UK Filk beginnings

There had often been people singing at conventions and other gatherings. Possibly the first ever published book of SF songs was "Songs from Space" produced for Loncon, the WorldCon in London in 1957. Chris Chivers and friends had produced cassette tapes of space songs. Several other people had written a few songs, though never joined organised filk.

The first known occasion when there was singing actually billed as filk, and directly connected to the later organised filking, was at the 1979 WorldCon in Brighton, Seacon 79. Several US fans organised late night singing, and several Brits were there also, some of whom went on to become regular filkers. The ones I know of were Gytha North, Lawrence Dean, Valerie Housen, and Joe Raftery (who gafiated, but reappeared in filk many years later). I was at that convention and had heard of filk, but was staying with friends in Lewes so had to get the last train back before the filking started.

A couple or three years later at I think a Novacon I heard there was filk happening and went looking for it. Tucked in a corner of a large room I found Gytha singing to a small group of people. I think others were singing a little, but it was mainly Gytha. At one point she sang " Oh my name it is Van Gogh, lend an ear, lend an ear" (to the tune of "Admiral Benbow"). "Do you know who wrote that?" I asked. "No". "This bloke" I said, handing her one of Les Barker's books of poems.

Over the next few years we met up at various conventions (Eastercons, Novacons, Unicons, and various one-offs) and slowly grew. There was little communication outside the cons, at that time just telephone and post. But there were never any organised filk items as such, we just found somewhere in the late evening to gather and sing. I didn't sing, but recited a lot of Les Barker poems. I can't now remember just who arrived when, but Lawrence and Valerie were certainly there.

The singing was very much run by Gytha. I think it was at ConSept, the 1986 Unicon, that Gytha was late arriving and for the first time we started without her (I think I went first). It might have been the same con when Valerie brought a guitar along - the first time we'd had any instrumental accompaniment. At one Unicon in Cambridge, Mike Whitaker and Rhodri James found and joined us.