The Bothy

The Bothy Folk Club was established in 1965. In the first few weeks of its life the Bothy met on the first floor of the Railway Hotel in Chapel Street. It soon moved to the Blundell Arms where it still is today. The Bothy has opened every Sunday night (with a short break for the summer) for the past thirty odd years with the song "Barnyards". The Bothy has always had a core of talent. Singing and performing not just folk music, but Blues and Rock & Roll also.

Here is Frank Sellor's account of the first night of the Bothy.

I arrived early on the opening night only to find a huge crowd all waiting to be "processed" by Godfrey, who was seated at a table outside the room where the club was held. I had been waiting to sign in for what seemed like ages when the soon-to become-familiar- strains of "Barnyards" started up. I already knew the song via a recording by Alex Campbell but I was most impressed with Tony Wilson's version, even through the closed door.

When I got into the club it was packed. It was the first time that I had been to a folk club and I sat with some friends who had persuaded me to join their "Peter, Paul and Mary" style folk group.

At the interval I asked Stan Ambrose if our group, The Everglades could do a floor spot but he said that the Bothy Singers wanted to do the whole evening as a way of introducing themselves to the Southport folkies.

Even though my all-consuming passion in those days was for the contemporary folk songs of Bob Dylan, I was enchanted by the Bothy Singers' performance. I loved Tony Wilson's virile shanties, Stan's wonderful music-hall songs, Dave Boardman's ballads and Chris Jones' banjo work.

That first evening was somewhat of a magical experience for me and I looked forward to the following week's session.

Happy and wise indeed, are those persons of FORESIGHT who have
armed themselves against that cursed and DASTARDLY contingency
- being unable to purchase an advanced and always discounted tickets
for future events.
Adopt our prudent friend's example. Eminent men of SCIENCE and
ladies of breeding throughout the UNITED KINGDOM, the colonies
and savage lands beyond, can all attest to the improving properties
of BOTHY-GOING - proven efficacious and adjudged EDIFYING in all
matters FOLK-CLUBBY. Let it not be wondered, then, that we
commend a BOTHY MEMBERSHIP as the surest bulwark against
disappointment.