Reviews…
Mostly, people hear about the club by word-of-mouth, but there is a great introduction to Sharp’s in Folk London, plus an informative article from the Zoom era available for the curious.
An article by Amanda, who ran the Sharp’s Lockdown Sessions, highlights the importance of the club for many during hard times.
There’s also more about the club in the Guardian’s obituary for much-missed Sharp’s regular Tom Paley.
… and a testimonial
“I first went to Sharp’s fifteen years ago at the age of 26. I wanted to learn more about folk music, and I figured that in the bar at the English Folk Dance and Song Society, I’d meet knowledgeable people and learn from them.
How right I was! I’ve been to Liverpool to meet girls with peroxide curls, to Grimsby to bear witness to terrible shipwrecks, in between two rigs of rye to spy on conflicted lovers, and to the old Rose and Crown for a pint of good beer. I’ve joined in roof-raising harmonies with music hall standards, shanties, broken tokens, night visiting and good old weepy love songs.
I’ve heard songs in Irish, Welsh, Gaelic, Scots vernacular and countless dialects. I’ve been swept away by original compositions. I’ve met Robert Burns’ many, many girlfriends. I’ve encountered songs that are as impactful today as they must have been 300 years ago when they were new.
And all thanks to the singers and musicians I met along the way, who listened, encouraged, advised and applauded as I learned to sing folk songs myself.
Sharp’s is really special. Come down and see for yourself.”