. Looks a bit smarter.

AAAmusic: Like many fans, I was deeply sorry to hear that Bert Jansch had passed away. At The Half Moon, Putney, where we’re sitting now, I have fond memories of a cold January evening live with Bert. It was just hauntingly beautiful. We almost didn’t make it home because of heavy snow. We had to abandon our car and walk. Do you have any particularly happy moments with Bert that stand out in your memory?

J.M.

Loads. Daft things. When we first went to America he had a cine camera. Unlikely, in those days. He made this film on the west coast and we had a couple of days off. So we went to Big Sur and we were jumping around on the rocks and beaches. He was laughing. It was funny. A really nice time. Bert was a very insular man. He didn’t laugh very often. He wasn’t good in a lot of company. One or two people were fine. Just a quiet man. He reminded me a bit of my Dad. He didn’t say much but he was deep.

AAAMusic:  I really enjoyed your reunion tour in 2008 when I saw you at the New Theatre, Oxford.  I once saw Bert supporting Alison Moyer at the same venue.  It was quite curious to combine him with a well known 80’s artist. Do you feel there was timelessness about his music which led to an enduring love of him well beyond the 70s?

J.M.

Music and writing songs were his life. He wasn’t going to do anything else. That’s what he wanted to do. So, there were periods in his life when he didn’t work very much.  It was quite hard for all of us when the folk thing finished. The real fans are very loyal and they come every time. We’ve had a bit of an up and down tour. The last two nights were packed out. But in February we were booked into a rock and roll venue. The guy who ran it wanted us but said he’d misjudged things. He was devastated. We are getting younger fans. They say: “Mum and Dad used to play it. They’ve always liked it.” But it’s enduring because Bert kept at it. He was a very prolific song writer. He just did what he did. He met his wife Lauren when she was very young. She was a fan who went to a residency we had in Twickenham at the Bulls Head. She became his manager and really bought his career on again. Sadly she died 7 weeks after Bert did. Devastating. I’m still in a bit of a state of shock. We knew that she had cancer too. She was so busy looking after him she didn’t look after herself. She was determined to keep his memory alive. I’m personally feeling absolutely knackered. I’m too old for this. But when I’m up there playing with these guys I’m fine. I’m really enjoying it. That’s it really…playing the music.

AAAmusic: When I first started listening to Miles Davis, I was amazed by how diverse his work was. I know he was a great hero of yours. What are your memories of meeting him?

J.M.

Yes. Some say he was a bit of a b******. He greeted me and shook my hand. Fairly friendly. I don’t have any personal bad memories. I just loved his music and still do.

 

AAAmusic: I’d like to ask one very topical question. As you may know there’s a movement which has headed towards Britain from San Francisco arriving in Soho next week.  It’s not actually called flower power, but classical revolution. It’s really about keeping the essence of the genre but fusing it with other ideas which don’t cheapen it. There’s a view that the image of the classical music has become stuffy and aloof and it needs to be presented more accessibly away from concert halls and into clubs and pubs. What do you feel about this idea?

J.M.

Why not? I heard something on the news about bringing it into the pubs. Would I prefer a pub? I’d have to see it first before I made a judgement. But, why not?

AAAMusic: I think you have strong views about the background noise caused by people chattering when there’s great music being played live. Personally, I’m always bewildered by this. Why go to experience live music if you don’t want to listen to it and why spoil things for other people? How do you feel about this?

J.M.

I did a tour with Bert and David Hughes in Ireland. We played at this pub in Belfast and there was a guy so excited and nervous about seeing Bert that he was drunk. He was so loud. He had to be levered out of the place. No. If I’m listening to something I don’t want to hear someone else’s conversation. You can go to the bar or outside to talk. It’s just bad manners. I wouldn’t do it. Some warm up acts are better than the main act. I’ve seen some great ones.

AAAmusic: I loved seeing you at the Cropredy folk festival a few years back.  Inevitably festivals change but there’s still an incredible loyalty there. As a compere once said “in this dreadful world thank god there’s still Cropredy.”  How do you feel about the festival from an artist’s viewpoint?

J.M.

Well, I go every year because Gerry, my husband, is the drummer with Fairport. When my daughter was younger I used to take her and I felt she’d be perfectly safe. It was a family orientated festival. It’s becoming a bit more corporate. Raising the game a bit. People like Status Quo. That’s fine. I like going for walks be the canal myself. It’s beautiful. Spot of lunch somewhere. It’s a pleasant thing to do. I’ve seen some great people there. It’s very sociable. I see people I haven’t seen for ages. It was so lovely to see Paul Brady. I love his stuff. One of the most magical moments was when John Martyn played there. It was fantastic. Unbelievable.

AAAmusic: Are there any DVD gems of Pentangle which are yet to be released to the public?

J.M.

There’s one that Danny discovered, a Norwegian one from 1968. We used to go to Scandinavia quite a lot. I was sent a copy and it’s really good. Every gig was recorded on the Pentangle 2008 tour. It was a shock when Bert went. I went to see him in the hospice. I hope a tribute concert to Bert is done really well. I don’t know what form it will take. There’s nothing concrete, but I think that something will happen. I saw a tribute to Gerry Rafferty.  It lost something for me. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel his spirit was there. Bert was a quiet man and any tribute would have to reflect his personality. He wrote some great songs.

AAAmusic: He certainly did. Thank you very much for your time, Jacqui.

J.M.

I hope it’s been fruitful.

 

 

Anthony Weightman