John Renbourn's passing leaves a large hole, he was a giant figure of the British folk scene.
One of the many illustrious lutenists he inspired was the late, great Tom Finucane, who Steve shared a flat with in the 1970's for several years. Tom was always playing John's early recordings, and Tom was very happy to have the opportunity to let John that he was his inspiration in person, and thank him, when they both found themselves playing at the same event at Dartington Hall, Devon, several years after Tom had come to prominence as one of the greatest lutenists the modern revival has produced. On a personal level, we well recall a gig John played at a folk club at The White Horse pub in Hampstead (standing room only, but we managed to get in on the guest list, thanks to mutual friend and neighbour folk guitarist Dave Bull, with whom John was staying overnight). John opened his set with 'Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat' by Charlie Mingus, a piece that few other guitar players had tackled – a notable interpreter being Mahavishnu John McLaughlin: it opens his 1987 recording 'My Goals Beyond'. Not sure what a few of the assembled folkies made of it, but playing a Mingus tune was typical of John's eclectic approach. Afterwards, when we asked him about the piece, he commented that it would make an interesting lute intabulation. John drove us all home from the gig in his battered white Mercedes 190SL, a comedy drive across London, oblivious of speed limits and quite a few traffic lights . . . we weren't sure if the groaning, rattling chassis was going to make it – the car, that is – but John swore it would (and swore at it a few times too). The conversation during the drive centred on John's desire to acquire an orpharion at some stage, he'd always wanted to get his hands on one, and having heard a recording of Paul O'Dette playing on a 7c orpharion we'd made him, said he really wanted to try one of these instruments, feeling he may well find affinity with its metal stringing and touch. Back at Dave's flat, the Glenmorangie came out, and we staggered home at around 4am. John came to the workshop a few weeks later, and we talked long about orpharions and bandoras, we showed him various moulds and the research material we had, along with photos of examples we'd made over the years. Sadly, we never to! ok the idea forwards, John's path went in other directions. He was always fizzling with ideas for new projects, and one of the last times we heard news from him was when the Pentangle reunion was being planned, and he was loudly complaining about being "Too stiff these days to sit on the bloody floor to play the sitar parts" in 'Once I Had A Sweetheart'. It was a privilege to have met John and got to know him a little; he was one of those rare figures whose path and musical trajectory touches and inspires many musicians: kind, amusing, friendly and generous almost to a fault, he is sadly missed by many, and that part of his enormous musical legacy – having inspired many to play lute music, and take up the lute – would be more than a fitting tribute. That evening after the White Horse gig, discussing fanned frets and tuning pegs for metal strings and whose head should end up on the pegbox, all through a mist of Glenmorangie which John had produced from the boot of the Merc, will live with us always. Sadly missed, another of the Greats gone. Stephen and Sandi. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
