BIOGRAPHY:


FURTHER DISCOGRAPHY:

1978: A Kentish Garland (Sweet Folk & Country SFA 078)
1980: The Kentish Songster (Greenwich Village GVR 208)
1982?: Songs from Greenwich (Greenwich Village GVR 218)


INTERVIEW WITH DOUG HUDSON:

AN EMAIL Q&A; SESSION WITH DOUG HUDSON (TUNDRA & MINGLED)

Q: HELLO DOUG, WHAT WAS IT LIKE PERFORMING THAT ORIGINAL FOLK IN SANDWICH CONCERT?

The Folk in Sandwich concert was very exciting. I had been playing music in folk clubs for just a couple of years and this was a giant step forward. We felt that we were on the way to stardom.
Keith Pearson was always a good act and we did the harmonies for Holly on Three Ravens. My bass player still talks about that. He actually made a faux pas cos we went back to the Grahams who lived in Sandwich and Mick picked up Davy Graham's guitar and started playing Anji. A heavy eyed Graham said 'I'd rather you didn't play that.'
The two girls (Leonie & Stephanie Clarke) were OK but not what would make an impact on the folk world (Stephanie went on to design quite a few ERON LP sleeves).
The recordings (for the album) were interesting - I can't remember much but it did have something to do with Wout Steenhuis, who we all thought we should know from somewhere.
We didn't think it would be a collector's item cos we thought if he (Ron Milner) sold the original 250 he could just do another run but I think he thought he might lose money on a second run.

Q: HOW DID MINGLED GET TOGETHER?

Mingled was formed with Phil and Kay Burkin - another male/female folk duo from Medway - because we wanted to explore harmony singing as a four piece. We went to Luxembourg for a gig which is where my comedy career took off. The group only had half an hour rehearsed and we needed forty five minutes. I filled it in with chat.

Kay unfortunately died this time last year from cancer. Phil occasionally plays spoons with the Hot Rats.

Q: WHY DID MINGLED SPLIT?

Mingled didn't really split up - Tundra was a full time professional duo and both Phil and Kay worked so we didn't really get to do that many gigs together. We used to go out as a show called the Occasional Folk Road Show with our two duos, separate and together, Alan Ashwell - a singer/guitarist - and a concertina player called Clive.

Q: WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING SINCE THE 70'S, MUSIC-WISE?

We (Doug and Sue) became a duo in 1974 and turned professional in 1978 when we were offered a tour of the US. We played nationally and internationally till 1984 when we separated. I went solo pursuing a comedy career doing stand up around the world. I kept playing some folk gigs and in 1992 performed a solo comedy gig with a warm up backing band. We formed it ourselves with some of the best musicians around and called it The Hot Rats. It featured Ian Cutler (Bully Wee Band and Wicker Man) on fiddle and since then we have trimmed down to a three piece and play 200 gigs a year. Some in Northern France.

Interview © 2009 eronrecords.co.uk