Review
Who Owns the Game? Traditional Songs and Melodeon Tunes from Central Suffolk
(Home-Made Music HMM LP 302; reissued: Veteran VT130CD)

This LP seems to have come about as a joint venture between Mike Yates and John Howson, and was first issued on the former’s short-lived Home-Made Music label, before being reissued by Veteran, first as a cassette and later as CD VT130CD. (1) I have to admit that it was one of the very first recordings of local traditional music that really captivated me, and inspired me to seek out more. It features three singers and three melodeon players, all seasoned pub performers from central Suffolk, with a programme of a selection of the sort of stuff that would have been heard in traditional music gatherings in the pubs of the area. Having said that, what seems immediately striking is just how unusual many of the offerings are, and how different they are from some of the more usual fare.

Of the three melodeon players, Cyril Barber’s two tracks demonstrate well the function of the music, with his Stepdance Tune, and also the means of transmission, with Sonny’s Tune, got from his brother. (2). It also shows that, to some musicians at least, tune names were not that important; less so than a description of function or origin, although this supposition cannot be applied across the board. Cyril Barber was a good step dancer in his day, and his contributions reflect well the functionality of this music

Cecil Pearl is rather more extensively represented, with eight tracks, and here again we have direct reference to the source of tunes, with such as Dick Iris’ Hornpipe, Peachey’s Polkas and Alf Peachey’s March. (3) Of named tunes, La Russe, Marlborough’s March and Speed the Plough have not been commonly collected in the area, although they are broadly well known and the last of the three is the regimental march of the Royal Suffolks. Both men are solid, seasoned players with interesting tunes.

Dolly Curtis really is the star of the show though, as regards the melodeon playing. Her bright, rhythmic playing sparkles across all five tracks of her playing, with tremendous lift, particularly with Brian Felgate’s piano backing. Seasoned collector Keith Summers, when advertising this LP’s forthcoming release in Musical Traditions magazine, stated that it comprised “three singers and three musicians, including my favourite melodeon player, Dolly Curtis. My original recordings of Dolly, intended for the LP Earl Soham Slog sadly were stolen, so this is good news indeed.” (4) Of her tunes presented here, the closing medley of Dennington Bell / On the Waggon still features prominently in Suffolk music events, or at least did until recently. (5)

Of the singers, Charlie Stringer gets two songs, the unusual and rather comic Tommy Doddler and the locally better-known Kibosh the Cobbler (more frequently as Fagan the Cobbler), which he delivers in the declamatory style of someone well used to an audience. Fred Whiting has been much more extensively recorded as a fiddler, and a fine one at that, but he also had a large store of songs, collected along his travels, including the rare Poison Beer and rather defiant Who Owns the Game?, a reminder of the power of property rights invested in the landowning gentry and the dire penalties for poaching. This is coupled with Roy Last’s Botany Bay, on a similar theme, one of two occasions on the LP when a track is made up of a composite of similar or related material, although mercifully not at the expense of completeness.

Roy Last is showcased with seven songs, and once again his repertoire, as given here, is unusual, from the historical William Rufus to the locally topical Peter the Paynter. You can almost see the twinkle in his eye as he works his way through Little Cock Sparrow, learnt from an aunt when he was a little boy.

In all, this is a very satisfying record, one that I return to time and again. A good selection of the type of music and song prevalent in mid Suffolk pubs, when they were host to such goings-on, and also refreshingly different in content from some that is frequently found in the area. It is also well served by John Howson’s notes and a small booklet giving the words to the songs. The album is currently available as both CD and download from Veteran, and it’s one I would strongly urge the curious to seek out, if not already familiar with it.

Chris Holderness
February 2026

Notes:

1. Who Owns the Game? Traditional Songs and Melodeon Tunes from Central Suffolk Veteran VT130CD (reissued in 2001) The CD version has a different cover from the LP.
2. Sonny Barber can be heard on the two CD set: The Pigeon on the Gate: Melodeon Players from East Anglia Veteran VTDC11CD, where there is also more from the three players showcased in this LP.
3. Alf Peachey’s melodeon playing was never recorded, apparently due to him keeping to an unfortunate promise made to his wife never to play again. He can be heard diddling tunes and singing on Out With Me Gun In the Morning Helions Bumpstead Gramophone Company NLCD14.
4. Musical Traditions No 3, Summer 1984, News section, p.26. John Howson’s article The Barber Family of Wingfield, Suffolk can be found in Musical Traditions No 2, Early 1984, pp. 19-23, and also online at www.mustrad.org.uk.
5. A recording which reflects this is The Old Hat Concert Party Old Hat OH1CD, which also has Cecil Pearl’s Hornpipes and Cyril Barber step dancing.