Mad & Deranged

Interviewing Marta Sebestyen, 1985

The letters page of FR regularly sees Ian being chastised for everything from being anti-traditional English folk music to devoting too much space to it. Such brickbats come with the territory. "The unfortunate thing is that it is always the small minority of bigots who make a lot of noise. The great majority of our readers are broadminded, interested in picking up on new stuff, who see the connections. But there will always be a few potty cranks who only want to read about one thing. And they are the ones who write those letters. They are usually written in block capitals and you can almost see the writer with their tongue clenched between their teeth. But every time we print one of those letters we get 20 saying 'what a pillock'".

"We know we are in a position of trust. We are a filter for up to 300 CDs every month, while our last readership survey showed that the average fRoots reader buys 47 CDs a year. Guiding them through is a responsibility."

Does he ever feel like walking away and handing over the responsibility to someone else? "About once a month, usually around production deadlines. But my whole life has been doing something that would otherwise have been my hobby. It's a real pain in the arse at times but it's probably a damn sight better than working at Sony. I'm still an enthusiast, which sometimes surprises me. I don't feel any differently about this music than I did when I was 14 and simultaneously discovered folk, blues, jazz and everything else that wasn't Cliff Richard."

Hijaz Mustapha, Ian Anderson, Mike Cooper, circa 1996

The truth is (and I know I shall have to fight to stop him abusing his editorial power and cutting this final paragraph) we all owe a huge debt to Ian. For 20 years he has spent his considerable energies on our behalf seeking out the very best of roots music in whatever obscure corners and esoteric back-roads it has lain hidden. He has always done so with impeccable taste, humour and integrity. I don't always agree with him but I am proud to count myself among his friends and to write for the magazine which he started and has kept going against the odds. I thank him unreservedly. I know you will wish to do the same.

Note: there's more in I.A.'s own words, with music samples even, on his MySpace page.