I used to frequent 'The Scotia' bar umpteen years ago as a student, and I met a lot of artists there.
Jimmy MacGregor had moved to London, but still broadcast on Radio Scotland. I remember the radical Matt McGinn and Hamish Imlach; sadly both dead. I got to know Roy Williamson there, and Alistair MacDonald became, and remains, a very good friend.
Alistair is probably best known for singing shortbread tin stuff on the BBC 'Songs of Scotland', but he penned, and sang (and still sings) radical stuff the Beeb wouldn't touch in a month of Sundays.
Jim McLean, who wrote hundreds of protest songs, is still to the fore...and a few of the activists from the 'Glasgow Eskimos' added fire to the mix. Since then, I've been, and remain, hopelessly addicted to the strand.
One of my favourite radio programmes is the online 'Ballads and Balladeers' on Celtic Music radio, which plays a lot of radical Scots, Irish, American and English folk which mainline stations wouldn't touch.
