Danny McLeod
After a gallant fight, Danny lost his battle against Mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer, and passed away in the early hours of Saturday 21st November.
He had been unwell after being diagnosed in February and after an unsuccessful program of chemotherapy finally succumbed to this pernicious disease.
Danny, together with his wife Joyce, ran the club for almost 25 years. Formally the Ryton Folk Club, when the venue there became unavailable, they moved to The Black Bull at Blaydon as tynefolk.
Great believers in traditional music, Danny and Joyce grew tynefolk into a well respected and strongly supported club where singers, musicians and guests were equally welcome.
His place in the folk world will be forever remembered. A member of the Keelers for several years his love of shanties and songs of the sea shone forth and when he left the Keelers he and Joyce, along with Barry and Ingrid Temple, formed the highly regarded and equally respected Salt of the Earth.
Danny also joined Pete Wood and Alan Fitzsimmons to form Pinch 'o Salt who recorded Sea Boot Duff and Hand Spike Gruel.
But it was probably as just Danny and Joyce McLeod that they had the biggest impact. Singing together as a duo since 1999, they performed at numerous festivals in Britain, Europe and the United States. In 2002 they released their only album, Never a Cross Word, featuring songs both traditional and contemporary and including a number of the poems of Cicely Fox Smith with tunes by Alan Fitzsimmons, Dave Webber and Carol King.
Danny's knowledge and enthusiasm for the poetry of Cicely Fox Smith spawned an explosion of interest in her work and he was regularly called upon to run workshops to further promote her work, both in the UK and the US. Many of the poems, put to music by fellow Keeler Alan Fitzsimmons, were included in both Keelers and Salt of the Earth recordings as well as Never a Cross Word.
Outside of music, Danny practised judo and became a black belt, He started as a 13 year old lad at the YMCA, under the tutelage of George Bamford as the sensei, rising to the giddy heights of 3rd Dan.
His natural enthusiasm for life shone through in his judo when he started the Ren Bu Kan Judo Club. Up to the age of 49, Danny was still teaching and demonstrating his art.
During Danny's working and business life he was just as passionate and worked in industry at Parsons, then moved into sales with well known companies Weetabix and AEG, he also set up a music shop with his friend Dave Barber and during 1981, along with his partner Jim Madden, they founded their successful sign making, fabrication and printing company, Mascot Services.
He leaves behind Joyce, Donna and Craig and his 5 grandchildren Bethany, Morgan Camryn, and twins Mason and Ethan all of whom he was immensely proud.
Danny's demise will be a great loss to tynefolk, his family, friends and colleagues but hopefully his legacy will live on and the tynefolk club will continue to prosper.