Obituary: Tony Slinger

It is doubtful that anyone knew more about the Bristol folk scene than Tony Slinger, who has sadly died at the weekend after a long illness. Though working full time in the print industry, from the early 80s he was also promoting folk music events, notably in Yesterdays, the King Street folk club where he built an audience for burgeoning superstars like Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright, Michelle Shocked and Martin Carthy. Singer/songwriter Steve Tilston described Yesterdays as “one of the country’s finest folk clubs, run by a great enthusiast who was always a pleasure to work with”. Tony’s adventurous programming at the club even drew fRoots editor Ian A Anderson back to Bristol as he recalls: “I once drove all the way down from London on a whim (late 80s) as he’d booked the 3 Mustaphas 3 at Yesterdays, which not many folk club organisers did!”

Tony became a successful performer himself, albeit as the dance caller for ceilidh bands, and developed an exhaustive repertoire of traditional dances as well as devising some of his own – including the predictably rowdy Bristol Riot celebrating the 1831 burning down of the Spike Island gaol. As a caller he was unflappable and entertaining, ensuring maximum participation and generating a great atmosphere through a mix of geniality, enthusiasm and dubious jokes – Alex Vann, now mandolinist from Spiro, recalls an occasion when the chair he was sitting on fell into the floor and Tony, shamelessly, explained to the dancers it was “just a stage he was going through”.

Tony was the obvious choice when Venue magazine first decided it needed a folk editor in the mid-80s and he remained in this role for over twenty years, amassing a huge collection of albums and a comprehensive knowledge about the national and international folk world. His distinctive rotund figure, waistcoat clad and sporting a King Charles combination of moustache and shoulder-length hair, was always a familiar sight at folk events and festivals, many of the latter benefitting greatly from his wisdom. A thread on the fRoots magazine Facebook page following the announcement of his passing has warm tributes from Priddy Folk Festival’s Rachael Clarke and Bristol Folk Festival’s Jan Ayers. 

In his work as a printer he was caught up in the notorious Arrowsmiths dispute in 1993 when the company demanded that its workforce sign new contracts reducing their conditions and ending union recognition. Tony was one of 120 staff locked out and replaced by new employees in a dispute that rumbled on for a year until the staff were all sacked.

Local broadcaster and blues musician Keith Warmington paid tribute to Tony’s passion for the music he covered for so many years. “He knew everybody and was as comfortable calling a ceilidh as he was reviewing a blues gig. It was always great to bump into him at gigs and share pints and opinions on this or that artist. He was part of the furniture of the Bristol music scene and I mean that in the best of ways. We’ll all miss him.” And former Venue editor Dave Higgitt similarly recognised Tony’s contribution to the city’s musical life: “His enthusiasm and professionalism helped grow the section to become a crucial and widely respected part of the magazine’s musical coverage. He lived and breathed the local folk scene, both as a writer and performer. And he was a lovely bloke. He will be missed by all those who knew him.”