Vin Garbutt RIP

You may not know the name, or perhaps like me until fairly recently you've heard of him but not heard anything by him, but Vin Garbutt who passed away this morning was arguably one of English folk music's finest. Winner of 2001's Best Live Act at the Radio 2 Folk Awards his live shows were legendary, combining comedy and chat with Vin's pure and powerful vocals and lyrics that - true to some of folk's most potent purveyors - weren't afraid to tackle the social and political issues of the day.



I had the very great pleasure of meeting him after a stunningly good gig at The Red Lion back in 2012 (http://thehearingaid.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/vin-garbutt-jess-morgan-red-lion.html) and a more humble, genial bloke you simply couldn't wish to meet. He'd already had health problems for a few years by then but he sang with the freshness and passion of a man a quarter of his age and continued playing live until fairly recently. A heart valve replacement op back in April seemed to go well but sadly a full recovery just wasn't meant to be. RIP Vin.