Folk - Jeff Wesley

With the advent of MySpace, it is easy to get used to having unlimited access to a band’s profile and track samples, whether they are signed or not. But veteran folksinger Jeff Wesley seems to belong to a pre-internet age. Put Jeff Wesley into Google and you will pretty much draw a blank. This is no reflection on his popularity, though. Within the folkie circuit Wesley has a loyal following. And his audiences are due to rise - he has recently released a CD called Rum and Raspberry, put out by Umbermusic, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes vernacular culture, tradition and folklore in England. The CD blurb describes Jeff as ‘defying categorisation as a ‘traditional’, ‘revival’ or ‘source’ singer of folk’. His music is ‘collected’ rather than written - from old classic sources and revival singers.

The folk singer and ex-farmer has led an appropriately traditional lifestyle too. He has lived and worked on the family farm in his native Northamptonshire for his whole life. Now retired, his son has taken over the reins. For many years he was known as ‘that chap who sings a whole verse without taking a breath’, although reportedly his singing has become more expressive in recent years. ER