David’s Daily Digital Dollop: Dollop 107 – Ask Not What You’re Folk Group Can Do For You …

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It’s finally happened. Someone who saw us for the first time at our short free afternoon gig at the Robert Gillow pub in Lancaster has contacted us to say that they have set up a Young’uns Wikipedia page. She enjoyed the gig so much that she immediately went on the Internet to find our Wikipedia page, keen to learn more about us. But, because none of our so-called fans have been committed enough to set one up, she was unable to read about us on Wikipedia. So she decided to set one up herself. When I got this message I was a bit unsure of how accurate her article would be, given that she’d absolutely no idea about us, hence why she’d searched for us on Wikipedia. But she had clearly done her research. It’s quite a short article, with just the basic facts, but she has cited quite a few references, included some quotes, added all the links to the various things she’s cited, and included a discography. Hopefully her efforts will be the catalyst for others to join in and add more. You can find the article here.

When I searched for the Young’uns article, one of the related searches that popped up on Wikipedia’s results was, David Eagle. Upon entering on this it brought up a list of David Eagle’s. I was listed at the very top, described as “David Eagle, English singer with The Young’uns.” I didn’t actually have a Wikipedia page, but for some reason I am still recognised by Wikipedia, and am listed above the David Eagles who do have actual Wikipedia articles. So if you haven’t bought a ticket for a gig on our tour and are feeling a bit guilty, you can make amends by adding to the Young’uns recently added Wikipedia -page, and/or create one about me. Come on, I don’t ask you for much do I? All I’ve ever asked of you is to shout out dollop-related chants at Young’uns gigs in order to force me into pretending to be all embarrassed about having to explain David’s Daily Digital Dollop to the audience, giving me free promotion, without it seeming like I’ve been arrogant enough to talk about it on my own volition. And if you happen to know any eighteen-year-old girls from Hartlepool that I can impregnate in order to help get my home town back to the top of the teenage pregnancy league, knocking Burnley off the top spot, then you can help me out with that too. And I’d like you to create a David Eagle Wikipedia page. Those three things are all I want from you. Oh, and your body.

The free Robert Gillow pub gig also yielded another interesting result. We were contacted by someone who writes and records grime music, a UK variant of hiphop. He was really taken with the subjects covered in our songs, talking about social issues and our local area, telling real people’s stories. These are the things that he portrays in his music, and this is true with the Grime scene in general. He writes and raps about the same things as we do, only we have chosen different genres of music to express these ideas. He was so inspired by our performance in the pub that he immediately started writing a new song, inspired by our song You Won’t Find Me On Benefits Street, about Stockton’s defiant opposition to being negatively stigmatised by the Channel 4 reality TV show. He wants to use a sample of it in his song, and he sent us the lyrics he wrote after our gig. It’s a very different approach to the way we structure a song, for a start there’s a lot more swearing, but the lyrics were really good. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of this, and hopefully he’ll get it recorded and we can play it and chat with him on The Young’uns Podcast. We’ve only done one free community event so far on this tour, but it’s already brought us into contact with people who wouldn’t ordinarily access our music, and who we wouldn’t ordinarily meet in an arts centre or folk club.

Perhaps our Grime friend will find these Dollops and become inspired to create a Grime concept album around the subject matter covered in these blogs. I think he could do a really good hiphop, profanity laden take on my malfunctioning kettle. I’m sure the kids will love that. He might also be able to help me reach a younger audience, meaning that more legal aged teenage girls from Hartlepool will become aware of who I am, and thus it will further my noble impregnation cause. It’s all fitting into place. Perhaps this is yet another sign from God. I am being given a second chance after my failure to take the opportunity that was presented to me earlier in the week when I was speaking to a load of Hartlepool college students. I dare not fritter away this new opportunity, lest I should properly anger God this time. Of course, there is a chance that if I did squander this opportunity then God would forgive me again, but there is an equal chance that he might be angered so much that he decides to smite me. There is just no knowing with God. He is clearly a complex character. At one point in the bible, he’s telling us that he’s an all-loving, forgiving God, and then mere pages later he tells us that he’s a jealous and vengeful God. I think God is probably bipolar, after all, he did create a planet that’s bipolar, and perhaps his idea to incorporate both a North and South pole on his planet was a kind of subtle cry for help. You might think that this is the most ridiculous, and feebly contrived idea, but then I’d counter that view by reminding you that God works in mysterious ways, which surely just makes the ridiculousness work to give the idea more plausibility? Think on that, unless you’ve got something better to be doing, in which case you should probably go and do that.

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5 thoughts on “David’s Daily Digital Dollop: Dollop 107 – Ask Not What You’re Folk Group Can Do For You …

  1. I don’t know how far this “dollop” is into the challenge! 100? 200? 237? 144? I see you are playing up in Scotland today. and break a leg. I look forward to hearing you Three perform on stage. David.

  2. Just how factually accurate does a Wikipedia entry have to be? I’m up for having a go at your page, but given that I don’t know you very well, I might need to flesh out what I do know with some extras. I mean, obviously it would be something designed to expand your fan base. But I don’t want to risk legal action being taken against me. 🤓

      • OK I’ve made a start on your biography. How’s this?
        “David Eagle, Popular Flogger (that’s Folk Blogger) and self-styled Prince of Hartlepool charms folk audiences and podcast readers alike with gravelly-voiced bass vibrations”. Lord, I think I should have been a journalist. Shall I continue?

        • Feel free. It’ll be interesting to see how long it lapts before it’s deleted. A few links and references should secure it’s survival for a bit longer. I w6uld help out, but it seems a bit impropper to have a hand in my own Wikipedia article.

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