Skiffle was the punk of the 1950s. Suddenly anyone could form a band and play - you didn't need any formal musical education,
Chas McDevitt was the biggest name in skiffle after Lonnie Donegan, but look at the forces here. Yes, his bass player has a proper instrument when most made their own from a tea chest, but the four guitars are all about rhythm not melody and there is no drum kit, just the inevitable washboard.
Even the vocal backing - humming and whistling - is home made.
This is a great record - the video comes from the 1957 film The Tommy Steele Story - and that greatness owes much to its singer, Nancy Whiskey.
Researching Freight Train, I discovered that she had moved to Melton Mowbray in the 1960s and could be found performing in clubs around the town until shortly before her death in 2002.
If you doubt the importance of skiffle to the music that came after it, have a look at a 14-year-old Jimmy Page.
And do read about the remarkable writer of Freight Train, Elizabeth Cotten.
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